I am so confused. I have both VHS tapes, JVC- VHS-c and 8mm tapes from Sony Handycam Video. These are all my old tapes from the last 20 years. I would like to convert them to DVD to help preserve them. I have read so many forums that I so confused I feel like I am better off doing nothing. From using separate VHS & DVDR units to combo units to TBC? to video stabilizers.

I know what I am about to ask is a loaded question. My whole goal is to ONLY get the highest quality finished product I can with an easy proceedure.

Some say Panasonic, some Samsung etc.

Could anyone who has gone thru this crazy dilema give me their simplified input on what to do including the name and models of equipment that would produce the results I want? I am a quality nut. Yesterday I purchased the samsung vr357. I copied a 22 year old tape. The original was faded. The dvd result was OK nothing great. Is there a way to enhance the result? A better proceedure?

I really need help.

Nobody here has had this problem?

Take a deep breath and wait a bit longer, it's Sunday morning, some of us like to sleep in late! :D

If you need to adjust the picture quality of your old video (contrast, color balance, etc.), you'll probably need to transfer them via your computer rather than with a standalone DVD recorder.

I transferred my old tapes to DVD using my Mac's iMovie and iDVD software, and an external analog to digital video converter unit (the Canopus ADVC-100, which has been superseded by newer models). In iMovie I can make simple adjustments in the red/green color balance, contrast, and color saturation. More expensive software probably allows better control over this process, but iMovie has been enough for me.

I don't know anything about the equivalent software in the Windows world, but I'm sure there must be more options than on the Mac.

^^ Or, he can dub the tapes to rewritable discs, and then-if he has a pc burner, transfer the disc to the pc for editing.

There's no way to augment the video quality of a vhs dub to disc beyond what the unit already may do. Generally, the dub wil look as good as the original vhs tape. The Panasonic models all feature the TBC-circuity that can slightly improve the video (depending on the source tape of course).

does the Samsung have TBC-circuitry?

Don't know. But check the manual, and see if there's any mention of this feature. If not, then it probably doesn't.

I did. It doesn't say. Should I get a unit that does?

If you're dissatisfied with the Samsung, then it may be for the best to return it. Have you tried another tape yet to see how good/bad the video looks, compared to the first?

A combo is good for saving space, but if you've still got the vcrs-and camcorder that made the tapes, then a stand alone dvd recorder connected to that vcr or camcorder, most would say, is ideal.
There's a hard drive model by Phillips that has gotten favorable reviews from many here. The hdd will allow for editing out unwanted material from the recordings, before dubbing to disc. And at Walmart, it's nearly the same price as the Panasonic dvdr/vcr combo units.
It will all boil down to how good your present vcr is, and how much space you have.

I’d recommend using either a DVD/VCR combo recorder to transfer tapes if you have a bunch and only want a straight tape to DVD dump. Otherwise, if you have a lot of time on your hands and want to create pretty menus, etc. then you can use a PC with a transfer program. I’ve transferred over 100 VHS tapes to DVD so far (took me a long time!)

I first bought a Pinnacle DVD software with a firewire/composite inputs. This turned out to be a nightmare trying to adjust sound recording level. If I set the sound levels to what the software had as the ideal setting, it played too loud on my DVD players, etc. Also, the time to create a disc took a VERY long time… many, many hours!

Finally, I decided to just buy a DVD combo recorder and do a straight transfer in real time (simply play the tape and record). I was able to transfer all my VCR TV recordings. Anything will Macrovision will not transfer due to the circuitry. I first bought a Sylvania model (made by Funai). The combo VCR was of poor quality so I bought a stand alone Sony VCR. The Sony’s quality was very sharp except had problems with old tapes. I believe this was because the player had a tight tape tensioner which I heard is common on newer VCRs. I then bought a Panasonic DVD combo recorder. I pretty much used a combination of four VCRs to find the best match in making transfers (stand alone Sylvania VCR, Sylvania DVD combo, Panasonic combo recorder, and Sony stand alone combo. I used three different recorders too (Panasonic, Sylvania, and Lite-On).

I don’t suggest you do all that I did because it cost me a lot of money. However, I didn’t care about editing and all the bells and whistles of using a PC because of time. The Pinnacle software did allow me to remove the video tape noise (the annoying horizontal white streaks seen sometimes). If you’ve got five to eight hours per tape transfer, then a PC software is fine.

Note that using a VCR straight to DVD will simply dump exactly what you see on the tape to DVD with no clean up. Depending on the VCR, your results may vary.

I used my Panasonic to transfer my mini DV camcorder tapes to DVD. Using the S-video inputs brought poor results. Straight digital to the DVD recorder via i-link (DV input) was great. If you buy a Panasonic recorder and have a different brand camcorder like I do (Samsung), you can’t use the DV input features but have to simply do a straight transfer. I hope what I wrote helps.

I did. It doesn't say. Should I get a unit that does?

PANASONIC, PANASONIC, PANASONIC!!! straight copying from tape to dvd wont help fade, color, etc problems but the pannys should still make them look a little better.

I used my Panasonic to transfer my mini DV camcorder tapes to DVD. Using the S-video inputs brought poor results. Straight digital to the DVD recorder via i-link (DV input) was great. If you buy a Panasonic recorder and have a different brand camcorder like I do (Samsung), you can’t use the DV input features but have to simply do a straight transfer. I hope what I wrote helps.

That is not entirely true. It may be for some camcorders, but not all.

I have a Canon mini DV recorder and I can transfer recorded tapes to my Panasonic EZ-17 recorder using the DV input, and it works great. The EZ-17 even recognizes that it is a Canon camcorder, and lists the model number.

That is not entirely true. It may be for some camcorders, but not all.

I have a Canon mini DV recorder and I can transfer recorded tapes to my Panasonic EZ-17 recorder using the DV input, and it works great. The EZ-17 even recognizes that it is a Canon camcorder, and lists the model number.

That’s good that yours worked. My Panasonic wouldn’t recognize my Samsung so I called Pany’s customer service. They told me to just plug the DV cables, set the recorder to read the DV line in and do a straight dump.

For my VHS to DVD home project, I bought a VCR-DVD combo set at Wal-Mart: MAGNAVOX MWR20V6 -- about $150; I chose this mainly on its low price. So far it has worked just fine. I have dubbed several tapes to DVD's and the quality has been good. I have only used it on the HQ (High Quality) setting, which limits you to about one hour of dubbing; my original tapes are mediocre in quality and I did not want to degrade more than I had to. The owner's manual is hard to follow in some instances.

One problem: the DVD's that I dubbed will play back in the same Magnavox unit, and will play in my computer DVDRW drive; however, the dubbed DVD would not play in my other stand-alone (Panasonic) DVD player. This has not been a problem for me, since my dubbed DVD's are destined only to be copied to my computer hard drive for editing and later burning. I almost returned the unit for this cause, but it was past the 90 day limit and I was getting good results, so I let it be the devil I knew....

At any rate, I am happy with it as a way of getting my old VHS tapes into digital form. I also made the combo choice because I had neither a VCR nor a DVD recorder in my house and did not want to fool with capture cards, etc.

One problem: the DVD's that I dubbed will play back in the same Magnavox unit, and will play in my computer DVDRW drive; however, the dubbed DVD would not play in my other stand-alone (Panasonic) DVD player.

This is the normal indication that you forgot to finalize the DVD in your recorder after you recorded it.

Dave

This is the normal indication that you forgot to finalize the DVD in your recorder after you recorded it.

Dave

Thanks for the thought; however the failure to play in another DVD player has happened with several dubbed DVD's and in each case they were finalized. When the DVD is inserted in the alternate DVD player, it stalls at the initial read and never gets to content on the DVD. There is one other possibility: the alternate DVD player is a Panasonic I bought in 2003; the owners manual for that player mentions DVD-R but does not mention DVD+R which is the type of DVD I am using. Since the Panasonic will play DVD+R discs which I have burned on my computer, I have thought that it would play the +R type in all cases. Perhaps that is not true with DVD+R that have been merely dubbed on the Magnavox? I will research that aspect some more.

You have probably solved your problem. Panasonic has always been in the -R camp and just recently have tried to be compatible with the +R camp. Older DVD players can be very picky about playing some DVD's. Some brands of blank DVD's can also be a problem for some older DVD players. Probably your best solution is to get new DVD players or stick with one brand and one type of DVD blanks that you have found will work.

Dave

What am I missing? Buying a combo unit for half a solution! How is a combo unit going to help the 8mm transfer?

What am I missing? Buying a combo unit for half a solution! How is a combo unit going to help the 8mm transfer?

I'm with Robert. I have about 150 hours of 8mm and Hi8 tapes that I would like to transfer to DVD. Only the most recent 20 hours are digital on Hi8. Is there such a thing as a dedicated 8mm player that isn't very expensive. I hate the thought of running them through my camcorder for 150 hours.

Thanks,
Bill

. . .Is there such a thing as a dedicated 8mm player that isn't very expensive. I hate the thought of running them through my camcorder for 150 hours.

Thanks,
Bill

Check eBay. Hi8 edit vcr's run from $200 up. Hi8 camcorders from around $100 and up. You may want to buy a camcorder, or sacrifice your existing camcorder, just to transfer your tapes. You'll probably be getting a digital, or even High Def, camcorder pretty soon any way.

Be sure your dvd recorder has a hard drive so you can do your editting there- unless you want to go the pc route. At this point in the dvdr world, I can't see buying a very upscale edit vcr, just enough to read your tapes.

Richard