Hi folks.
I'm thinking of buying one of those vcr/dvd recorder combi units so I can transfer my old vhs tapes to dvd disc. Does anyone out there own one, and if so could you tell me what the quality of the transfer is like?
The reason I'm asking is because these things aren't cheap, and money is tight, but I have some clasic movies on tape that I would love to convert to dvd and share on here. Some titles off the top of my head are: Brides of Dracula, Cry of the Banshee, Dracula's Widow, Dracula A.D. 1972,First Vampire in China.
Hope somebody can advise me on this.
Best wishes.

nope,coz if 1 of 2 units dies,you're screwed
better just hook your VHS to a DVD recorder

Will that work? I know in the old pre dvd days I used to connect to vhs machines via scart to scart, but I never realised it could be done with a dvd recorder.
Anybody got a step by step guide?
Best wishes.

It can be done, but there are dvd recorders with copy protection. This means you can't copy a VHS tape to a DVDR this way. Don't know many of them but the ones i've seen have got it.
I think video-man knows all about it...

Most of my tapes are copied from the tv. Would dvd copy protection work on them? They have no macro.
Best wishes.

They'll be fine. For the price of a shit VCR/DVD combi you can buy a decent DVD Recorder and a brand spanking new cheap VHS player if you wish.

FWIW, I connect my VHS recorder straight into my Toshiba HDD/DVD Recorder to rip VHS stuff, decent quality scart from http://www.tvcables.co.uk and the result is pretty good.

Great stuff! I'll get cracking on that first thing. Once I've transferred the rare stuff I'll be posting. Keep your eyes peeled.
best wishes.

i think it's best keep the seperate vcr and dvd recorder but also get a copy pertection box something from sima or RXII

Cheers for that video man. I wonder if you could tell me how I would connect the vcr and dvd. Do I tune the vcr or the dvd to play? Does, the scart go from the vcr into the tv, then scart 2 go from vcr to dvd? If so do I tune vcr to the tv then put a disc into the dvd to see if I get a picture, or the other way round?
Sorry if I'm babling, but its been a while since I did vcr to vcr.
Best wishes.

well i am from the US so i am not sure how scart works or if it's the same as rca leads.

but u would do vcr out to dvd recorder in with copy box between them so be like

vcr out / copy box in / copy box out /dvdrecorder in

then run coax cable to tv from dvd recorder so u can get a viewing picture

then u know which input to select

Thanks video man. I've got that. The only prob is = what the hell is a copy box, and what does it do? I don't know if we have them in the UK. My tapes are mostly from tv, so no macro.
Best wishes.

well if u do normal tapes like rentels or ones u buy

u need a copy box = macrovision remover or something like that, what it does is turn the picture back to normal. if you didn't have one it would make the picture all dark and unwatchable sometimes

this is one unit to use http://www.simacorp.com/products/item.e ... 65f&id=491

this is what i use http://www.consumerchoicecable.com/videostabilizer.htm

thats the same kind but mine is older and cost less at the time i got

You won't need a macrovision removal device for your tapes, WJ, as they're taped of the TV so they won't be protected with Macrovision.

Macrovision removal devices were outlawed in the UK not so long ago (even though there's a legitimate use for them), but you can still find them with google, or on eBay.

You'll only need to get one if you intend to rip pre-recorded tapes (as video-man said) and even then not all tapes have macrovision protection. the one from http://www.sonel.com/ comes highly recommended as it is a Scart lead with built in MV removal, so you don't need to mess around with loads of cables and a box.