Recording time when i try to record the speed always returns to SP and only records 2 hours. I had already set up the speed to Extented play (8 hrs.) but it always returns to SP. HELP!

Which plug did you change? "EP" stands for Extended Play. A VHS recorder has three speeds. EP is the slowest. A standard 2-hour tape will record for 2 hours at the highest speed (SP), 4 hours at the middle speed (SP) and 6 hours in EP. There is a trade off. The faster the tape moves past the recording/playback heads, the higher the picture quality and visa versa. So EP gives you long recording time at a cost in quality.

I doubt that the unit being in EP mode has anything to do with the cable. You did not say what brand and model recorder you have, but in general, the speed is adjusted with a switch on the front panel (older models) or via your remote control.

You need to configure the recording density :
SP standard play (maybe 1 or 2 hours)
LP Long Play
EP Extra Play
ELP Extra Long Play
This will be somewhere in your menu

Unfortunately, most VCR recorders/tapes don't have an 8 hour option. It is 2 hours on SP (standard), LP for 4 hours or EP (SLP, depending on the unit) for 6 hours. (The slower recording speed usually gives poorer video quality.)

You would need a non-standard VCR cassette to get 8 hour recording. If you do have a tape that would hold 3 hours at SP, then use an EP setting to get 8 hours of recording on your VCR. I don't think I've seen any tapes that do that recording length even when VCRs were popular.

I wish that I had better news.

Cindy Wells

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.

1. On your remote, find the record mode button; it is near the bottom on the left side. This button sets
the recording speed for the DVR. Faster recording speeds provide higher quality recordings.
2. Look at the display on the front of the machine: it should say XP ( records 1 hour on the disc,)
SP ( 2 hours, ) LP ( 4 hours, ) or EP ( 6 hours. ) You can also set it to record 8 hours on a disc,
but the quality of the recording will be poor.
3 Press the record mode button until the screen displays the recording speed that you want.
4 Note: if the powers fails or the Machine is unplugged, the machine will automatically reset itself to
SP mode.

1. Press SETUP,
2. Toggle with the left/right arrow to the RECORDING OPTIONS (icon has a dot and the letters REC below it in the icon menus at the top of the set up screen.)
3. While RECORDING options is selected, press the DOWN arrow to select VCR RECORD QUALITY.
4. Press ENTER to go to the submenu.
5. Use the ARROW UP/DOWN buttons to select the desired quality.
6. Press ENTER to confirm selection.
7. Press SETUP to exit the menu.

This is the same procedure for selecting the quality for the DVR recording speeds.

VHS speeds are:
SLP is 3x the recording time of SP.

DVR recording options are:

HQ=1 hour
SP=2 hours
EP=4 hours
SLP=6 hours

per disc.

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.

you have to choos the sp mode which is over 2 hours in recording. i noticed that after you set it in sp mode and you press the record button on the recorder panel more than once, the recording time changes.

It sounds like the taped program was recorded on a different speed. The other VCR that you are playing the taped program may not have the speed needed to play it correctly.
Next time when you record a program try to make sure you use a speed that will be compatible on both VCRs.
For example a tape that last 120 minutes, using the different speeds will give the following recording times.
SP means "Standard Play" >>>> 2 hours
LP means " Long Play" >>>>> 4 hours
ELP means " Extra Long Play" 8 hours

Older VCRs have all the 3 speeds but newer ones only have SP and ELP.
Hope this helps.

This is correct. I suspect you can also see "SP" lit up next to it. You should also see "XP" above it (dimmed) and "LP", "EP" below it (also dimmed). Standard Play (SP) fits 2 hours on a single layer disk. XP only records 1 hour but at a higher quality. LP gives you 4 hours and depending on the setting EP will give you 6 or 8 hours on the same disk. The manual will tell you how to select the quality setting