Hello.
I have some questions for which I have been unable to find answers.
Therefore I find myself at this, “Font of Knowledge.”

For some time I have been trying to find out about the E.P. (Extended Play) recording mode, firstly in N.T.S.C. Machines, which appear to have had this function available from the beginning of V.H.S.

I am led to believe that, E.P./S.L.P. (Extended Play. Super Long Play) which is 1/3 of normal tape speed, was not a part of the V.H.S. Standard. As such it seems strange that it was available on N.T.S.C. Machines.

Around the year 2001, Panasonic V.C.R.s, previously known as National, or National Panasonic, began to offer machines with the E.P. recording mode giving up to 12 hours of recording time.

Note, E.P. Was available only on Panasonic machines. If you recorded material in E.P. It could only be played back on another Panasonic machine that had E.P. Mode.

Can anyone add to what I have written here.

Wayne.

Funny you should mention this as I have just this week carried out a repair on my 6-head Panasonic NV-FJ600 which has 12 hour (Super LP) record capability and is PAL/NTSC compatible.

I never found the need to use SLP mode. I bought this unit back when mainly for its NTSC capability.

There is discussion about the various VHS recording formats here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS#Super-VHS_.2F_ADAT_.2F_SVHS-ET

And we should never forget, from its rather inferior single interlacing, the NTSC picture could change & give false colours from one side to the other, when it lost info; NTSC actually in practice means "Never Twice Same Colour".

The dual interlace where info was coming from both horizontal & vertical, never had that issue.

Not anything to do with interlacing, although this becomes relevant when editing PAL video, where the 8 field Bruch blanking sequence needs to be taken into account.

Sensitivity to phase errors between the burst and the content was always an issue with NTSC. There was a little-known attempt to rectify it in the early '50s by inverting the phase on alternate FIELDS. It all got too complicated and was dropped I guess. A certain Dr. Bruch might have seen this and come up with his idea?

Rest is history

NTSC actually in practice means "Never Twice Same Colour".

A mate of mine who worked in the TV industry used to add to that:-

SECAM: System Essentially Contrary to the American Method.

PAL: Peace at Last.

Sensitivity to phase errors between the burst and the content was always an issue with NTSC

General Electric came up with another solution to this in 1975 (compatible with NTSC) called VIR.

GTC, Super Long Play mode was used extensively for security camera recording, where the business owner changed the tape once in the morning and once at night.

Super Long Play mode was used extensively for security camera recording

A lot of work compared to today's DVRs with their multi terabyte disc drives.

Yes, now it is set and forget in one small unit. Sure beats a cupboard of VCR Machines and a week/fortnight/month's worth of VCR tapes.