Panasonic SA-HT820V DVD/VCR Combo (with VP recording!)

[@Morra5472]

I remember having a JVC VCR back in the day that could play both PAL & NTSC formats together with supporting HIFI stereo "surround" sound, and LP/EP speeds. It was a marvel at the time. But never heard of "VP". Thank you for sharing. Lost gem for sure from an end of an era.

[@electrictroy2010]

Security VCRs from Sony and Panasonic can do 40 hours on an ST-120 tape (with audio). That’s 1/20 speed.

[@t0nito]

@@electrictroy2010 not at 30 fps for sure

[@Electronicle]

All things considered, the VP quality really isn't that bad, the linear audio isn't as bad as I thought it would be except for the flutter which is off the charts

[@Rightsomehandsome]

I just picked up one at a thrift store today. Remote, sub and all speakers. Didn’t know about the VP play. The sticker said VHS didn’t work. It does though, you just need to hold up the dust lid when ejecting. Sweet surprise. Yes the cable goes to the sub woofer and the speakers connect to there etc. Thanks for the video.

[@probnotstech]

22:19 I did not do a good job explaining that. Basically, the head is still spinning at the same speed, so each "field" worth of hi-fi audio is intact and played back at the same speed, but since the tape is moving past the head faster, you end up skipping past multiple fields worth of hi-fi audio. There's no buzzing because the tape is so dense with information, that if the tape moves slightly off one hi-fi track, it will find another. It ends up sounding like the fine-print disclaimer at the end of a drug ad of US television.

[@r66f80]

From what I remember, there are also 12 hour (T-240) VHS tapes, as well. They are very rare & could probably hold 24 hours of audio & video in VP mode.

[@probnotstech]

240min @ SP would be 1200min @ VP, so 20 hours. Damn close! I have seen T-240 listed on Wikipedia, but I've never seen even a picture of one. Not sure if they were ever made, or were just a possible tape length added to the VHS spec.

[@gamingmusicandjokesandabit1240]

@@probnotstech and Route66Fan, these existed in PAL mode but just like VP in NTSC, EP in PAL wasn't on many VCRs 🙂

[@probnotstech]

@@gamingmusicandjokesandabit1240 An E-240 tape meant for PAL recordings was closer in physical length to a T-180 tape in NTSC countries - PAL just recorded slower due to lower frame rate. If you used a T-200 tape on a PAL VCR that supported EP recording, you could fit a whopping 14 hours and ~30minutes! This is because EP mode for PAL (0.78cm/s) is very close in speed to VP on NTSC (0.667cm/s).

[@gamingmusicandjokesandabit1240]

@@probnotstech I thought there was about the same tape loaded in a PAL cassette as in an NTSC cassette with 1.5x less recording time (as in I thought you meant T-160)

[@probnotstech]

@@gamingmusicandjokesandabit1240 It depends on the tape. They're labeled for how much space they have for an SP recording in their respective format. So a T-120 tape has 120 minutes of NTSC SP. Whereas an E-180 has 180 minutes of PAL SP. Both those examples are really close in physical length, I think the E-180 has slightly more tape inside.

[@pikgears]

well. That actually looks quite a bit better than I expected.

[@CobraTWashington]

I know this video is all about the VCR, which is fascinating, but I am intrigued by this thing's blocky look and the five DVD changer. I don't think I've seen a unit like it, to say nothing of the crazy record times.

[@probnotstech]

It's pretty unusual all around. A home theatre in a box, but only if you have the speakers and subwoofer. Add a 5-disc DVD changer AND VCR, and it's probably one of a kind.

[@mrmagnetoscope]

Plug your camera on the VCR and record a clock for 16 hours.

[@oppok5657]

on panasonic machines you would scroll on the menu with the play, stop, fast forward, and rewind keys since they were arranged in a directional pad pattern

[@t0nito]

For a long Hi-Fi audio tape that would be neat!

[@SwedishRetroTechNerd]

Can I ask a question what happens if you try the Vp tape in a SP only VCR? Is it going to play super super speed up without color? I have tried a EP tape in a SP only VCR and it lost all color and it played super speed up, I cant try this unfourtnatly since the VP speed was never realesed in PAL, Also when playing around with the PAL EP speed I have relized that VCRs that support LP will try playing a PAL EP tape as LP tape and it will not lose the color like a SP only VCR

[@BETAMAX19732]

Very Good VHS good video and channel

[@xaverlustig3581]

E-300 tapes are 435 meters long giving a playing time of 5 hours in PAL-SP or 217 minutes in NTSC-SP, so they are slightly longer than T-200 who are only 410 meters.

[@probnotstech]

That would give 18 hours on this VCR with VP. Wow. And there are some for sale on ebay... interesting.

[@electrictroy2010]

Eh…. I have a T-240 that does 4 hours in Standard Play and 12 hours in Extended Play (also known as Super long play).

[@xaverlustig3581]

@@electrictroy2010 The VHS standard speed in PAL is slower than in NTSC, thus the same physical tape length gives longer playing time in PAL SP than in NTSC SP. That's also why the same physical tape lengths were labelled with different minutes figures for the two markets. On the other hand, PAL doesn't have an SLP speed, just regular LP. So the playing time achievable in NTSC at the slowest speed is longer.

[@electrictroy2010]

Yeah that was my point ;-) NTSC T-240 gives 12 hours maximum. PAL is less. *20 hours with this nonstandard VP Panasonic

[@TheRealAndreasBartel]

@@xaverlustig3581we actually do have SLP on PAL VHS. I have a Panasonic NV-SV121 and a Sharp VC-S2000 that have it. The recording time is three times the standard speed. Interchangeably is between recorders is not guaranteed.

[@wx4newengland]

I have a deck with VP- it can't even keep color locked in at that speed- however, the deck you have seems to work slightly better than mine.

[@electrictroy2010]

I was reading on a VHS to DVD specialist forum that VP only works if the unit is perfectly aligned. If the capstan or threading is worn, then the machine cannot achieve proper speed

[@HarleyBadger]

I gotta say, I'm loving your channel.

[@probnotstech]

Thanks! I love yours and Spats' videos. Also, as a T1D I really appreciate you sharing some of your journey. It means a lot.

[@HarleyBadger]

@@probnotstech Oh! Well thank you! :-D ... and I'm honored to have impacted you, my goal is to spread the word to anyone who it might help, there are so many scenarios with our disease that don't have any immediate effects, so they don't seem like a big deal.. until ten years later. I've got another update video which I will probably post around the new year.

[@ShizuhanaVT]

It is not just only Panasonic implemented the VP speed on VHS. I have the Mitsubishi HV-BX200 (MFD 2002) SVHS VCR at the side of the VFD display there is a speed setting of標準(SP) 3倍(EP)and lastly 5倍(VP). Surprisingly, Mitsubishi also implemented VP in SVHS Recording format. Although there are a lot of anomalies in the image quality and the pause is unstable since the higher bandwidth of S-VHS and the smaller video track with is very hard to read with regular sized video heads. Trick head is used but provides less worse image.

[@probnotstech]

Does the VCR actually have the option to select VP, or is it just a segment on the VFD? I've never heard of that model before - looks like it was only sold in the Japanese market. Very cool to have another standalone VCR support VP.

[@ShizuhanaVT]

@@probnotstech it has the option right beside the VFD display. A recording speed selector button.

[@shaharm3798]

Awesome video thank you 👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻What other VCR'S devices have VP OR SLP recording method?

[@mrmagnetoscope]

I have a universal remote which is actually the remote of a Videotron TV receiver which is a Quebec TV/Internet/Phone company. There is a booklet with codes to program it and I tried all the Panasonic DVD codes because I wanted to access the DVD menu. Many of the codes worked, but only with some functions, and the functions were not the same for each code, and none of the codes would have all the functions working.

[@probnotstech]

I hate this Harmony remote for daily use, but it works well for stuff like this because it has a massive library of codes by model number, and you can remap buttons. My favourite universal for daily use is an Atlas URC1056 (used by both TV providers in my city for years, so you can find them used for a buck or two)

[@ingenfestbrems]

We had Basf 5 hours / 300 minutes cassette, in SP rec in Europe

[@probnotstech]

SP in Europe (PAL regions) runs slower, roughly 70% of the speed of SP in NTSC. Partly the lower frame rate (50 fields per second vs 59.94) and partly because of a narrower track width (58µ vs 49µ). The E-300 tape is very close in length to the T-200. I think the slower PAL SP speed is why SLP/EP didn't become a common offering until the late 90s/early 2000s.

[@whaka54000]

@@probnotstech linear speed on VTR was always a kind of arbitrary choice. the U format was a perfect exemple, speed is the same no matter what standard was used. so vhs sp speed could have perfectly been the same as europe. why they didn't choose a common speed, i don't know. maybe and i really say maybe to avoid easy swap between regions, as dvd did. really pure speculation of course. the exact opposite happened with video 8, 120 min allowed for ntsc countries VS 90 min for pal. frame rate is really no matter (well, not so important) for linear speed.

[@oppok5657]

11:59 it said "looking for jet navigator data"

[@Morra5472]

No offence meant but VP looks and sounds like that old 1980's VHS X- rated Cassette that went around the block too many times.

[@kirisuna19]

21:54 is an issue that i have with a mono 2 head player (i assume that's what it is, since you mentioned that), i got a year ago (I'm from Australia btw) with LP/SLP tape! But I'm getting a better player, so everything be fine!

[@Rockabillyman26]

I always thought VHS tapes go as far as t-200 whch was 10 Hours in EP, never knew of all the years buying vhs tapes there was T-240 tape, never seen it in the store, never knew it existed, never heard of a VCR with a VP speed, I can remember the older VCRs from the 80s to early 90s the recording speeds were SP which is 2 hours, LP which was 4 hours, EP or SLP which was 6 hours. In the later years the VCRs did away with LP speeds, it just had SP and just EP or SLP, but never knew the much newer VCRs had VP speed, just thinking about it makes me wish, they never did away with VCRs.

[@electrictroy2010]

I have two T-240 tapes. They weren’t designed for VHS although they will record VHS. Their purpose is for Digital VHS to hold 240 minutes of high def video. Or 40 hours of compressed SD video. I sold the D-VHS for $1200 but kept the tapes for my standard VHS.

[@Rockabillyman26]

@@electrictroy2010 I guess they were trying to keep up with dvd's but it never worked out.

[@electrictroy2010]

Maybe? A T-240 tape will hold 50 gigabyte of digital data (HD or SD). That’s equivalent to a double-layer Bluray and 11 times larger than DVD. D-VHS was meant to record live ATSC digital television, but the movie industry killed it with strict copy-protection. It became almost unusable.

[@The_Laser_Channel]

I know its been 4 years since this video was uploaded but how about the entire Lord of the Rings Extended Cut trilogy....or how about the Harry Potter series..How many episodes of South Park without commercials can be fit on one tape? Full Season? 2 seasons?

[@VCRandVideoTapeFanatic]

20:04Left is VP, right is SP

[@dardantvsk4945]

Thx

[@electrictroy2010]

VP looks better than expected. Not much degradation from the slow EP mode

[@CT-vm4gf]

Impressive machine, any idea what year it was made? I’d guess around 2000.

[@probnotstech]

Around 2004 I believe.

[@TheRealDorran]

11:51 I thought the subtitles said hub

[@seymourfatboy]

Memorex also made a T-200 Vhs cassette ....

[@electrictroy2010]

SKC made T-210 and JVC made T-240

[@bobsbits5357]

hi i have a mate that uses the long play setting all the time i stopped using vhs deck along time ago only vhs thingi have is ADAT got one because i have alot of svhs tapes from a cable place in london was going to bin the lot 43min of audio 8 channels note the betacam sp is super format beware digi one's have alot of setting big time and the sound is mind blowing i not joking the db levels are like CD 4 channels as well i payed £100 i was lost for my words came with a pro tape that was recorded in a studio the 950 sony is juck my mate has one makes it look silly against betacam digi

[@thanthanasiszamp4707]

SP is much better