Jim, I read your post to Cavarna and i am in a similar position. I want to take old VHS tapes and convert them to DVD. I do not have a great computer but i did hook up a dazzle 80 and did capture partial VHS data but the .AVI file was over 10 GB. The dazzle produce function got it down to a 2 GB MPG, but that file file not play completely in my DVD palyer. Since i am not into editing and just want to copy, would a DVDR/VCR combo be better for me? Do you know how they work...if i take a 6 hr VHS tape does it compress to fit on 1 4.6 GB dvd? Can you recommend a good brand...I heard GO VIDEO is not very good? Thanks. Dan.
Hi there! I've got a Dr. friend who won't use anything but GoVideo. As it happens, I was there last evening as he was recording a DVD direct from his camcorder. Saw a little of the finished product. Looked fine to me. I'm sure there are more expensive brands with more bells and whistles but this guy hasn't had a problem with his GoVideo recorder. Records from cable/satellite or external source i.e. camcorder, copy direct from vhs to dvd or dvd to vhs, has 4 record speeds for 1hr, 2hr, 4hr, and 6hr recordiing. What else could you need? No software, no editing and almost everything done by remote control. You do have to put the tape and disc in by hand...lol whew, that's a lot of work! :~) The only thing missing that I'd like to see included is RGB inputs/outputs. It has the regular audio/video red/white/yellow inputs front/back and 75ohm RF input/output for antenna, cable or satellite hookup and s-sync pin cable hookup. Hope this helps!!! Happy Burning!!!
I second that. Good post. You primarily want to copy tapes rather than edit footage, and in this respect I would recommend a standalone unit for shear ease of use. The PC approach requires decent hardware not only in terms of the computer spec but also with regard to the frame grabbing hardware itself. You can get external frame grabbers that do the MPEG-2 encoding, but then you still have the problem of file size and computer resource allocation. I would get a good standalone unit - it's worth the extra money for a good one, considering the overheads with the PC. You also have some basic editing facilities on them. Plug in, switch on and press record - just watch out for Macrovision ;-)
I also agree, with one exception. I went throught the Dazzle route, buying different capture cards. This went on for several years and I never did get it right. I mostly wanted to copy several video tapes of family picnics to DVD before they degraded, my father had passed away , so I really did not want to lose these memories. The easiest way I found was to buy a Pioneer 810-HS dvd recorder with TIVO. You hook your vcr up to the Pioneer thru standard red and white RCA jacks. There is a simple on screen menu on the Pioneer to cue up the tape. The hardest part is waiting the 2 0r 3 hours for the tape to be copied to the Pioneer`s hard drive. After that you pop a blank DVD into the Pioneer`s burner and copy the program from the hard drive to the DVD. A blank DVD holds 2 hours of video. You can get 6 hours of vcr tape onto the DVD , BUT you will have to change the video quality setting to do so. It will take some experimentation on your part , to find out what is and is not acceptable. My unit has a VERY FINE, MEDIUM and GOOD quality settings. This also depends on the quality of the original vcr tape. There is an old computer term : GIGO. Garbage in , Garbage out. Do not expect DVD quality just because it is on a dvd. The very fine setting will leave the original tape intact , and only 2 hours of the vcr tape will fit on the disc. The exception that I would make is to buy a unit like the Toshiba that I have included some links to below. After you get done copying your tapes what are you going to do with the unit ???? The Toshiba comes with TIVO Basic.A basic version of TIVO that is included and FREE !!! After you have it for a week you will wonder how you ever watched TV without it!! It is like a VCR on steroids with a 200 hour tape [hard drive] inside plus a dvd player and burner. After you get the hang of it , buy some DVD-RW`s , to copy your shows to. Then you can take them to your computer to edit out commercials etc. and then reburn the edited disc.Freeze frame ,rewind .slo mo etc. I paid $600 for mine nearly 2 years ago. My wife bitched at me for buying another toy. Now she uses it more than I do and she loves it. I have been done with copying my tapes long ago,but I still use the Tivo EVERY day since. http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvr/product.asp?model=rs-tx60 http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvr/product.asp?model=rs-tx20 http://shopper-zdnet.com.com/Toshib...5-30898711.html?tag=ob_50&orderby=50&sort=asc http://shopper-zdnet.com.com/Toshib...5-30898709.html?tag=ob_50&orderby=50&sort=asc If I was buying a new unit I would buy the Toshiba TX-60 it seems like the best buy. Good Luck.
