Recording in SP or LP, what is the difference?

Question

I'm trying to decide which to use. I know that LP will record longer than SP and that SP has better quality. But I want to know what the difference in quality is. Is it how clear the picture is or better colors etc.
From what I'm thinking, I thought that its just how many frames per second there are. What I'm guessing it in SP, there's more frames per second which is why there's less recording time. I want more recording time but I just want to see if its worth it to record in SP. Can anyone confirm if it only has to do with the fps?

Answer 1

It has nothing to do with fps. The frame rate is the same in either mode. If you are in the USA the TV system is NTSC and runs at 30 frames a second. Any other frame rate will not play on NTSC equipment. The reason you can record more at LP than at SP is the speed that the tape runs at. In LP mode the tape runs slower, still recording 30 frames a second but doing it in fewer inches of tape. The more tape length you use to put the recorded information on the better the image quality will be. I personally never record anything in LP. To me it is not worth the loss in quality to save a few bucks on tape.

Answer 2

for miniDV there is no difference in quality whether recording at SP or LP, it is the same digital bits. LP is rarely used professionally because quite often a tape recorded at the slow speed will not play back on another deck. That is because the slower tape speed makes the path alignment very critical. Another reason to avoid LP is the drop outs in the tape affect more of the picture. What would be a minor blip at SP is a major crash at LP. The third reason is SP tapes can be edited, old fashioned deck to deck style, however everyone, including professionals uses computer editing these days.