OT vcr to dvd recorder???

Re: OT vcr to dvd recorder???

bill Crommett in seneca

>Phil: You can't buy anything electronic without the techies showing you how smart they have become. Example: Find a digital camera that just takes pictures without listing your lat./lon., time of day,your mother-in laws telephone number etc. etc.

Re: OT vcr to dvd recorder???

Dave Shombert

>Phil - I went through this decision process earlier this year. I've forgotten the details, but I came out of Circuit City thinking that there just weren't enough choices and it wasn't worth the money. I do recall that Phillips had a couple of units, and that they were at least twice the price of a new VCR/DVD machine without copy capability. I've been disappointed with Phillips quality in the past. There were others - probably Sony - but they were also much more expensive. I remember thinking that, for the price differential, I could buy an awful lot of new (DVD) copies of things I had on VHS.

I think it depends a lot on what you have to copy - if it's the kind of thing that has not much mass market appeal (like woodturning videos, for instance) and therefore steady high prices, maybe it's worth the extra money. In my case, it was just movies and I can find DVD versions pretty cheap.

As I said, all this was earlier this year. It may be different by now.

Dave Shombert

Re: OT vcr to dvd recorder???

Russ Fairfield

>Phil, there is no one recorder that will transfer the VHS tape directly to DVD because they are different formats. Intermediate editing and formatting will be required.

There are recorders that will accept both Mini-DV (as found in a camcorder) and DVD, and I think some of them may be able to transfer between the two.

You have 2 options, take it to a video lab, or do it yourself. The video lab will cost in the range of $20 per hour of video. The cost will be less from a Internet provider. Shop around if you want to use a local lab because there will be a lot of variation in their prices.

Should you chose to do this yourself, the cost will depend on what you have on your computer now. The software will be about $150 if your computer has the ability to capture the video from your VCR and burn a DVD. It will cost about $500 if you have to add those capabilities.

Unless you will be doing a lot of video editing, the video lab will be the better option.

Thanks guys

Phil Joines Krum, Texas

>SWMOB and I have about 200 how to tapes. Think I'll wait 6 months or so, the price will probably drop to $50. No, I forgot, they're waiting for me to buy one so they can cut the price!

Re: OT vcr to dvd recorder???

Jerry Nicholson

>My DVR is a Panasonic but it is only one of several brands that are available. You just connect the VCR video output to the DVR video input and tell the VCR to record. Most record to DVD-R which is the format currently most compatible with DVD players. You can also connect the video output of your camcorder to the DVR and do the same thing. I don't know if the DVR boxes provided by the cable companies can record from a video input or not.

Jerry

Re: OT vcr to dvd recorder???

Frederick Nelson

>There are some machines out there that do some fairly effective copying from VHS to DVD-R all in one box. One such model is the Toshiba VR-3. (I just own one - I have no other connection to Toshiba.) We've done about six VHS tape conversions already and it seems to work quite satisfactorily. There some editing options available, but there is also a "One-button" copy from VHS to DVD-R that works well for simple play-back, as well as DVD to VHS, if you're so inclined. So far, the only squawk we have about it is that it was about $400 at Best Buy. (There were several others in the same price range.)

FNelson

Sorry for the bad information

Russ Fairfield

>As usual, I am running about a year behind what is available on the video market.