UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - What year did Long Play (LP) become available on UK VCRs?

ukcol · 29th Oct 2017, 8:10 pm

Much earlier than I thought.

A Wikipedia article entitled "Videocassette Recorder" has this under a section called "VHS vs Betamax" :--

"The rival VHS format, introduced in Japan by JVC in September 1976, introduced in the United States in July 1977 by RCA, had a longer two-hour recording time with a T-120 tape, or four hours in lower-quality "long play" mode (RCA SelectaVision models, introduced in September 1977)."

That was 2 years before VHS machines were available in the UK.

I don't remember seeing any VHS models with LP on the UK market before about 1990.

I thought VHS LP was pretty awful quality and of limited use since you could record SP for as long as 3 hours on one tape.

29th Oct 2017, 8:10 pm	#2
ukcol Rest in Peace Join Date: May 2003 Location: Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 3,944	Re: What year did Long Play (LP) become available on UK VCRs? Much earlier than I thought. A Wikipedia article entitled "Videocassette Recorder" has this under a section called "VHS vs Betamax" :-- "The rival VHS format, introduced in Japan by JVC in September 1976, introduced in the United States in July 1977 by RCA, had a longer two-hour recording time with a T-120 tape, or four hours in lower-quality "long play" mode (RCA SelectaVision models, introduced in September 1977)." That was 2 years before VHS machines were available in the UK. I don't remember seeing any VHS models with LP on the UK market before about 1990. I thought VHS LP was pretty awful quality and of limited use since you could record SP for as long as 3 hours on one tape.