Pre-recorded EP tape keeps playing at SP

[AdamAnt316]

Hello everyone. Some time back, I picked up a VHS copy of the cult classic "UHF" at a flea market. I'm guessing it was made not too long before Orion went under, as it states right on the label that it was recorded in "EP MODE", and has the lesser amount of tape in the shell to match.

I tried to play it in our Samsung TV/VCR, which I'm guessing uses a Funai mechanism. When I start playing the tape, the 'SP' designation appears on the screen, and the tape plays way too fast. With the tape stopped, I can use the SPEED button on the remote to select between SP and SLP, but when I press play, it automatically switches to SP every time. I tried covering the record notch on the front in case it was making an assumption (it already starts play automatically when a tape with the notch removed is inserted), but no dice. I also tried another pre-recorded tape recorded in EP speed (another cult classic, "Plan Nine From Outer Space"), and playback started at the proper speed. I tried the tape which prompted this query in a different VCR, and it played at the proper speed.

How does a VCR determine a tape's intended speed? Is it a notch in the shell as with audio cassettes, or a signal on the tape itself? Is there a way to trick the VCR into starting playback at a certain speed? Inquiring minds like mine want to know..........
-Adam

[Electronic M]

Speed is determined automatically on all VCRs based on the tracking control linear track on the magnetic tape (read by the stationary head that also reads linear audio track).
The speed button or switch on your VCR is for record mode only.
There is no difference in the tape cassette shell between a pre-recorded tape and a blank (ignoring the notch that prevents you from recording over the contents of a pre-recorded tape....I used to time shift and archive TV on VHS regularly 8 years ago. A normal VHS tape I could and did record both speeds on...Say half hour of SP followed by 3 hours of EP and another half hour of SP... every VCR will allow it and automatically switch speeds on transition.

Clean the tracking head and if that fails try the tape in another VCR and if that doesn't work the tape may have had damage to the control track...if the tape it's self is damaged your SOL.

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Speed is determined automatically on all VCRs based on the tracking control linear track on the magnetic tape (read by the stationary head that also reads linear audio track).
The speed button or switch on your VCR is for record mode only.
There is no difference in the tape cassette shell between a pre-recorded tape and a blank (ignoring the notch that prevents you from recording over the contents of a pre-recorded tape....I used to time shift and archive TV on VHS regularly 8 years ago. A normal VHS tape I could and did record both speeds on...Say half hour of SP followed by 3 hours of EP and another half hour of SP... every VCR will allow it and automatically switch speeds on transition.

Clean the tracking head and if that fails try the tape in another VCR and if that doesn't work the tape may have had damage to the control track...if the tape it's self is damaged your SOL.

Thanks for the reply. I did try the "UHF" tape in a different VCR (a stand-alone Sony, probably from the early 2000s) and it detects and plays fine in EP. I tried another EP-recorded pre-recorded tape in the Samsung which started this query, and it was detected correctly as EP. Must be something about the tracking signal on the "UHF" tape which the Samsung doesn't quite like.
-Adam

[Dude111]

Im glad it works for ya buddy