DVD-R capabilities

[Navajas]

I want to burn onto a DVD-R excerpts from a variety of VHS videotapes; perhaps one to two minutes each. I know how to burn one excerpt, but can I then put in another VHS and burn it onto the same DVD-R, then a third, etc?

[orsetto]

Yes, you can do this, but some machines are better at it than others. My Pioneers and JVCs do well with this kind of task but other brands I've tried don't like recording many short clips. (I'm assuming you mean recording them directly onto a DVD-R disc). Note there are differences between using PAUSE and STOP between clips: STOP will create a separate new title for each clip (making them easier to locate if you name them), PAUSE will create individual chapter marks for each clip within a single long title. You'll have to experiment with your recorder: some models can record clips only one way or the other, some can do both.

If you have many MANY short clips (say a couple dozen VHS tapes each containing 30 music videos), recording direct to DVD-R will drive you out of your mind in no time. In real time recording, DVD media is prone to failure, and the more clips you add before finalizing the higher the odds the disc will fail and you'll have to start all over again. This kind of work really requires a DVD recorder with built-in HDD. It is much much easier and more reliable to record multiple short clips to the hard drive, where you can edit, reorganize, combine and split them any way you like until you're satisfied, then burn them all at once to a DVD-R at high speed, minimizing the chance of media failure and allowing you to make quick additional copies of each disc.