Hi.
Can anyone please tell me (definitively) what the audio bitrates are for the various video 'speed' settings (XP/SP/LP/EP/FR) on a Panasonic DMR E50 DVD recorder?

I bought my Panasonic about 20 months ago, and it has performed flawlessly (so far). In addition to converting old VHS to DVD, recording off-air TV, etc., I also have the audio line-inputs and outputs connected to a Tape in/out socket on my HiFi, so that I can use the E50 as an audio recorder for any signal entering the HiFi amp (e.g. FM radio, LPs, CDs, tapes!). Once on DVD, I can then play back through the Hifi. The reason for my query is that I would like to convert some (now quite old) reel-to-reel tape recordings to digital format, and I am interested in getting the best quality for typically 3 hour duration programmes.

I had thought that the Panasonic's audio recording bitrate was 256 Kbps in AC3 (the E50 doesn't have an LPCM option - despite some past marketing claims) at all speeds. But when I check the Panasonic's bitrate-status viewer, the value seems to be 0.2 Mbps with occasional jumps to 0.4 Mbps for all speeds except EP. EP seems to give 0.1 Mbps with occasional jumps to 0.2 Mbps. And anyway, why, when the bitrate is so low, can I still only get a 2-hour audio recording at SP (4 hrs at LP etc.) on the DVD? I'm sure I've seen a post somewhere that claimed 6 hours of LPCM on a DVD. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks
bluebridge