Should I get a VCR combo or a stand-alone unit?

[coalesce99]

I'm looking for a little help with DVD recorders. Here is my situation:

I need to know - should I get a combo VCR/DVD recorder or just the DVD recorder?
I've got a pretty decent JVC Hi-Fi VCR.

I asked my mother for a DVD recorder for Christmas, so now she wants me to tell her which one to get. Basically what I want to use it for is to put old tapes onto DVD, and also my camcorder is a few years old - I want to run my camcorder into the dvd recorder and make dvds.

If all I really need is a DVD recorder and not a VCR combo,
Which brand is a good one for about $100?

Also, if I get just the DVD recorder, do I have to split my cable and run it into both my VCR and my recorder if I want to be able to record TV either way?


Thanks,
Eric

ps - I would prefer a DVD recorder that records in both DVD+R and DVD-R

[hech54]

SINGLE....combos suck.

[dvdguy4]

SINGLE....combos suck.

I completely agree.

[coalesce99]

Cool.

Does format matter? DVD-R or DVD+R?

It seems like most do either one or the other. My PC only records in DVD+R, but that shouldn't let me pass up a good DVD-R recorder should it? My mom found a pioneer DVD-R at WalMart. I wonder which model it is?

[lordsmurf]

Forget format. Buy a good machine for the quality it records. Pioneer and JVC are great choices. The Walmart Pioneer 220 is probably fine.

[Leoslocks]

My mom found a pioneer DVD-R at WalMart.

I hunted and hunted for the Pioneer 220 at Wal Mart and never found it in stock. They had some great prices on them but never did see them on the shelve. Lots of Lite Ons on the shelves at Wal Mart.

The Pioneer would be the best choice for under $100.

The only JCV combo unit you will find for under $100 would be on eBay.

[BobK]

Also, if I get just the DVD recorder, do I have to split my cable and run it into both my VCR and my recorder if I want to be able to record TV either way?

Not with any of the recorders I've seen- they all just pass through the TV signal and you have to use composite or component outputs to see what the recorder is doing or playing)/ So you can run the cable into the DVD recorder, out to the VCR and then from the VCR to the TV.

[Noahtuck]

SINGLE....combos suck.

What he said!!!!!!!

Never EVER buy a combo ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
Total garbage!!!!!
Not worth the $$$ unless free!!!!!

[trhouse]

I have a borrowed combo at the moment. Combos make transfer of VHS to DVD very easy providing the tapes are in good shape. For tapes requiring external correction ( TBC, color corrector, etc. ) a separate VCR and DVD recorder is more convenient.

[tluxon]

I don't WANT to get a combo unit, but I have been unable to find a mid-range VCR at a decent price. Even on eBay you can expect to pay nearly $100 (with shipping) for any new VCR. Most combo players are less than that!

With VCRs having a limited lifespan and anticipatng that it will be a long time before everybody has all their tapes converted, I should have bought a truckload of VCRs back when they were still plentiful.

For someone who needs another VCR, what do you suggest? Pay the mucho buckaroos to have an older unit repaired? BTW, it's not as easy to find repair places as it used to be, either. I wonder if the day is coming when VCRs are no longer disposable?

[Bridge]

I think with combo units you don't have to split your signal. I have a combo unit and you can put an RF cable in the input and an RF cable from the output of the combo right into the back of a TV. No other wires are needed. They're there but you only really need just an RF cable to get a picture. Plus, I think the JVC combo unit has not one but two seperate tuners. So you can tape channel 3 on the dvd side and tape channel 4 as the same time on the vcr side. I would also think then that the JVC doesn't need any extra wires to watch stuff. I think the RF output is working with combo units because of the vcr side of things. For instance, with my combo unit I can output from the vcr with an RF cable or RCA jacks but not s-video or RGB connectors. That's only for the DVD side.

As for the VCR have you checked places like Target or K-mart, etc. I've seen a Magnavox VCR for $70 there.