I want to buy a dvd/vhs recorder to transfer vhs to dvd

scotslass_3

I am wanting to transfer precious vhs of family to a dvd format, and I know that there are combined dvd and video recorders that will do this. Have very little technical knowledge, any advice please? See that Argos have an Hitachi DVRV8500 on offer about £ 250, and also a cheaper one Bush on at £150 ish. Any advice appreciated.

gromituk

Do you have a computer with a DVD writer? You may consider buying a "capture card" to allow you to connect a video recorder to your computer.

scotslass_3

Hi gromituk, thanks for response. No I don't have a dvd writer, and as I was thinking of getting a recordable dvd player anyway thought this combo thing was the way to go ! Just don't know if the cheaper one will do a reasonable job or I have to invest more to get good quality. Not into advanced things editing etc. - just want to back up copies of kids when babies with my Dad who is no longer with us.

gromituk

I don't think you can do better than try it. Take it back if it doesn't do the job. But you can get DVD-only recorders for as little as £80, and you just connect them with a cheap lead to a VHS machine.

scotslass_3

Duh!! Told you I wasn't technically minded... I honestly didn't think of that! Thanks for the advice ! That's what I'll do and save myself money and confusion!! :T

sleepless_saver

I tried buying a capture card (well a Belkin gizmo that was meant to do the same thing) and had endless grief with it. A Google search revealed that I was not alone.

In the end I bought a combined DVD recorder and VCR - it's a Daewoo which I keep seeing advertised for around £250 but I got it for £160 from QVC, don't know if they're still available.

*not on QVC now, but cheaper on Ebay *

scotslass_3

Thanks. Thought that I would go with the cable idea.... but my 15 year old son now fancies the combo, I suppose it would be less of a fiddle to have a permanent set up, even if the initial outlay is more, I can still use videos if I want to. Will check out your recommendation of the daewoo !

mph1664

i have a pioneer with a hard drive feature. this way i have transferred my video onto the dvd and edited it as well (good for chapter marking points of interest). It was about £250 from empire-direct and it's been great and very easy to use and link to my video recorder. It only takes 10 minutes to then copy from the hard drive to a dvd and you can make multiple recordings for family members.

scotslass_3

To be honest, this sounds too technical for me , but I appreciate you taking time to try to help me! I'm sure though someone more technically minded will understand what you just said!!

scotslass_3

Just a quick update. I looked around at the weekend and managed to get a Samsung dvd-vr320 from House of Frasers for £180 with a store card discount, and this is £230 at Dixons online. It has good reviews and does more than I need it to do , so may be a good buy for someone else out there! Thanks to all for help!

Lara

Sounds like the same sort of thing I'm after - thanks scotslass:)