Standalone DVD or Computer-based? VHS to DVD conversion...

[stunt_show]

Hi there,

Thanks for reading - this forum is amazing; the wealth of knowledge and experience is second to none...

I'll keep this brief - I have about 500-600 VHS tapes full of Basketball (NBA) games, most with ad breaks in the telecast. I want the most cost efficient way of transferring these onto DVD format, whilst having the ability to "pause out" or cut the ad breaks, obviously to make the viewing better and less distracting - it would be fantastic to have DVD-copies of the games, commercial free.

Now, if I were to get a standalone DVD Recorder, is it even possible at this stage to hook up a (good quality, 6-head) VCR to the DVD Recorder, and record and "pause" the DVD Recorder whilst the VHS tape is playing (fast forwarding the ad breaks, then resuming recording on DVD?

Obviously I could dub from one VCR to another VCR and cut the ads out then convert to DVD, but the generation and quality gets worse and it is mega time consuming.

I would welcome suggestions from the more experienced users out there who have done something similar or can suggest options for me. Cost is a factor also, but I still would like a decent quality end product.

I am open to either computer-based suggestions (complete with capture card descriptions) or standalone setups for sure, but willing to try either.

I am in Australia.

Regards,

stunt_show

[lordsmurf]

Your case is an exception. I normally suggest a capture card, however it may take longer to create discs, although you get more control over quality, bitrate, menu creation, etc.

But given the volume, 500-600 tapes, just grit your teeth at the so-so menus, live with whatever encode options you're given, and go the standalone route.

And good luck. That's an ugly project. However, I'm sure you'll be amazed at how much space you can salvage. Toss out the tapes, put the discs in 5-6 of those 100-disc wallets, and your shelves and shelves of tapes are now a small tidy stack of cases. I've been able to toss out a few hundred tapes myself, and it's great. My place gets bigger without me having to move.

[stunt_show]

Thanks for your reply - it is a nasty task indeed, but needs to be done! I am still tempted to go the computer-based option (would love to upgrade everything on my computer anyhow), but the cost involved may be prohibitive.

What sort of computer specs would you recommend for doing this job via the computer / capture card route?

Kind regards,

stunt_show