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I am curious if you could run a regular HI FI VCR to a DVR and get the same DVD quality as you would if you purchased a DVD/VCR Recorder combo and taped from the VCR to the DVD.
What would give me the best quality?
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Since VHS tapes are analog, and analog contains noise, both audio and video, what you'll wind up with is a copy of the VHS tape. Including the noise.
So basically, if I want to copy a VHS to DVD, then I will have to purchase the DVD/VCR recorder combo. Or will that offer poor quality as well?
Let's say I have a VHS player and a DVD recorder. I put the tape in, a DVD blank in each device, all hooked up proper and press the record, play buttons and let it do the deed.
What may upset you is that many commercial VHS tapes have a protection to prevent doing this. You'll end up with a terrible or unusable DVD which you can use from now on as a coaster.
There are no plans to fix this. It's the way it is.
-> About quality. You are copying from an ANALOG signal and digitizing it. If it works then all you can hope for is just a little less quality than the current state of that VHS tape.
Bob
I have several VCR videos that I want to protect and in burning them with a DVR, I thought I might be able to preserve them.
From what it sounds like; a DVR/VCR combo is a waste of money and a crap shoot...might work...might not.
Instead, purchase a DVR, hook my VCR to it and take my chances.
Correct?!?
I have about 24 old Laural and Hardy v.h.s. movies That Ive had for almost 20 years along with a 20 year old Sony v.c.r. which wont record anymore I clean my v.c.r. about every 5 years and those old movies will last me my lifetime. I do play them at least every two months. Folks say v.h.s. tapes will go to pot after awhile but I dont think so
is not a waste of money. I have three of them, two Samsungs and a Philips. They play perfectly and take up half the space of two units. But I didn't buy them to copy. Each unit has software/firmware that will prevent copying commercial tapes/DVDs. At least in any quality that would be viewable.
When I want to copy something I can't live without, I connect my USB video capture device to my PC, connect my VCR or satellite output to the capture device, record to my HD, use software to convert it and then burn it to DVD. But it's a royal PITA. Too much trouble and time. For me.
Just remember this. When you copy any media with an analog portion, it'll look like crap compared to a commercial DVD or VHS tape. If you have home movies and want to archive them to DVD, go for it by all means. The jury is still out on which lasts longer in storage, with the slight edge going to tape.
Wayne
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