A question a little out of place!

[ilyabyk83]

Hi, people! My question is a little out this place, but I can't find the right section of a forum for this question. Maybe matadors will move it to the right place for me. I'm looking for a device, which can take a Video Tape and a DVD-R, and copy that tape to the DVD, so that I have it on the DVD, not on an old-fashioned tape! I have a large library of videos, and I would like to transfer them on to a DVD (consume some space for instance). I saw this kind of device at Target, maybe I can find it on internet for a cheaper price! Your help is much appreciated!

[Alaron]

Moved to Video forum. Please do not use large fonts, they are difficult to read. Thanks.

_Moderator_

[sgtspector]

You will need a "digitizer". There are several on the page in this link. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380047+50001772&name=Hauppauge
I am not recommending any particular brand or model or even newegg. But read the descriptions and you can get an idea of what they do and what hardware you will need. better yet go to a brick and mortar store and read the boxes. Good luck.

[XenaWP]

There are several ways to do this. The easiest if to buy a combo DVD recorder with a VCR. Put the tape in and dub to DVD.

Or, if you have a digital camcorder, you can plug the VCR outputs into the camcorder, then hit play, on both devices, and the camcorder digitizes the VCR output and you capture it on your PC. Then you can burn it to DVD. This is a pain.

Somewhat less of a pain is a capture card (PCI) or a USB-based capture device. Plug VCR into it, it digitizes the video and transfers it to the PC.

Personally I plan to try the digital camcorder route, and fully expect to get really annoyed with it and end up buying a VCR/DVD recorder combo unit.

[ilyabyk83]

Hey XenaWP - "VCR/DVD recorder combo unit" is what I need! That is the exact thing I need! Can you give me a link to buy one or a few to buy? So that I can shop around?

[sgtspector]

Sorry for my pc-centric response. Xena's way is in fact the easiest way to do it. The only advantage with a pc is the ability to edit the content.

Personally I plan to try the digital camcorder route, and fully expect to get really annoyed with it and end up buying a VCR/DVD recorder combo unit.

It does work quite well with my Sony camcorder using passthrough mode recording with nero 7.

[glc]

http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdhardwareandsoftware/tp/dvdvcrrecorders.htm

[ilyabyk83]

http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdhardwareandsoftware/tp/dvdvcrrecorders.htm
Thank you everybody! I got the idea what and where to buy; now what is left is to shop around on the net! Thank you all!

[XenaWP]

Let us know what you end up getting and how you like it Ilyabyk.

[ilyabyk83]

Let us know what you end up getting and how you like it Ilyabyk.
The "VCR/DVD recorder combo unit" is the exact thing I'm looking for now! I think that is the exact thing what I want/need! Any suggestions for a very cheap one?

[XenaWP]

Well, my best recommendation there is just to stick with one of the better brand names: Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic, JVC. The off brands might work fine, but you never know quallity-wise if they'll break down after a few hours, and they might not do such a good job at digitizing.

For a low-cost unit, stick to a big box store like Best Buy, which should have decent return policies if the unit breaks ... something like this one:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=product&tab=7&id=1165610072700&skuId=8202606#headerCustomerReviews

Still, if you buy a better name-brand unit, you can always sell it on Ebay when you're done copying all your tapes to DVD.

EDIT:
Here's a good choice too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882116098

[ilyabyk83]

Thank you all! My problem is resolved! I found right product for my need. With help of XenaWP! Thanx again! SOLVED!