Grex Advanced video stabilizer vs Video Filter - Page 8

Just make sure you return it before the 30 day time limit if your unit is defective cuz on line 4 it states "during its warranty period".The Lenkeng HAS NO WARRANTY expressed or implied. I need a COMP.video > c/s-video converter to preserve the original OAR of a movie. For the other thing i have a Sima ct-2. G.

Hi all,

I've been reading this and a few other threads having to do with video stabilizers. I think I'm going to get the Video Filter by Logic Design.


I have a few questions not specifically about the filter, though. In reading about archiving copyrighted vhs tapes to dvds, some places talk about using a video stabilizer with a video capture card, saving to mpeg, then burning via your computer. Other places talk about using a video stabilizer with a dvd recorder, and burning direct from tape to dvd, no computer in between.

Is one way better than the other? If computer is better, can you recommend which video capture card and software to use?

If direct from vhs to dvd is better, can you help me pick which units to use? I have various decks at my disposal to use, none of them were top of the line, IIRC. I had been considering replacing a half broken (vcr works, dvd doesn't) with a new unit, primarily because I wanted to archive a bunch of vhs tapes, and was looking for one that would make good copies. Can someone tell me which decks would be best to use for copying direct from vhs to dvd, no computer in between? And should I buy a new unit, or is what I already have good enough to make clean dvd archive copies of vhs tapes? Here's the stuff I have available:


VCRs:

Panasonic DVD Video Recorder (combo dvdr/vcr) model no DMR-E75V (only the vcr side works)
Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR (combo dvcr/vcr) model no DKVR60KU


DVD recorder:

Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR (combo dvdr/vcr) model no DKVR60KU
Toshiba DVD Recorder (stand alone) model no D-R550


DVD player:

Dynex 19" LCD TV/DVD (combo tv/dvd player) model no DX-LDVD19-10A



I had been thinking of replacing the half broken DVDR/VCR with this model:

Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR (combo dvdr/vcr) model no DVR670
(took out link, couldn't put URLs in yet, b/c of low post count)

But, I'm not sure if I need it, or if what I have already is okay, or if something else would be better.

I have probably a couple hundred vhs tapes I'd like to transfer. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated !

Best,
wisny

I have the Toshiba 670 and it does the job very well for me. I also use the Video Filter and this model copies VHS to DVD very easily. Remember, the quality of the DVD picture will be identical to the VCR picture. I don't know of any technique that can improve an original recording picture.

Your model Toshiba described as DKVR60 KU. Is that the model?
There is a DVR660KU that did have copy protection sensitivity that I sent back and Toshiba sent me the DVR670 which has performed perfectly for almost 2 years now. You might try your Toshiba60KU to see what kind of picture you get...just doing one VHS tape. I would use a -RW or +RW so if I don't like the result I can reuse the DVD by reformatting it.

I don't think going the other route using a computer would be worth that extra expense as I don't think you will get any better picture from the original VHS tape than you would with the Toshiba.

Wouldn't hurt to try one with the machine you have now that the VHS and DVDR sides both work. But wait to get the Video Filter before you try it.

Hi, microlady Thx for your answer !!

Yes, the DKVR60KU is the model I currently have, that has both sides working. I'm not sure if I can post links or not, but here is a link to the DKVR60 (no KU) on Amazon. (edit: yay! I can post links now. LOL!) I couldn't find the KU model there. My KU has not tuner, so maybe that is the difference between the DKVR60 and DKVR60KU?


I'm not sure where I heard about the 670, but I think someone told me that it would be a good model for archiving the VHS's. Did I understand you correctly, that you are able to use just the 670 with the Video Filter, and not two separate units? I thought that I'd have to have a separate VHS player and DVD recorder, with the filter in between the two? You don't need separate decks with the Toshiba 670?


And, thanks for the comment re: computer. It does seem easier to just go deck to deck, and leave the computer out of it! LOL Glad to know it's not worth the investment and time to learn about and acquire a vid capture device and software to go the PC route.

I haven't ordered the Filter yet. I should go ahead and get that, right?

Is there a difference between the +RW and the -RW formats? I've never actually recorded on a dvd yet.

I would be surprised if you could put a filter or anything else between the VHS and DVD sections of your Toshiba combo. Panasonic had a couple models pre '07 that had that feature but AFAIK no current combos do.
AFA disc types, +RWs have the advantage of not needing to be finalized and is probably the preferred disc type with a Toshiba(Funai machines prefer + media). The recording quality will be the same with any DVD although if you use cheap media(CMC made, Memorex, and most store brands) you may get lockups or recording failures. I'd try and fine Verbatim or Sony discs if you can.

Sorry about that. If you copy a regular VHS you recorded...you can just do the dubbing on one machine VHS to DVD. If you feel your recorder might think there is copy protection on the VHS, then you would need 2 separate machines with the Video Filter. You seem to have that already.

One connection I have is from my 670 VHS RCA video and audio out then the video goes into the Video Filter and from the Video Filter Video out to my Toshiba 570 DVDR RCA Video In. The audio just goes from the 670 audio out to the 570 audio in. Only the Video has to be "screened" for CP. This works fine.

I think you will need the Video Filter (which has a return policy if it doesn't do what you want), some RCA video and audio cables and the machines you already have. Plus some DVDs to try it out with.
You will have to read your manual to get the idea of recording to a DVD. I find the best to be setting the DVD to the Video format (which is what is used in DVD Rentals that play everywhere), and of course the recording speed should be set to get the whole VHS at one time. The +RW does not need to be finalized as has been pointed out, which makes it easier to record over it if it didn't do what you wanted. For your final transfer you might consider the +R or -R. These cannot be added to or erased but if you are making a permanent copy, these might be cheaper when doing a lot of tapes.

I couldn't find the specs on your machine so I do not know what your connections are but I assume they are the normal RCA at the least. The Video Filter can also do S-Video if you have a VHS player that has S-Video out and a DVD recorder that has S-Video in.

Thanks very much jjeff I ordered some Sony +RW discs from Amazon to get started. I really appreciate the info re: the disc formats, the Video Filter, and also Funai - I didn't know Toshiba was Funai!



Thankyou again for the great info, microlady . I wasn't sure if I was misunderstanding the Video Filter configuration. I went ahead and ordered the Video Filter, plus the +RW discs, plus I did go ahead and get the Toshiba 670 too. I'm going to have to port around one of the VCRs to do the copying with the filter, so I figured I go ahead and replace the combo that only has one side working. The blinking clock on the Panasonic is set up with the little Dynex that I use for an exercise tv, and the blink drives me nuts sometimes. LOL

Both the Panasonic (broken combo, only vcr side works), and the Toshiba I combo I currently have (the DKVR60KU) have S-video jacks, so I'll be able to output S-video to the Video Filter. I wasn't sure, but your comments re: specs made me go check. I'm going to test out the +RW discs on various configurations of vhs players with dvd recorders, and see which is the easiest to use, and/or which gives the best vid quality. It'll be a few days before I have everything I need to get started (the Video Filter, and the +RW discs), so I guess it'll be the weekend before I try it all out. I very much appreciate the help you and jjeff provided, as well as the wealth of info in the previous sima/video filter/other video stabilizer threads I found in the archive.

Just for the heck of it, I thought I'd update the available connections on the gear I have available (in case anyone searches for the model no's, and is wanting to know about connections). Copying from my post up above, I'll add in the available inputs/outputs on the decks:


VCRs:

Panasonic DVD Video Recorder (combo dvdr/vcr) model no DMR-E75V (only the vcr side works):

- front composite or S-video in
- back composite of S-video in
- back composite out - dvd or vcr output
- back composite or component or S-video out - dvd only - not sure from the diagram on the S-video out, if it's dvd only, or common, I'll have to try it out and see.

Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR (combo dvdr/vcr) model no DKVR60KU (no tuner):

- front composite in
- front composite in
- front dv in
- back composite or S-video in
- back composite out
- back S-video or component out
- back hdmi out
(I can't tell from the diagram if all outputs are dvd and vhs, or if some are common and some are dvd only, I'll have to test them out and see)

DVD recorder:

Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR (combo dvdr/vcr) model no DKVR60KU (no tuner):

- front composite in
- front composite in
- front dv in
- back composite or S-video in
- back composite out
- back S-video or component out
- back hdmi out
(I can't tell from the diagram if all outputs are dvd and vhs, or if some are common and some are dvd only, I'll have to test them out and see)
- discs will record:

1x-6x -RW (video mode and vr mode)
1x-16x -R
1x-4x +RW
1x-16x +R

Toshiba DVD Recorder (stand alone) model no D-R550 (ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner):

- front composite or S-video in
- front dv in
- back composite or S-video in
- back composite or S-video or component out
- back coaxial digital audio out
- back hdmi out
- discs will record (speeds and types here are for Verbatim discs only, they give different speeds and types for Verbatim, Maxell, JVC, Sony, and TDK, and says performance of any other discs are not guaranteed. Also, only Verbatim has all four types listed):

2x -RW
8x -R
4x +RW
8x +R

** And I did purchase the Toshiba 670, but I'm not certain of all the available connections on that unit.

Oh, hey, I was wondering if any of you guys used a label making program to label and organize your archived discs? Any recommendations for a good program?

The 670 does have S-Video out. Normally my Sony combos only allowed S-Video out from the DVD side, which the manual shows when you look at connections. But the Toshiba 670 has all the connections you want. Also a good feature to know is this machine can actually use its ATSC tuner to record off an outside antenna to either the DVD section or the VCR section. Normally the older VCRs cannot record digital but this one can. Page 9 of the manual shows you the speeds of the DVDs it can record. A quirk of the Toshibas is if you use a timer record..you cannot set the end of one program to be the start time of program 2. You would have to allow 1 or 2 minutes between recordings else it probably would not even record. It talks about that in the manual.

My 670 has done well with Ridata DVD-RW 6x (I format as Video Mode), okay on a Memorex +RW 4x (auto formats in +VR Mode which is okay), Memorex +R 16x and -R 16x. I know Memorex is not considered the better ones but I only use them for temporarily recording TV to watch and erase. Although I have recorded a movie on a +R which came out fine.

As far as labels, I did get some Maxell +R Inkjet Printable and a printer to print directly to disc but have not set up the printer yet.
I have read you must be careful with labels on DVDs cause they can come off in your player so right now I just use a Sharpie to mark what is on a DVD, also I number them, like A1, A2, etc. then I can have a paper note on what I recorded so I can change the note if I
reuse the DVD. (labels are okay on CDs but you can search in this forum about DVD labels and see discussions on them).

When I have recorded a TV show I want to keep (like a standup comedy show), that's when I just dub from the VCR side to the DVD side and this has been just fine. I have a number of VCRs so I have a Video Control Center so I can send the output from any VCRs directly to my DVD recorders through my Video Filter. I can see that the VCR picture being recorded comes through good.

Actually, I have not had a problem with any of these brands and one reason I use them as I have had no problem with them as CDs and also I have been learning the ins and outs of DVD recording, by computer and by a standalone DVDR and if I made mistakes, I did not want to throw away expensive DVDs. So far, all these have recorded without any problem using my computer to copy a DVD, using my Toshiba 560DVDR and 670VCR/DVDR to record to DVD and also to copy from a VHS tape as well as record cable or antenna.

As far as setting a DVD recording speed it is the same idea as when you record a VHS and set it to SP, EP, etc (1 hour speed, etc). Page 45 of your 670 manual shows you the DVD speeds and how long they will record. So far I have read and used up to 4 hour with good results.

I think your 550 must be really close to my D-R560KU standalone as I see yours has an ATSC tuner also..which is what will record from an antenna signal your local broadcast stations. I think your 550 manual must also be very similar to my 560 one. I did some experimenting with DVD recording from cable analog to see what worked the best.

If you just want to convert your tapes to DVDs, I think with what you have and getting the Video Filter, you will be okay. You will be using the Red and White RCA audio cables, but you can get an extra S-Video or 2 cables if you want to move the signal through S-Video which may give you a better picture than the regular yellow RCA composite cable. As far as video cables, you would need one from your VCR out to the Filter and one more from the Filter to the DVDR, and then if you want to see it on your TV as it is recording, you would have a cable from your DVDR to your TV.

A good judge of it all is to know that what your DVDR "sees" to record is what you will be actually recording to the DVD. If you like that picture...the DVD should be fine.

Wow, thanks for all the great info, microlady. Seriously, I appreciate it very much. I'm kind of excited to get started and give it all a try . Hopefully by this weekend I'll have the Video Filter and discs and stuff to get started. I do have S-cables I can use, so I'm definitely going to go the S-video cable route.

As to the labels - wow, you blew my mind. I had NO idea you could print directly onto discs ! What kind of printer did you get? I've been surfing around, it sounds like some Epsons, and Canon Pixmas, and some HPs (but I'm not clear on which ones) can be modified to be able to print directly onto printable discs. You need to buy disc trays off ebay, and download disc printing software or drivers from the manufacturer website, I think.

Are you going to set up your printer to try it out? I'm so curious about this !

I haven't tried recording via the antenna yet, but after I get the +RW discs, I'm definitely going to give it a try

I see that actually because of having 4 recorders (and 2 of them do not do a VHS S-Video out), that I switch around, I am using the RCA yellow video and not the S-Video but the manual appeared to show the 670 will do S-Video out of your VHS tape and the 550 DVDR should do a S-Video in okay. I do get a good picture with this setup. (Of course the Filter will be in between the two machines connections).

What I would do..before trying out an actual copy.. is set it all up so the VCR goes out to the Filter, Filter out to the DVDR in, DVDR out to my TV input. Then I would play a tape and watch it on the TV. With this setup your TV should be showing you what the DVDR "sees" on its input connection. What it sees will be what it records so if you like the picture quality, then go ahead and copy the VHS tape to the DVD Recorder. Then play the new DVD in your player and see how it looks on your TV. Try to set the recording speed to be no longer than 4 hours and if what you are taping is shorter, go ahead and use a shorter speed. I have not tried it but have read reviews about the longer recording speeds not always showing a good picture.

As far as the printer, I bought one on sale at Fry's a few months ago, an Epson Artisan 50. I already have 2 good printers set up with my 2 computers and I only would use this for disc label printing, so I have not set it up yet..don't really have room right now for 2 printers to one computer. I did get some Maxell Inkjet Printable DVDs to try out with it. These kinds of printers are really known to be ink hogs and the ink is not cheap, which is why I would only use it for disc labels and not my regular printing. As I said, search this forum using words like DVD Labels and you will see lots of suggestions on different things to do. There is a small printer that I also have and others like the will print black ink on a DVD, called Casio CW-K85. You can use Google and search for reviews on different printers that print directly to disk. The reason I got the Epson was a good sale and the fact that this does have its own tray and it will print an image file directly on the DVD..I think pictures make them look nicer. And yes, I have read about getting a tray on Ebay and getting special software to use it. This is mainly for non-Epson printers. Epson has the copyright on DVD printing and other companies like Canon also designed a printer to do that printing but they were stopped from selling here and many people had to order them from Canada, then they had to get a tray from ebay and find out how to unlock that feature the Epson required not be accessible in the US. Some HP printers have this and I don't think they had to lock it up..don't know why. Anyway, reviews of all these show no one is perfect so I just got the original company product by Epson and there is software on its CD to do the job and there is also outside software that works with many of these printers, that offers more choices of labels. I did a lot of reading about all this using Google and also this forum has lots of good info about printing to DVDs.

I got my Video Filter today . Still waiting on the +RW discs. Hopefully I'll get to try it all out this weekend. I'm going to follow your advice on the setup before trying an actual copy. I was really surprised that the Video Filter is completely open on the connectors side ! How do you keep dust from getting in there and wrecking the board?

Also, I'm interested in the printer info. I did a search, and did find some threads, including, I think the thread where you first decided to purchase the Epson .

I'm not going to order any printers yet, I'll wait until I see how it goes with copying. I did get my Ion gadget for copying music to my computer yesterday. That didn't go so well. I'm not sure if I need a replacement unit, or a firmware update. I ruled out audio cables, USB cable, walkman cassette player, USB port on the computer as possible culprits. All those components are working fine, but no audio is coming through from the gadget to the computer. I'll work on that tomorrow, and the video stuff this weekend (hopefully). I'm pretty excited about this whole project, I have to say .

I'm leaning towards the Canon printer for inkjetting labels directly onto the discs, sounds like you can get a tray off ebay and make it work. I did buy some printable discs, so after I get everything working, with the +RW discs, I'll start copying onto printable discs, and just use post-its to label them for now.

If you search on posts by ChruchAVguy you'll probably find several posts on a small printer that prints directly on a DVD. I believe it's relatively cheap and is standalone, IOW you don't need a PC. From what I remember the only drawback is the cost of the ribbons and the fact it's only one color at a time.

I purchased an Epson R300 printer back in 2004. I used the disc printing feature for a year or so. It worked well enough. This Epson was fine as long as we continued to use MS Windows MCE 2005.

Recently we purchased a Windows 7 Home Premium computer. We had to download updated software and drivers for using the R300 with W7. The R300 works well enough for regular printing. Printing to disc no longer functions. Even the latest drivers from Epson return an error when attempting to print to disc, something like "no driver installed for Print CD."

Hi jjeff Could that be the Dymo Discpainter? I was reading about this printer, it sounds like what you may be referring to. I really liked the single function of the unit, and the very small footprint, too! But, it seems like it's too expensive, especially the ink which I think I read you could only get about 20 discs or so from?



http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CFEQ8wIwAA#

I have to admit, if money wasn't a factor, I'd buy that gadget !




Hi DigaDo I'm still on Windows XP (Media edition). I thought I heard that replacing cartridges on the Epson was hit and miss, mostly miss? The reviews on Amazon kept mentioning that it worked like a champ - until you had to change the cartridges. Or, maybe that was the Artisan? I can't remember now, it's all jumbled up in my mind. I've been trying to digest too much new, unfamiliar information ! LOL

Since I'm not on Win 7, do you recommend the R300?


I found the coolest article on modding the Canons, it sounds so simple, and the Pixma looks so easy to use. I watched a vid of a guy in the UK demonstrating the Canon's functions.

Article: http://www.cameratown.com/articles/c...d_printing.cfm

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VcHUh8M9vk

Now, that youtube is just one model, I think all the Pixmas can be modded? In reading the comments on the youtube, the guy was surprised that disc printing was disabled in the US. Unfortunately, he did not demonstrate that function of his Canon, I wish he did. He demonstrated scanning and photoprinting.

LOL I think it was this youtube that makes me lean towards the Canon, if I do purchase a disc printer. It seems like a good unit, not just for disc printing, but for photos and regular printing and scanning, too.

Changing ink cartridges (six of them) is no big deal with the Epson R300 but selecting and attempting to maintain settings through the small LCD menu is terribly annoying. If the R300 is powered off all the preferred settings have to be reentered.

I doubt that the Epson R300 is still a current model after seven years.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hlight=printer
Thread talking about DVD printers(which is really where such talk should take place)

Thx for the link, jjeff You're right. I'll copy the relevant posts re: disc printers over there.



eta: I copied the relevant portions of the disc printer posts to the link jjeff posted. They're in the quoted post below:

The +RW discs came after dinner last night (really late for a delivery! LOL). I'm going to follow your advice on checking what the tv 'sees' before copying to disc.

I guess I'll also first see which of the two vcr outputs I already have can output s-video, if either. I don't think the Panasonic will, but maybe the Toshiba 60 will, as you suggested it might. If neither do, then I'll wait for the Toshiba 670, and use that one for vcr output, before I actually record to a disc.

I can test out the Video Filter too.

How do you all keep the dust from getting into the connector side of the Video Filter? I was really surprised that side was open

I wouldn't worry about it. My guess is they leave it open do help dissipate the heat, some of the other similar devices really tend to run rather warm.
If you're really worried about dust I guess you could cut some type of filter material to cover the end but again that might trap in more heat than the mfg. wanted.

I assume you mean this one, which is stand-alone and works acceptably. It's hardly great, but it is what it is and does what it claims. It works fine for the price.

Wisny, Don't worry about dust or heat...It will not affect the performance of the unit.
The Video Filter draws very little power and you can leave it on all the time. The components used in the design, are very high quality and will not be affected by any of these two factors.

Wisny: I see that Logic Design gave you a good answer to your question. It sounds like you are getting all set. Let us know how things went. I really think you will find that you have all you need to do...what you want to do with the least fuss and expense.

(Just a small note since you showed the picture of that Dymo Printer..I was excited about it also, but didn't like the expense, but really didn't like the bad reviews at Amazon also.) No way I would get that one. This is FYI so no need to respond in this thread..just wanted to tell you.

Thankyou, jjeff and Logic Design . That info is good to know.

Logic Design, may I ask you a question about the switches? The copy protection and aspect switches - you set them according to the characteristics of the input device, or what you want the output media to be?

I have got started yesterday (boy, it took me a looooonnnggg time to get that first disc outputted (is that a word? lol - but it had nothing to do with your device, purely operator error with the recorders *snort!*), and have finished a half dozen or so transfers due to the miracle of your little device! But, I have run into one that won't transfer, and weirdly, it's one that I copied myself along time ago.

I've started with exercise tapes (because I'd rather make my dvd mistakes on that collection ;-) ... ). One 'Callanetics' vhs, that is a copy I made myself many years ago won't copy. It shows a message that says "Recording error - this program is not allowed to be recorded". This really surprised me, b/c like I said, it's a copy I made myself. So, I was wondering, is it possible that a copy I made myself really won't transfer, or am I doing something wrong with the switches? The switch for copy protection is currently 'up', but I'm not certain I have that right.

This was the only homemade vhs tape that I've tried. The other ones were all store-bought tapes, and they've transferred just fine. I'm not sure though, by having that switch 'up', have I told the dvd copy that there's no copy allowed in the future? Or, has the switch position just told the filter that the source tape had 'no copy allowed' set on it?

Thx so much for your device, and for answering questions !


And, ps: In case anyone reads this in the future, and is trying to decide b/w the video filter and the grexx - the unit does feel really solid, the shipping was SO fast, and very well packaged to avoid damage in shipping. No worries buying the video filter!





Thx, microladyusa . I decided the same thing as you with regard to the Dymo. Not for me. I haven't thought any more about printing yet, but I will. I figured I'd just get started with the archiving, and worry about that afterwards. I'm just using post-its for now.

I had so much trouble with the darn cables on the Toshiba 550 yesterday ! LOL I couldn't get the S-video to show up. I kept switching it around, trying to figure out which S-video connector or cable was the problem. Finally, after hours - let me tell you, hours! - I said screw it, and tried the yellow composite video cable instead. Then, it worked. I was so puzzled. Could it really be possible that BOTH S-video inputs on the 550 didn't work? lol, the answer was no. There was actually a setting in the onscreen menu where you had to tell the thing to look for s-video input instead of video input. My husband figured that out in the afternoon (he wasn't there in the morning when I was switching and switching and switching cables. too bad, he'd have saved me hours, heheheheh ..)

After all that, the s-video inputs were finally working, then we switched it again for what we thought was the last time, to feed the combo into the filter, then into the recorder, then into the tv. And, ended up with black and white picture only. Tried making sure cables were firmly attached, tried switching a few cables, and then just quit and went back to yellow video. I remembered that you said there wasn't too much difference between s-video and composite, and this was just the exercise tapes collection, so I gave it up and went with the composite vid cable.

When the 670 comes, I'll try again to figure out if a cable got damaged with all the moving around of cables I did yesterday morning, but for now, I'm going with the combo (60KU) into the recorder (550), and using the yellow vid cable. And, yay! I have some archived discs!

This is so awesome, and I really can't thank you all, but in particular, you, enough ~ y'all rock!

Sugar Ray Leonard Boxout just transferred. This is a hoot, some of these vids are so old. Let me tell you, the getups on those ladies in the step aerobics vid - SOOOOOOO funny! Legwarmers, baby !


ps - a quick question on the 670 - I know you said it has S-video in, and composite in. Does it also allow component in for the vcr side? Or does it just have component out?

wisny, that callanetics copy you reffer to, may be degraded to the point where it could be triggering a false copy protection flag in the recorder. The switch in the UP position for Copy Control, will send the correct signal to the recorder but it may be overwritten by noise on the source video which is changing the the copy command state.

Thanks so much for the fast reply, Logic Design . It is a really old tape, so what you say makes sense.

Could you clarify for me the function of the switches? It is telling the filter what is the copy protection on the source tape, correct? It isn't telling the filter what copy protection to put on the destination disc?

wisny: glad to hear things are working pretty good. Thank your husband for the S-Video tip on external recording. I hadn't used it and did not realize you have to tell the DVDR whether to use the S-Video jack or the RCA jack. I put a note in my manual on that one.

As far as the 670 on Page 11 of the manual, it says "caution on using S-Video, Component or HDMI connection on VCR. Only the playback audio/video is available with these connections." Since all you want to do is play a tape out to the DVDR in, looks like they will work. Remember, no matter what connections are set up, the picture you see on your TV is the final signal coming through so you can tell if something works or not.

My Filter switches are set UP UP UP DN for the yellow video...that is switches 1 and 4 which talk to the video. Maybe the difference you saw in S-Video is the fact that when you use S-Video switches 1 and 4 will be set as DN UP (the reverse of the RCA yellow setup). UP is Yes. You should get the color and picture just as if you were watching the VHS tape alone, no matter which video out you use but the Filter does have to be set one way for S-Video and the opposite way for either the RCA yellow composite or component. The setting for the composite or component is identical. Only the S-video has a different setting for switches 1 and 4.

P.S. As far as that old tape you have trouble with..it could be a trigger as Logic Design said. I had a Toshiba 660 which falsely gave me copy protection errors constantly...it was so bad I sent it back to Toshiba and they sent me the newer 670 which has performed perfectly. So when you get your 670, you might and see if that tape will work using the 670 VCR to your 550 DVDR.

I gave hubs the message, he smiled and said you're most welcome . Thx for the info re: 670 connectors.

I have been using my switches UP DN UP DN. I guess the difference being you have widescreen set, but I used letterbox. I'm sorry, I know this was covered already, but I can't remember the answer - can vhs's record into widescreen? Or do you have to record letterbox? I thought they had to be box, b/c many of these exercise tapes are so old, they're from before widescreens existed.



Thx ! I will try it again when the 670 arrives. I wouldn't have thought to do that, I appreciate the tip.

AFAIK no anamorphic(horizontally squeezed) commercial VHS tapes were made. VHS tapes that were advertised as widescreen were only letterboxed(black bars on top and bottom) and if you had a 16:9 TV you could zoom the image to fill your screen(with the proper aspect). Zooming a picture degrades the picture quality since you're magnifying any flaws and you're also wasting tape space recording black bars.
Of course it is possible to record a anamorphic image to a VHS tape(just like we do with DVDs that are 4:3 by design) but again like most DVDRs(apparently not your Toshiba) the DVDs will look vertically stretched on a 4:3 TV because of the lack of the WS bit telling your DVD player to letterbox the output. Again AFAIK the WS bit was never part of the VHS standard so everything was letterboxed. I got out of VHS before purchasing a WS TV otherwise I'd probably be recording anamorphic VHS tapes just like I do with DVDs and just like my recorded DVDs anybody I borrowed those tapes to, with a 4:3 TV would see a vertically stretched image.