Videotape - VHS Videotape Running Times - NTSC PAL SECAMBecause VHS Videotape is marked in playing times as opposed to tape length, a lot of confusion arises as to why a PAL SECAM VHS E120 (2 hour) videotape will not give two hours of recording time when used on a US NTSC Video recorder. The US T120 VHS videotape is 246 meters in length and will give 2 hours play time on an NTSC VCR. This same videotape used on a PAL VCR will give 2 hours & 49 minutes of play time. Conversely, a UK E120 VHS videotape is 173 meters in length and will give 2 hours play time on a PAL VCR. The same tape used on an NTSC VCR will give only 1 hour & 26 minutes of play time. An NTSC video player/recorder uses tape at a higher rate (2 Meters/Minute) than a PAL or SECAM machine (1.42 Meters/Minute). In other words, the NTSC VCR runs slightly faster than a PAL or SECAM VCR and consequently the video tape gets used that much quicker.
This chart compares the recording times of each tape in NTSC PAL SECAM
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