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[lollerskates]

How come if you record something in long play (on vhs), then play it in a short play player, the sound is at normal speed

shouldnt it be at double speed?

i've never understood this. ever

[MarkJDelaney]

If you record something in long play, quality is less than if it was recorded in slow play.

SP recordings run past the head drum (tape reader) at 1.31 inches per second. In LP it's 0.66 inches per second. So you can see where the quality deteriorates. (rough figures, probably varies between VCRs)

As for a SP VCR playing an LP recording, well that doesn't matter. The recording's already been made, audio + video is stretched out across the tape. An SP VCR can read both types of recordings but can't RECORD in LP. It just plays whatever type of tape you put inside to be read.

An example to explain it a little more:

Say you have two of same videos on your computer. One is 300MB with a high frame-rate, and the other one is 70MB with a low frame rate. They will both play when you open the file to read it, but one will retain much better quality.

yes but that doesn't answer his question at all

unless you're saying he's wrong about the sound not being double speed, i can't be bothered to check if it is or isn't

[Tav]

I can record something on long play on one video then when I paly it back on a SP only machine it plays double the speed...well could with our older machine.

[Keilan 303]

This is a joke yeah.....if that was the case , say you had a 10 minute video cassette, and recorded a 20 minute program on long play, your short play video would have played the 20 minutes of video in 10 minutes, and would then be playing the remaining 10 minutes of audio after the tape had reached the end!!!!

[MarkJDelaney]

No, audio and video are recorded together. Across across an LP VHS tape. When played back on a VCR, it doesn't matter. The VCR will play back simply what is there... regardless of its original recording speed/quality.

[Sue Denim..]

Originally Posted by lollerskates

How come if you record something in long play (on vhs), then play it in a short play player, the sound is at normal speed

shouldnt it be at double speed?

i've never understood this. ever

Yes it should, however, there are 'control tracks' on the tape itself which dictate the speed of the drum (which scans the information on the tape.) Even if your VCR is ancient, the control tracks still change the speed of the drum. This is constantly changing even on regular play due to tapes stretching or getting tighter whilst being played.

Also, the slower the recording (Long Play) the closer the recorded bands of information are which degrade the quality.
Note, the recorded bands of information are not linear like the control bands which sort of means that the control band must be pretty damned accurate on long play as the recorded bands are so close.

That really is as simple as I can make it.

[lollerskates]

i see
..

[Keilan 303]

I don't think anyone is actually getting the main question being asked here... they're saying the audio remains at the correct pitch, although the video plays twice as fast. Thats bullshit, how could you hear 20 minutes of audio in 10 minutes.....UNLESS IT WAS PLAYING AT TWICE THE SPEED!!!!

I think lollerskates taped a Joe Pasquali show and can't really tell the difference....

[Sue Denim..]

Originally Posted by Keilan 303

I don't think anyone is actually getting the main question being asked here... they're saying the audio remains at the correct pitch, although the video plays twice as fast. Thats bullshit, how could you hear 20 minutes of audio in 10 minutes.....UNLESS IT WAS PLAYING AT TWICE THE SPEED!!!!

No, you don't understand. You are listening to the recording that has been compressed together more than before. It WILL play at the correct pitch. The control drum changes speed to accommodate the difference in tape playing speed.