Good DVD recorder

[reminder]

I want to buy a dvd recorder. My current requirement is that I want to convert my VHSs into digital videos. I also want to be able to record TV programs ( I dont have Sky).

I believe I need a 'set-top DVD Recorder'. Am I right???

What are the must have features I should look for in the DVD recorder.

Any recomended models I should look at.

thanks

[peat moss]

Found a site with reveiws on set-top models .



http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118483,00.asp

[kazaa2002]

I want to buy a dvd recorder. My current requirement is that I want to convert my VHSs into digital videos. I also want to be able to record TV programs ( I dont have Sky).

I believe I need a 'set-top DVD Recorder'. Am I right???

What are the must have features I should look for in the DVD recorder.

Any recomended models I should look at.

thanks


try these sites also
Set Top DVD Recorders and DVD Recorders with built-in hard drives (http://dvr.about.com/od/dvrs/a/capturemethod.htm)
DVD Recorders (http://hometheater.about.com/cs/toppicks/tp/aatpdvdrecorder.htm)

[reminder]

What about this:

Can I use a camcorder to connect to TV and record VHS videos into digital videos????
...as explained at http://www.videohelp.com/dvanalog

If this can be done, its much better for me.

Any ideas

[kazaa2002]

What about this:

Can I use a camcorder to connect to TV and record VHS videos into digital videos????
...as explained at http://www.videohelp.com/dvanalog

If this can be done, its much better for me.

Any ideas

that is a good site, it gives you a step by step instruction
on saving those vhs tapes....I would suggest, that you borrow
from a friend a digital video camera and try some conversions
(to see if this is what you want)
....what you have to remember is that home videos or stuff recorded
long ago has poor resolution, compared to todays dvi recordings
and no matter what you do, you cannot improve there quality or
clarity....but you can make a good copy.

[dzr]

i have used philips, nec and lg...
They were all good

[lynx]

I can't think of any reason why you can't just use the scart connection to transfer from vcr to dvd, unless you get better quality going via the dv port.

I can recommend the LG RH7500 if you want one with built-in 80GB HDD, £249.99 from Curry's or Dixon's. It doesn't do some of the more exotic combinations such as ogm, but it seems to cope with all the normal DivX/XviD formats I've thrown at it so far, and it records on both +R(W) and -R(W) formats.

You may find the H&B DRHD-120 (built-in 120GB HDD) for a little less - my advice would be to avoid it like the plague - it certainly does not play DivX/Xvid correctly, although those were the least of the problems on the one I tried. Although I can't be certain I would imagine the H&B DRX-430 has the same problems.

Since you are copying from VCR I can't imagine you would need to record at better than LQ standard, which gives you about 1 hour per GB. If you go for a model with HDD I would recomend recording to HDD for the first few attempts, just to check out the quality. You can still copy from HDD to DVD later. Otherwise record to RW disks for the first tries.

[muchspl3]

I have a panasonic dmr-e20 very nice player, I;m is the us, we don;t have scart

[lynx]

I have a panasonic dmr-e20 very nice player, I;m is the us, we don;t have scartI know, but AFAIK reminder is from the uk which is also why I quoted uk shops. ;)

Anyway, scart is only a single 21-pin connection which is a combination of the separate component connections usually available. It is only there to make life easier for us simple Europeans.

Feck, I just checked, those panasonic recorders are expensive over here. :pinch:

[muchspl3]

I paid like a grand for it when they first came out...