2 Q's RE: television necessity & VCR model

[nathanaa]

2 questions about hardware:

Ok, some of you will surely get a chuckle out of this, but I'm a newb so I'm not going to avoid asking this, it's been bugging me for a couple days. If I get a good S-VHS VCR, a TBC, and a good DVD recorder, do I also need a television connected to the whole set up, or no? I'm not planning on watching my tapes while they process or anything, but I've not been able to figure out if I'll need to get an old TV from the pawnshop or something just to transfer my VHS tapes.

Second Q, does anyone have any knowledge/opinions regarding if a Panasonic PV-V4622 would be a good/wise choice for my VCR in the above-mentioned set up? I've got one, barely been used, but I could not find any mention of that particular model anywhere on the forums. I'm betting that means "not a good choice" but I want to check anyway.

Thanks all.

[RowMan]

I don't know anything about the Panasonic PV-V4622, but I can tell you this: You should have some sort of monitoring device (TV or monitor) with the system. You'll need it to make sure things are setup and start OK on the DVD recorder and to be sure the tape is playing and tracking properly before recording. This can only be done by seeing what's on a TV screen. It would be nice to get a good quality TV, but at the minimum, a small black and white monitor will do.

[lordsmurf]

A small tv works great. Not needed, but helpful.
Honestly, a DVD-RW is best

[nathanaa]

I rather thought I'd need something, just wanted to make sure. A computer monitor will work for the desktop set up? I've never hooked a monitor up to anything other than a computer before, I can't think of how to do it, unless the newer monitors have options besides the VGA connector I don't know about for plugging something into a VCR or DVD player.

My buddy's got a couple old 13" monitors, I could probably get one of those if needed. And if I can figure out how to connect it. I'll probably just get a small TV from somewhere.

[RowMan]

Computer monitors are different. (What I meant in my earlier post when I said "monitor" was basically a TV without a channel tuner) It would be better to use a television in this case. If the TV does not have direct audio/ video inputs, you may need what's called an RF converter to connect the DVD recorder to the TV. It depends on whether the DVD recorder even has an RF output and, if it does, whether that output is active or passive.

[samijubal]

Panasonic VCRs don't have the best picture around, too soft for me, but their reliability over the years has been pretty hard to beat for the price they sell for.