SP/EP mode? I am trying to set my VCR to record for a longer period of time, but can't figure out how to change from SP mode to a different mode. Please Help!

You may have dirty heads in the vcr---most 4 head machines use two for sp and the other two for lp and or ep.

Tape residue will usually be seen on the drum where the heads are when this happens--also look for the black residue on the tape guides that hold the tape in position against the drum-------

In a VCR SP which stands for standard play on an E180 tape will last for 3 hours. So you can record 3 hours on it and much longer in EP however the quality of the picture will be less.
However I suspect that you could mean a DVD recorder. In which case a 4.7GB disc will last for 120 minutes on SP and 240 minutes on EP. Again there will be a loss of picture quality on the longer setting, but most people can cope with that.

not all players have long play option,,check on your remote for sp/lp,,cheers.

Most VCR's have a default recording setting for recording speed or other settings. It's just a question of finding the right menu. Have a good look around the menus. However the VCR might default to SP after recording in EP, however the playback should switch to EP when playing.

Hi;
I have a Panasonic VCR with a different, but I know how to 'fix' your problem on my m/c. The remote for my m/c has a "REC MODE" button; operating that button changes from SP to EP etc. Check it with the "Program" button on your TV screen.
harrisonmx3

Dont use xp mode. Here are the definitions:
SP is short for Standard Play. Standard play allows you to record information onto the tape the way it was intended, with no quality loss. By default, VCRs and camcorders will record your footage as standard play. On a standard VHS tape, recording footage in SP mode will yield 2 hours of video.
LP is short for Long Play. Long play allows you to record much more information at the expense of quality. It accomplishes this by reducing the speed the tape is run through the VCR. As the tape speed decreases, the quality will also decrease. You’ll notice this effect when comparing a tape recorded at LP versus one recorded at SP, especially after years of storage. The LP tape will appear more blurred, have more tracking and color issues than tapes recorded at SP. A VHS tape recorded at LP can hold roughly 4 hours of video.
EP/SLP is short for extended play. Extended play is similar to LP, but actually provides you even more recording time. EP was primarily used to document long, continuous events without the need to change video tapes every 2 hours. Due to the fact that the video is not of optimal quality, many times this setting was not used in order to preserve the quality of your footage. Tapes recorded at EP usually are the most problematic after years of storage, displaying a wide variety of tape damage symptoms including color loss, audio loss, frame skipping, and tracking issues.

it will automatically play at the speed the tape was recorded at. but if you want to change record speeds here's how: you should be able to access menu functions from the front of the vcr, if so, put a tape to be recorded into the unit and then set the timer for a couple of minutes.while you are on the timer menu it will ask you for recording speed. set the timer record speed to ep and let it record for two minutes and let it record for the full time untill it stops recording. the record speed will automatically change settings to whatever you used last on timer record.

put the machine in dvd mode and press the rec mode button on the remote(right next to the rec button on the bottom) hit the button until you get to the desired mode. i just changed mine and i am copying now from vhs to dvd and it did say it is recording in ep mode, so fingers crossed!

sounds like it needs a good cleaning, you will notice this problem in sp first when needs cleaned. however if you had done this I would go over it again and if not then change the video head

See the manual, page 8:

What are “Recording modes”? for DVD-RW
There are two recording modes available using this
recorder: VR mode and Video mode. When recording to
a DVD-R disc, recordings are always in Video mode.
DVD-RW discs can be formatted for VR mode recording
or Video mode recording.
VR mode recording
• 4 different picture quality/recording time settings available
(SP, LP, EP, XP)
• Not playable on regular DVD players
• Recordings can be extensively edited
• Total number of titles on the disc should be less than
99.
Video mode recording
• 4 different picture quality/recording time settings available
(SP, LP, EP, XP)
• Playable on regular DVD players (after finalizing)
• Limited editing features
• Total number of titles on the disc should be less than
99.
Note :
DVD-Video Format (Video mode) is a new format for
recording on DVD-R/RW discs that was approved by
the DVD Forum in 2000. You may therefore experience
problems playing recordable DVD discs in some players.
Symptoms include video artifacts, audio and/or
video dropouts and playback suddenly stopping.
Our company cannot take responsibility for problems
playing discs recorded on this VCR/DVD Recorder in
other players.