Help in purchasing a stand alone DVD recorder with VHS

[generaljoy]

Hello,

I spent some time reading through some of the reviews of various players on the site and I'm very confused.

My friend's father purchased a unit for himself. I'm not sure what it is. I've never seen it. However he converted a concert 2 VHS tapes not available on DVD for us and I've added menus with TMPGEnc DVD to one of them. The other sorta had like this black bar on the right side frame. It runs from top to bottom. I'm not sure if it's the tape itself or how he converted it.

He did two of them where the quality of the video was as good as can be expect for a video. However, I'm not happy with how they came out.

So instead of harassing him about I think I'm just going to buy one of my own. I want to know what I basically need to look for. I'm not sure how much I want to spend as I'm not sure what I'm looking for. If the best is $100 I'll buy it if the best is $900 I'll buy it. I don't exactly want to spend $900 but as my aunt likes to say you can't afford to buy cheaply.

Any help would be great!

[yoda313]

Why not buy a capture card for the computer so you can edit it after you record it? Hauppauge wintv pvr 250 is great for mpeg only captures.

BUT if you want to do a lot of editing try an ati all in wonder capture card. You can get used ones for under $100 on ebay I'm sure.

[generaljoy]

heh.

Capture card? No. I think stand alone, rip, and edit is way easier for me.

My motto is never open the computer.

[ZippyP.]

Although they probably make them, I haven't seen a really good combination unit.

You're better off with a really good VCR, look here: http://digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/playback.htm

And a seperate DVD recorder: http://digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/buyerguides/dvdrecorders/dvdrecorders.htm

Be aware that some tapes are copy protected with macrovision which requires some means to bypass it.

[generaljoy]

Thanks for the links Zippy.

Most of the vids I'm converting at bootlegs to be honest. The quality is as good as can be but I'd like to jazz up the picture a bit.

I have a great Sony VCR that is hardly used so perhaps just the DVD recorder is best. I do hate combo units as if one breaks the other is just sorta stuck with it.

I assume all you have to do is is connect the VCR and DVD player via the A/V cords and just follow the instructions on how to record in the DVD player manual?

Also, can a stand-alone DVD-recorder record live TV?

[ZippyP.]

I assume all you have to do is is connect the VCR and DVD player via the A/V cords and just follow the instructions on how to record in the DVD player manual?

Also, can a stand-alone DVD-recorder record live TV?

Yes, you just select the input that you wish to record from...s-video, DV (if present), video 1, video 2 or TV. It's much like a VCR and don't try to get more than 2 hours on a disk for best quality.