With the increasing popularity of digital systems, people are forgetting some of the basic terms of analog recording. Several years ago anybody that recorded television on their VCRs knew what SP and LP meant (along with their lesser used cousins SLP and EP) but now those terms don't come up as often. In short, they tell the recorder how much tape to use when recording, SP uses more tape and LP uses less. Read on to learn use the SP and LP recording modes on your camcorder.
Instructions
Setting Up Your Recorder
1. Open up your camera menu and find your recording options.
2. Look over your options. While SP (Standard Play) or LP (Long Play) are the most common modes, some recorders have SLP (Super Long Play) or EP (Extended Play). Each of them uses a different tape speed when recording; the faster the speed, the less you can fit on a tape. From fastest to slowest the speeds are SP, LP and EP/SLP.
3. Select your camera speed and you are ready to record.
Choosing a Mode
4. Recording high activity scenes, like a sports event, require a high speed to avoid blur. In these cases, you need to use a fast speed.
5. Use a slow speed to record slower or less active events such as a classroom lecture.
6. Decide the level of picture quality you want. Fast speed gives the truest images, while slower speeds are often a little fuzzy. The trade-off is that the faster speeds go through tape much quicker.
Tags: Long Play, when recording, your camera