VHS to DVD-recorder in Europe?

[apicella]

Greetings to all and many compliments on all your posts. Whenever I have doubts and questions about video I always find plenty of valuable information.
Said that, I read many posts on VHS to DVD-recorder problems and I guess I made my mind on what to get.
The problem is I live in Italy and I find very difficult to find TBC or clarifiers/syncronizers here like the ones you indicate (Datavideo, Tvone, Facet and so on...).
Anybody from this part of the Atlantic (I don't ask for Italy, It would be too much) has any indication on where to turn?
Forget eBay, I tried and nobody sells TBCs, I've googled TBC in Italy and only find professional equipment over 500 Euros.
I guess I could try to buy online from the US, but I've heard horrific stories about customs....

Thanks to everybody!

[hech54]

Is it copy protection you are concerned about? If so I have NEVER found a PAL VHS tape that my Philips DVD Recorder could not copy via the scart connections(from the VCR) to the RCA(cinch) connections into my recorder. The scart to RCA cables are wonderful....and so are the scart to s-video.

[apicella]

that was my main concern, hech54, as I have some (quite a lot, actually) old commercial VHS and I'd like to put them on DVD.
At this point I am a little confused. I have read all about Macrovision on this forum and how to remove it with a TBC (best way) or other systems (syncronizers, stabilizers).
Now you tell me that if I have use a SCART from VCR going to RCA to a DVD-recorder I don't need anything else? But I thought Macrovision was a distortion to the signal that the DVD-recorder could not remove. How can it depend on the type of connectors?
Sorry for my naivete, but I am really in my first steps, I still have to buy the DVD recorder and I am trying to make up my mind on what to get and what I need.

Thanks a lot....

[hech54]

There is nothing naive about what you are asking... All I can do is show you and tell you what I have done so far.

All of these in the above picture I have put to DVDR with my Philips PAL S-VHS machine via a scart cable from the VHS and into my Philips DVDR985 recorder. (It is an American NTSC model but also records in PAL as long as you use a brand new disc).
Some of the tapes do not have fancy DVD covers printed(created) yet but none the less...everything pictured has been copied to DVDR. What are the odds of ALL of these VHS tapes not having copy protection?..
I honestly do not know how or why it works....but copying PAL VHS tapes has never been a problem for me.
NTSC is another story however. I had to use one of these:
http://home.cfl.rr.com/filter/
to copy NTSC VHS tapes when I lived in America.

Edit:
Oh and it's not the VCR that is disabling any copy protection that may exist on the tapes...I also recently used my older Sharp VHS machine to copy the Crowded House video(shown in the picture) for my wife. Again using a scart to RCA(cinch) cable. My DVD Recorder just happened to be set up closer that that VCR at the time.

[apicella]

well, hech54, thanks so much for sharing with me your experience. Can it be something related to the use of S-VHS machine, instead of simple VHS? Or maybe the SCART?
Anyway, I will try to buy a DVD recorder (I am leaning to the Pioneer 520) and connect it directly to my Panasonic VHS machine and see what happens....
Just another question, I also have quite a few VHS I recorder from TV on the VCR on the LP mode (half speed). Do you think is there any chance of putting these on DVD as well?
Thank you so much.

[Video Filter]

apicella,

there is a unit that has worked quite well for Europe applications. You can write to ma at videofilter@cfl.rr.com and I can explain.

[hech54]

well, hech54, thanks so much for sharing with me your experience. Can it be something related to the use of S-VHS machine, instead of simple VHS? Or maybe the SCART?
Anyway, I will try to buy a DVD recorder (I am leaning to the Pioneer 520) and connect it directly to my Panasonic VHS machine and see what happens....
Just another question, I also have quite a few VHS I recorder from TV on the VCR on the LP mode (half speed). Do you think is there any chance of putting these on DVD as well?
Thank you so much.

I don't think it has anything to do with the VHS player being S-VHS or not. I've used both and S-VHS and a regular VHS with the same results. My wife (who was born and raised here in Germany) also tells me that she has never encountered a PAL VHS tape that she could not copy(from VHS TO VHS).
The DVD Recorders do not care about what tape speed you have used on your recorded VHS tapes. LP will not look as good as SP....but that is the same for simply watching the LP VHS tape too. I've put quite a bit of LP recorded material to a DVDR with my Philips....it doesn't improve the quality but it also doesn't degrade the quality as long as you don't exceed the 2 hour record mode on the DVD Recorder.
The Pioneer's are good recorders. The DVD's they create work very well in computer related DVD editing software like DVDShrink, TMPGEnc DVD Author , DVDDecrypter etc etc.

[apicella]

it doesn't improve the quality but it also doesn't degrade the quality as long as you don't exceed the 2 hour record mode on the DVD Recorder.

what if I try to convert the VHS directly to the HD of the Pioneer (as I plan to get one with a HD)? Can I exceed 2 hour?
As a matter of fact I have some VHS recorded at LP that are 8 hours long (I used a 4 Hours VHS going at LP). Can I put all of that on the HD and then record it on DVD-R in pieces of 2 hours or so?

thanks again

[hech54]

My recorder has no HD. I hear that whatever mode you record to the HD....that is what you can record the the final disc....I might be wrong.
As far as which mode to choose....that is entirely up to you I'm afraid.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

[ann coates]

As a matter of fact I have some VHS recorded at LP that are 8 hours long (I used a 4 Hours VHS going at LP). Can I put all of that on the HD and then record it on DVD-R in pieces of 2 hours or so?

Yes, you can record an 8 hour VHS tape to the hard drive and easily break it into 2 hour segments.

[trhouse]

hech54,

A lower quality source was needed for a recorder test recently so a commercial VHS ( NTSC ) tape was to be selected. Several were tested with the final choice being "The Matrix". The only one found that would not work was "The Lost World Jurassic Park". It might be interesting to see if it works for you.

[hech54]

Every NTSC tape I tried to record failed to record to my DVD Recorder without my Video Filter....but then again that did not surprise me....I expected that.
What I did not expect was to be able to copy any PAL tape I've ever tried with the same exact recorder.
I have no way of testing an NTSC tape anymore since I no longer live in America.

[trhouse]

I meant to try the PAL version of that tape. It may have some unique form of copy protection. It is the only NTSC tape that did not cooperate when testing the recorder.

[hech54]

I'll take a look around and see if I can find it....I'm curious myself now..