Copying VHS/Camcorder films to DVD

[Justin]

Played with different ways over the years but now need to set something up and do some real copying of old family films etc.

I can copy the camcorder films off the camera onto PC and back onto DVD, very time consuming. Been looking at alternative ways and found a Toshiba machine that claims to copy direct from VHS to DVD painlessly, also from camcorder etc. Anyone use one of these?

I know I could put separate equipment together, DVD player, VHS player and so on if that's a benefit but wonder if I really need to do this?

[Limara]

I was considering something similar a while back as we have some old stuff recorded in the states that we cant even watch any more! I think it was Aldi that have a small box that does the vhs to dvd copy every so often, and its cheaper than the maplin one but I have seen in forums that people seem to recomend the maplin one http://www.maplin.co.uk/vhs-to-dvd-deluxe-341048 it says " All-in-one video converter software and hardware solution, provides everything you need to easily convert your video to DVD i think it looks ok

[Justin]

I've seen a lot of 'gadgets' like this, does this not need all the other machines plugged into it though? Someone showed me this last night http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-DVR20-D ... B003LO2RIU

Looks easy to put VHS to DVD.

[Charlie_]

I've seen a lot of 'gadgets' like this, does this not need all the other machines plugged into it though? Someone showed me this last night http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-DVR20-D ... B003LO2RIU

Looks easy to put VHS to DVD.

Check it carefully Paul I had a similar thing years ago. could record dvds from telly and vhs from telly but not vhs to dvd..................

[Justin]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Sony- ... 4320wt_754

This looks interesting

[logobear]

I had about half a dozen copiers going in my old business Spectrum Imaging.
The 'standard' device was Panasonic DMR (dmr-ez45v, dmr-ez48 etc) series machines, copy direct at the press of a couple of buttons, or onscreen for more control.
Full price about £350 i think, I got a few for under £100 each.
All sold on now. good kit, easy money, most customers bring in a lot of tapes at a time
We charged £10 to £20 for upto 2 hours, or +£5 for longer. 1 dvd per tape, no editing.
P

[JSR]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Sony- ... 4320wt_754

This looks interesting

Surprised that something like that can't record directly from tape to the memory card - as, perhaps, DivX. With all those slots, having it just burn to DVD seems a bit limited.

But I'm only saying that because I'm in the process of converting my home DVDs (that were once VHS tapes) into media files for computer/tablet playback. If all you need is copying to DVD, it looks like it'll do the job.

When I converted some of mine awhile back, I used my regular under-the-TV DVD recorder with the VCR plugged into the back. It worked much easier when I got a HDD/DVD recorder because I could then copy the tapes to the HDD before archiving to DVD (which saved wasting time when a DVD burning session failed, or when the copying had too many tracking lines from the VCR).

[logobear]

the sony device is not a one touch system, if you are doing it commercially, you want life as simple as possible, - VSH tapes can have upto 8 hours of contect - 4h on half speed, and there are about 6 different ways to record dvd in about 4 different formats, plus all the stuff about indexing, finalising and such.
Go for a press and walk away system that you can add units too, while i started with 1, I quickly got up to 3, and then kept adding, you only need 1 monitor, and get another VHS player to rewind tapes and see how long they are so you waste less time with your recording machines. you might scoff at this advice, but you will be surprised at how much work will come in, and working with 1 machine is frustratingly slow!
This is a great service where an average job can be £100! - you get as many bags full as you do single tapes!

[AJLA]

Couldnt agree with you more Phil, although we are currently back down to 1 system, there are some good pennies in this one!!