While very common on NTSC VHS machines, the Extended Play (EP) mode, sometimes called Super Long Play (SLP), which tripled the recording time of the tape, was rarely found on PAL machines.
Tapes recorded in PAL EP mode will not play properly on a machine that doesn’t support PAL EP. If you are lucky, you may see some kind of picture, but running much too fast.
This page lists the model numbers of all known PAL VHS video recorders which support PAL EP. It is hoped that this list will prove useful to anyone with tapes recorded in this unusual format to find suitable equipment to play those tapes.
Probably the best models to go for, if you can find them, are the JVC HR-S9850 and the Panasonic NV-SV121. I have no experience with these models, but they will almost certainly give the best possible results because they both incorporate a digital timebase corrector (TBC) and noise reduction circuit.
Please note that this list is probably not comprehensive.
Any suffixes after the model numbers usually refer to regional variations, which for PAL machines typically only affect the RF tuner/modulator parts of the machine and aren’t generally relevant these days. For example, the JVC HR-S9850EK and HR-S9850EU are basically the same machine with different tuners/modulators. Just be sure to get a PAL version and not an NTSC version if you need PAL EP support.
All models listed have Hi-Fi Stereo audio unless noted. Those with linear mono audio only are best avoided as the sound quality in EP mode is extremely poor.
Panasonic VHS Models with PAL EP
- Panasonic DMR-EZ45V (Combi DVD Recorder and VHS VCR)
- Panasonic DMR-EZ47V (Combi DVD Recorder and VHS VCR)
- Panasonic DMR-EZ48V (Combi DVD Recorder and VHS VCR)
- Panasonic DMR-EZ49V (Combi DVD Recorder and VHS VCR)
- Panasonic NV-FJ620
- Panasonic NV-FJ623
- Panasonic NV-FJ626
- Panasonic NV-FJ630
- Panasonic NV-FJ631
- Panasonic NV-FJ760
- Panasonic NV-HS930 (S-VHS)
- Panasonic NV-HS960 (S-VHS)
- Panasonic NV-HV50
- Panasonic NV-HV51
- Panasonic NV-HV55
- Panasonic NV-HV60
- Panasonic NV-HV61
- Panasonic NV-HV65
- Panasonic NV-MV16 (linear mono audio only)
- Panasonic NV-MV21 (linear mono audio only)
- Panasonic NV-SV120 (S-VHS)
- Panasonic NV-SV121 (S-VHS, built-in TBC and 3D DNR)
Note: The Panasonic NV-MV15 and NV-MV20, despite being very similar to the NV-MV16 and NV-MV21 respectively, do not appear to support PAL EP.
Sharp VHS Models with PAL EP
- Sharp VC-H720 (Australia/New Zealand model)
- Sharp VC-H725 (Australia/New Zealand model)
- Sharp VC-H726 (Australia/New Zealand model)
- Sharp VC-MH75
- Sharp VC-MH704
- Sharp VC-MH705
- Sharp VC-MH714
- Sharp VC-MH715
- Sharp VC-MH814
- Sharp VC-MH815
- Sharp VC-MH834
- Sharp VC-MH835
Note: the Sharp VC-MH722 listed on some other sites does not appear to support PAL EP.
JVC VHS Models with PAL EP
- JVC HR-DVS2 (Combi MiniDV and S-VHS deck)
- JVC HR-S5980 (S-VHS)
- JVC HR-S6855 (S-VHS)
- JVC HR-S6856 (S-VHS)
- JVC HR-S6857 (S-VHS)
- JVC HR-S9850 (S-VHS, built-in TBC and DNR)
I hope this information proves useful to someone.
List last updated 18th December 2023 (Noted that Panasonic SV121 also has TBC and 3D DNR).
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