VHS to DVD all in one unit

[robroth]

My dad wants to dump old family VHS tapes to DVD. Obviously the best way to do this is with a decent VCR with TBC, etc, but he just wants a simple all in one solution. I've been googling reviews on these all in one units, but most are from the 2005 era and many like the govideo units start out with 'what a great piece of hardware' and end up as 'it broke, they wont return my calls, they are now out of business', etc.

Can anyone recommend a unit that's reliable and does a decent job for reasonably cheap $$$? I don't need tuners or upscaling or any of that, just somethings that will create a decent DVD, preferably with chapters and menus, but not essential.

If I can find it on ebay, even better. It's basically going to be used just to copy the old family videos then resold or placed in a closet.

Thanks!

[johns0]

Easiest way to go from vhs to dvd is to buy a dvd recorder.

[robroth]

He doesn't own a VCR so he's looking for an all in one unit.

[jjeff]

If you're open to a used combo, the Panasonic ES-30v from '05 is about the best I've used. Not sure what they go for on ebay but other than the occasional spindle cleaning I haven't had any problems with any of my 4.
It has a analog tuner, no HDMI, DVDR & VHS, burns every media except +RW and has FR mode which sets the recording speed to whatever you want from 1-8 hrs/disc. Oh and it has dual displays to watch both the VHS and DVD counters at the same time.
Note some people have had problems with the capacitors in the power supply but knock on wood I haven't and they all have quite a few hours on them.
Stay away from the '06 ES-40v, I've read it's quite buggy and also lacks the dual displays.
Here's a link talking about some of various Panasonic combos.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14839515#post14839515

[robroth]

thank you very much jjeff, that's exactly the kind of info i was looking for. i'll go check out that thread now and keep my eyes open for an es-30v.

[robroth]

Just picked up an es-30v on ebay for $120 with UPS shipping - 30% cashback through live.com, so about $85 shipped. Thanks.

[robroth]

Unfortunately it was DOA. I purchased this 'refurb' on ebay and just got this email from my dad. Waiting to her back from the seller to see what he wants to do. I googled to see if this was an easy fix for this unit, but couldn't find any info about this problem.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130262284425&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=003

There is a problem with the vcr/dvd. I put a VHS tape in the drawer. There is no door – it didn't close. Also, it won't eject. When I hit the eject button, the tape comes to the top and just sits there. It doesn't move "forward" out the door. Now maybe I'm doing something wrong and need to go into the user manual, but I didn't think putting in a tape and ejecting it would need any instructions. The box it came in was pretty ratty, but I did save it.

and a followup email:

When I press “eject” the tape comes to the top, then goes back down. I’ll have to grab it when it gets to the top.

[classfour]

The ebayer certainly didn't use an actual photo of the product. I hope you get your return.

[jjeff]

It sounds like a problem with the belt that turns to eject the tape. Either broken or slipping. I used to have the same problem with an older Mitsu VCR. Every couple years I'd have to either replace the belt or clean it with some Re-grip to make it grippy again.
Never had that problem with any of my ES-30s though.
Good luck on getting your money back. BTW the description is slightly wrong. The ES-30v does not record to +RW, every other format but not +RW. That was added the following year along with DL support.

[robroth]

So after unplugging and replugging the unit back in, he finally got the VCR side to work properly. Now he's having more problems:

I tried loading the DVD-RAM that came with the unit and got the message “incompatible disc”. I have some DVD-R’s and loaded those. Got the same message. The user manual says “You may not be able to record to DVD-R discs on this unit or play them due to the condition of the recording. (What the hell does that mean?) However, the table on the “type of discs” page shows that it will record to DVD-R. “Use a DVD-R to record in DVD Video format.” At any rate, I tried 3 or 4 of my DVD-R’s in addition to the DVD-RAM and everything after “reading” came back “incompatible disc”. I tried to make sure that it was NOT operator error, read the manual at least a half dozen times, and tried to dub the same amount.

Unless you can find the manual on-line and see a mistake that I am making, I would say this one’s a “gonner”.

[DereX888]

“You may not be able to record to DVD-R discs on this unit or play them due to the condition of the recording. (What the hell does that mean?)

It means that if your source signal from tape is i.e. too low/too bad quality, the recorder will either stop recording it completely or you'll have "skipping effect". That's common problem with all standalone recorders.


OT:
too bad those who always posted against my advices to use computer capturing rather than standalone recorders are not posting in this thread...

[robroth]

*I* personally would use computer capturing as mentioned in my original post in this thread, but we're talking about a 65 year old man who doesn't have the computer hardware, money, knowledge or patience to go that route.

[jjeff]

You should not be getting "incompatable disc" with any -R disc. My ES-30s record to even the newest 16x media and the only way you might get that message is if you've already recorded something on that disc in another brand DVDR and not finalized it.
Were your -R discs new?
As far as the RAM disc that should also work fine although if it were formatted for computer use it may need to be reformatted in the Panny. If that was the case it would automatically ask you if you want to format the disc. Unfortunately it sounds like you got a bad unit.
No settings would produce the results you're seeing

[wabjxo]

..

[jjeff]

That's a good point but I think if that were he case he would be getting a "disc error" error or even a "self check" error.
Robroth, after you insert your disc do you hear any grinding noises coming from the DVD drive? The ES-30v is a much quieter drive than the '06 models so if it is grinding it's much harder to hear. The room would need to be almost silent.
Disc slippage is definitely a issue with older Pannys buy luckily cleaning the spindle isn't too hard to do once you have the machine on a table and the cover off.
This might sound like a odd thing to do but a sure fire way to check for disc slippage is to moisten your finger with saliva and then gently run your finger around the center bottom of your disc (the clear part) then while the disc is still slightly wet reinsert the disc into the machine. If the grinding stops or the disc reads ok then disc slippage was causing your problem. In this case it's best to take the machine apart and clean the spindle(the rubber part that holds the spinning DVD) with some tape head cleaner or iso alcohol. After a few years the spindle gets dust covered and isn't able to properly hold the spinning DVD. If the DVD slips when the machine is writing to the DVD it can cause many problems including ruining any unfinalized DVDs.
Don't put so much saliva on the disc that it's dripping off, only a light film is all you need. It just provides enough grip on the spindle to hold the DVD from slipping.

[robroth]

Just an update, I got my money back today and the seller also picked up the return shipping cost, so all is good. Now I just need to find another one.