Normalizing high speed recorded track (video & audio)

[vhsexplorer]

Hello everyone,<br>
I have a continuous recording on a VHS tape and at playback on a PAL VCR a part of it plays at a faster speed with fast video and chipmunk audio output and then after 1 hour of play it goes back to normal speed video and audio (still same continous recording of programme, thus there was no stopping I could see of REC button when it was originally recorded years ago). I am not sure how that could have happened, perhaps the VCR at that time changed automatically the recording speed while it was recorded).
Now my aim is to have this part of the recording like the rest of the tape to use it for conversion to digital. Even if I can just isolate this part, change to normal speed (video and audio) and have seperate digital file for it. Could anyone tell me how to &quot;normalize&quot; this type of recording to normal speed and also stabilize video? I am attaching a sample of the part which playsbacks when PLAY button is pressed at a faster speed. Definately about the recording on the tape, not the VCR, since other parts of same tape and same recording just play fine when using same Play button. Thinking I should try following, please give me your comments:<br>
1. Find another VCR machine which can playback at other speeds. Im not sure which speed or format required.<br>
2. Convert this fast part as is to digital and then once in digital format try to manipulate the video and audio speed. Which software out there could be used? Steps? <br>
I just wonder why at a certain point the video and audio (which is a continuous recording) starts normalizing with still intermittent chipmunk sound and then totally fine, so had to have been done with the same VCR that would have halfspeed/long recorded one part and then switched to full speed/standard during the same recording cycle (without stop pressed or recording speed changed manually). Is that possible?
Many thanks for any advise from the conversion/editing expects

[Brad]

I slowed the audio to 50% in Audacity and it sounds correct, so your VCR is playing it at double speed. I guess it's an LP mode recording where the VCR is trying to play it in SP mode.

To correct the video portion, you really need to get it played back correctly on the analog side. Do you have another VCR to try?

[vhsexplorer]

Thanks Vaporeon for the reply!
I have been doing the playback using a Sansui VC-R254EI model. I see in its manual that it can do tape speed (SP/LP) recording (to get more space on tape) using the SP/LP button and also picture searching depending on tape speed, but not sure if it is capable of doing normal playback of a recording in LP mode (see no reference in manual or any button to adjust the playback in LP versus SP). Since the rest of the tape playback is all fine, it must be that VCR can only reproduce SP mode in normal playback. I will then search for a VCR that specifically can do normal playback of tapes in LP mode? (not just able to record or picture search in LP mode)

[vhsexplorer]

I see a Philips VCR for sale which has "long play" mentioned on the front. Will that means it can playback normally any recordings in LP mode, or it means it can only record/do image search in LP mode? If perhaps you know about these types of VCR front panel writings. Any other makes to recommend?

[vhsexplorer]

It still a mystery to me how could a 2 hour non stop recording on tape (it the same continuous single program without recording having been stopped) could have part of it as LP mode and part if it SP mode. Never having done it myself back in the day, but do you know if it was/is possible to, while a recording is in progress, change the recording speed from LP to SP without stopping the recording by pressing stop?

[vhsexplorer]

Im a bit confused. See on the front panel if the Sansui I'm using it also has "Long play" written, which meabs it only can record in LP mode, not play it back? Wonder if the same will be the case for the Philips mentioned above?

[Brad]

Any VCR that can record LP mode would also be able to play it back, when functioning properly.

Here is a thread where someone has your same problem, but he never resolved the issue: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/184361-VCR-problem-with-LP-playback

Similar but NTSC speeds: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/365878-Panasonic-VCR-Plays-Back-at-Double-Speed-Why-Fixable

Does your VCR have an on-screen display that can show you the tape's mode during playback? It's possible that the entire recording is LP mode, but something is preventing the VCR from reading this correctly during the first portion, so it's defaulting to SP speed until it sees the proper speed.