I am a New Member, and I need help: I am looking to buy a DVD/Video recorder to transfer my video tapes to DVD easily with one button upconvertible. It should have a digital tuner, USB connection and possibly be a “free zone” or Multisystem DVD so I can watch DVD’s from other countries. Does any one can recommend on a good one? Many Thanks!
Dear Shira It's a great pleasure meeting you! Following are some direct answers to the questions you've raised, based upon my personal knowledge and experience as a combo recorder owner over the past three years. The purpose being, to provide guidance in selecting just the right brand and model combo recorder for you. In addition to answering the questions you've raised, I'll further touch upon some critical points beyond them any prospective buyer needs to be keenly aware of. Power and influence of Hollywood's deep pockets For starters, it's important to understand the one thing few of us did when we first purchased our combo recorders, but discovered shortly thereafter. Nearly every DVD or VHS tape you've purchased recently, or in the past as far back as the 1980s, has a signal encoded within the video portion called Macrovision copyguard. Any DVD or VHS tape containing this signal has been rendered unrecordable, by its inclusion. The implication being, an overwhelming majority of VHS tapes you've rightly and legitimately purchased WON'T successfully transfer to DVD, or even another tape for that matter. Any such attempts will abruptly be terminated within a matter of seconds (or minutes at most) once the signal's been detected by the unit's built-in copyguard circuitry. When this occurs, you'll be left with a crippled disc which can't be finalized or even played back for more than a few seconds or minutes, thereafter. In essence, it's been rendered useless by the copy-protection encoding embedded within the source content. The only practical thing you'll be able to do with the disc you've created is throw it in the trash! Macrovision copyguard removal devices The good news is, there are relatively inexpensive ($45) small add-on devices which will completely remove the Macrovision copyguard encoding from the source video signal. With such a device attached you'll be able to copy whatever you wish without any restrictions. Combo recorder optional features Now switching topics to the USB port option you mentioned. What the manufacturers don't clearly explain up-front is, the front-panel USB port can ONLY be used to transfer video content into the unit for recording. As a selling feature, they're happy allowing us to falsely believe it's a full bidirectional USB port like the ones your computer has, which it most certainly isn't. If you had expectations of being able to use the USB port for transferring video between your computer's HDD and the combo recorder, it's not going to happen. The USB port has intentionally been designed to make those abilities impossible! The only thing you'll be able to do is input (non) copy-protected video content or JPEG photos you've transferred onto a thumb-drive or memory stick. If you read the fine-print in the Owner Manuals, you'll unhappily discover most front-panel USB ports are intentionally limited to 2GB memory devices or under, which drastically limits the feature's usefulness. In the case of a DV input port, also known as a "firewire" connector, you can only input (non) copy-protected content from a video or digital camera, for recording onto disc or tape. Once again, the signal transfer is restricted to one-way and has Macrovision detection built-into its circuitry. If you attempt feeding it a video signal which has Macrovision copyguard encoding, the combo recorder will abruptly shut-down in the same manner described earlier. What combo recorder and optional features should I choose? Combo recorders are all basically almost identical, having built-in DVD and VHS recorders which (can) permit quick and easy transfer of content from one to the other, at the touch of a single button. Bear in mind, such transfers will only be permitted in the case of (non) copy-protected content. Any attempts to transfer commercially pre-recorded DVDs or VHS tape content will abruptly be terminated by the unit's internal copy-protection circuitry. Some units have a few more options than others, like a USB, DV or HDMI input port, DivX playback, or an internal ATSC/QAM digital tuner. Considering the underlying restrictions each has, they're little more than sales gimmicks, other than the internal ATSC digital tuner which can be a necessity depending on your circumstances. DivX playback option Though it seems desirable, even the DivX playback feature has problems the manufactures won't inform you of. DivX video playback is often plagued with erratic, skippy and problematic performance due to the ultra-high compression ratio of the format. Another annoyance you'll notice with DivX playback occurs while skipping forward or backward by chapters or otherwise. The response of these actions is considerably delayed to nearly an unacceptable degree, again due to the ultra-high compression ratio of the format. The problem being, it takes a considerable amount of time for such content to be decompressed, once read from disc. It's very similar to a ZIP file on your computer, which must first be unzipped (meaning decompressed) before the content becomes usable. The amount of time required to perform the decompression varies from file to file and can be quite exorbitant. Internal HDD option One of the few more expensive options worth paying for are units which have an internal HDD built-in. But they've since been withdrawn from the market and are no longer available, other than by obsolete stock mail-order. The reason being, this feature allows you do things the commercial recording industry (RIAA) doesn't want us having the ability to do. Should you happen to see a combo recorder with the HDD option, I highly recommend getting it, assuming you can afford to do so. It was truly an outstanding highly useful feature and one of the very best once offered. Specially modified region-free units While shop-modified units can be obtained thru mail-order, it's nearly a certainty you won't find any on the shelves of your favorite local department stores. More importantly, one will cost you in the vicinity of $350-500, which for most of us simply isn't reasonable or justifiable given normal circumstances. It's highly doubtful you'll even come across any DVDs from a region outside your own, unless you acquire them from overseas. If the need arises, there's tons of free software available which will easily convert them to your home region, using a PC in 20 minutes time or under. Don't even think of wasting a single dollar on such an unnecessary and frivolous option, unless you have money to burn. Select only those options you genuinely need and will use All things considered, the choice of any extra features depends on your individual needs, relative to whatever other equipment you already have and want to connect to the recorder. But remember the severe restrictions and limitations each has. Then ask yourself if they're worth spending the extra dollars for. Given such drawbacks, the answer will most often be a resounding no. Don't needlessly waste your hard-earned dollars on crippled options, which were intentionally made that way by design to limit what you can and can't do. Know precisely what each optional feature will and (more importantly) won't do before buying. Nothing's more disheartening than arriving home with a new purchase, only to find-out shortly thereafter the costly optional features you've chosen won't do what you believed they would, which will most often be the case. Choosing a brand and model that's right for you The most popular and beloved brand combo recorder is unquestionably Panasonic. It's extremely reliable, well-built and unarguably the easiest to use, compared to most all other brands. Before I purchased my combo recorder, I had the great advantage of trying-out 6 different major brands. In order of personal preference, those being Panasonic, Magnavox, Philips, LiteOn, Sony and RCA. The winner of those contenders for me was the Magnavox MWR20V6 which I ended-up purchasing for $138 while on Christmas sale. But the Panasonic was definitely a close contender and initially my first choice. The Magnavox won-out due to its superior picture and audio quality, which was most important to me, above all other considerations. It's also the very best value, dollar for dollar for what you receive and low price tag. In all honestly, I would've purchased the Panasonic had it not cost $100 more than the Magnavox, which I simply didn't have to spare at the time. Upcoming transition to digital broadcasting February 2009 Although barely just three years old, my model combo recorder (like most purchased then) is now outdated, because of the upcoming transition to digital broadcasting, which will occur this coming February 2009. Previous models had the older NTSC analog tuner which is no longer stocked on the store shelves, as it's now considered obsolete. Nearly all combo recorders presently sold have the latest ATSC digital tuners, assuming you want the feature. Bear in mind, without an external CATV box or converter, the combo recorder's internal tuner becomes an absolute necessity, for recording television content of any kind. The Cadillac of combo recorders Panasonic overwhelmingly has more well-designed useful features than any of the other brands and easily the very best remote control of them all. The remote's generously sized easy-to-read buttons are impressively well layed-out and just where you'd want them to be. Panasonic combo recorders are unquestionably THE most intuitive and easiest to use. They're truly a masterpiece of design and engineering. In my view, all other brands fall far short in nearly every respect, by comparison. Respectfully, Mike Adams
