In case of a power failure this Beta VCR will retain the clock time and timer settings for a set period. It has a back-up battery or a trickle discharge multi-layer capacitor that keeps this data alive. If power is restored within an allotted time the correct clock time will be displayed and the timer settings will be performed as entered. If the outage exceeds the reserve time the will clock show AM 12:00, --:-- (or some kind of message) which indicates it was off for too long. In this case the clock and the timer settings have been lost and would need to be entered again. Recall time varies depending on the model, it can be anywhere from 5 seconds to sixty minutes. Consult the features list for the approximate backup time. It takes anywhere from and hour to 50 hours of constant line voltage to recharge the backup system. ©Misterßetamax go to homepage