VHS to DVD

Miroslav

Getting somewhere....slowly

ih8stress

Miroslav wrote: »

I'm not even sure I have everything connected. It says I need to connect both the VCR and TV to the DVD.
The way I had mine set up, using 2 x scart leads, was as follows:


First Scart Lead = Television scart socket (ext. 2) to DVD Recorder scart socket (Line 3-Decoder)
Second Scart Lead = DVD Recorder scart socket (Line 1-TV) to Video scart socket (L1 IN/OUT).

You may have yours set up differently. This doesn't mean it will be wrong though as I think there are quite a few variations possible.:)

I can play the VHS but as soon as I turn on the DVD it changes the screen to the DVD and I can't see the video playing anywhere.
You need to change the settings somewhere until you CAN see the video playing before you can record it but I'm not 'techie' enough to say what exactly. Perhaps one of the forum 'techies' will come along and be able to advise better.

(A couple of examples of what I had to do on mine.
1) After first connecting the video recorder my television displayed PR 1 (program 1) and I had to press the PR + (up triangle) button on the video remote until the television displayed L2 instead.
2) On the dvd recorder I had to go into system menu/set-up. Find Video and select it. Find scart setting and select it. Change it from Video Decoder Video to RGB Video/RGB Video then press return to exit the menu etc.
I also had to press the Input Select button on the dvd remote, to get L3.

PLEASE NOTE: These are just examples of what worked for me, your set-up may be entirely different and I certainly don't want to confuse you with the whole L1, L2 issue.:D



I copy the instructions to record and it doesn't record anything, just fuzz. As said previously, your dvd recorder needs to see this before it will record it properly.

The whole L1 thing is confusing me - I don't know what is what. Don't worry about it for now. We need to find out how you have things set up at the moment and take it from there.:)

Thanks about PC World - i'll do that once I know this machine works

The machine probably works fine (have you tried playing dvds on it yet?), you just need to get everything connected and set up properly.

It is alot easier ONCE it is all set up:D

ih8stress

Miroslav wrote: »

Getting somewhere....slowly

Glad to hear it. Keep going, it will be worth it in the long run.:)

Once I'd got mine up and running, I wrote down a brief guide of how it was all connected up with the scart leads etc. and even did a list of the System Menu Set-up of the DVD Recorder for future reference.

(My notes are abit vague re. L1 etc. now as I added a freeview box and got a different dvd recorder along the way. The moral of this tale - UPDATE LISTS:D).

Good luck. Keep us posted:)

Miroslav

ih8stress - I set mine up in the same way - it was the line in/out settings that were wrong

I too had to change inputs etc, but it's there now.

DVD's will only play original DVD's. DVD's that i've burnt via my PC, play in black and white. Not a huge issue as I have another cheap machine for that, which I got for £30 new that does virtually everything apart from record!

I have made a note of all connections settings incase something goes wrong! Don't want this worry agaon

Anyway - have completed an LP and an SP recording and neither myself or flatmate can notice any difference in audio or picture - so far, very pleased!

ih8stress

Miroslav wrote: »

ih8stress - I set mine up in the same way - it was the line in/out settings that were wrong

I too had to change inputs etc, but it's there now.

:jWell done Miroslav. Glad you got it all sorted in the end

DVD's will only play original DVD's. DVD's that i've burnt via my PC, play in black and white.
Having only just got a new pc with a dvd drive I've never done discs on a pc. HOWEVER my instruction booklet for the dvd recorder does say the following:
If the disc contains PC data unrecognizable by this recorder, the data may be erased.
'Contents previously recorded were erased' Data that has been recorded on a dvd with a PC will be erased from the disc when the disc is inserted'

So, I think it is a question of trial and error to see what works for you.

Not a huge issue as I have another cheap machine for that, which I got for £30 new that does virtually everything apart from record!Might be worth making a note on your discs to say if they were created on your pc, so you can play them back on this player instead:) All mine have been created on the dvd recorder to start with, so not a problem for me. (I did once get a dvd from ebay which only played in black and white so sent it back as it was obviously a copy

I have made a note of all connections settings incase something goes wrong! Don't want this worry agaon

Anyway - have completed an LP and an SP recording and neither myself or flatmate can notice any difference in audio or picture - so far, very pleased!

I could never see a difference either but like I said previously, my eyesight ain't what it used to be!

Enjoy it and have a play with the different options once you get used to it:)

Miroslav

The easiest thing will be just not to play DVD's burned on the PC, on this DVD Rec - not an issue as I have a player that likes them

My next VHS wasn't so good on LP, so may just go SP anyway. It will cost more in DVD's - either dual layer or using the 'divide' option which I have yet to try and master
#
Thanks for all the help - I'll let you know when I get stuck - I almost certainly will

ih8stress

Miroslav wrote: »

The easiest thing will be just not to play DVD's burned on the PC, on this DVD Rec - not an issue as I have a player that likes them True, but I'd check what it says in YOUR instruction booklet as mine is quite old (like me:)).

My next VHS wasn't so good on LP, so may just go SP anyway.

It probably depends on the quality of the programme recorded at that time plus the quality of the video tape and how old it is
It will cost more in DVD's - either dual layer
Have you looked in your instruction book to see what the actual recording time is for dual layer discs? In mine it says, for example, a normal dvd disc recorded at SP would do 2 hours whilst a dual layer dvd+r would do 3 hours 37mins.

or using the 'divide' option which I have yet to try and master
See below
#
Thanks for all the help - I'll let you know when I get stuck - I almost certainly will

To Divide (Hopefully will be same on your machine:D):


1) On your remote control, press the 'Title List' button.
2) Select the programme you want to divide (you will probably have to scroll up or down for this). Press 'Enter'
3) A pop-up box with several options appears. Scroll down until you see 'Divide'. Press 'Enter'
4) Use the 'reverse' or 'forward' arrow buttons and play button (like on a video player) to select the place to divide the programme from. You can increase the playing speed by pressing once or twice on these, same as on a video player Once you have selected where to divide it from press 'Enter'.
5) It will ask 'do you want to divide this title at this point?'. Ok Change Cancel options are available. Click on 'Yes' if you want to proceed.

*You can always use the 'return' button to opt out of things if you get stuck*

6) After selecting Ok it will ask 'do you want to change the title names for the divided titles?' Yes No.

Don't worry if you haven't yet given it a name (I don't name mine until the end) it will already have a number.

7) If you select Yes, it will display letters and numbers for you to name it. Use the up,down,left,right arrows to move to the letters required then click on 'finish'. (If you get stuck or want to do this later, just use your return button to exit this).

8) If you select No, it will just number it once it has been divided (eg. originally in the Title List as 28 it will then appear as 28 - for the first section - and 29 - for the second section).

9) It will then divide the programme and when complete take you back to the Title List page. Press 'return' to exit.

Don't worry it's easier than it probably reads.:D

HTH. Any problems, just ask:)

Miroslav

Thanks 1h8stress. I've managed to divide now

With regards to DVD's, it seems a 4 hour VHS on DVD SP takes up 4.3gb, which is fine. 3 hour VHS takes up less, so i've got to try and split things so they take up as much room of the DVD as possible, so as not to waste the extra space - it's working out how much say 1.2gb is (I assume it's 3 hour VHS + 1 hour of the next one = 4 hours - maybe) and if I get it wrong, will have to transfer the VHS to the HDD again as I can't re-combine divided titles, it says.

ih8stress

Miroslav wrote: »

Thanks 1h8stress. I've managed to divide now
Well done, miroslav

With regards to DVD's, it seems a 4 hour VHS on DVD SP takes up 4.3gb, which is fine.
Is this with a dual layer disc? Mine does 2 hours in SP on one disc.
3 hour VHS takes up less, so i've got to try and split things so they take up as much room of the DVD as possible, so as not to waste the extra space
Try not to get TOO obsessed with filling discs to the maximum if you have to use more than one.:) If you MUST use up the space, I tend to fill them up with music clips or tv clips/progs.
- it's working out how much say 1.2gb is (I assume it's 3 hour VHS + 1 hour of the next one = 4 hours - maybe) and if I get it wrong, will have to transfer the VHS to the HDD again as I can't re-combine divided titles, it says.
Not quite sure what you mean here but if you go to Title List, then the programme you have recorded it will say something like
L1
SP 0.7GB
on the right hand side. So it actually tells you how much disc space it has used for the programme (eg. 0.7GB).
It also shows you, in brackets' how many minutes you have used - so when you have done some, you will get more of an idea. (1.1GB = 30 min, 2.2 GB = 1 hour).

Press 'return' to exit.

With a disc in the machine that you have recorded to,
press the 'tools' button. Select the 'Disc info' option and press 'enter'.
It will show you how much space you have already used on the disc and how much is left. It will also show you in LP SP HQ modes etc. how much 'time' still remains for recording.
(I think you click on close or exit - failing that click on return)

Just remember Rome wasn't built in a day - I still haven't used all the options on mine.:D

HTH

Miroslav

Has it really been 6 days since I came here....

I think you can do something liike 2 hours 7 minutes, but i'm splitting 4 hour videos in half and 4 hour videos tend to be around 4 hours 4 minutes, so 50% is 2 hours 2 minutes. As you say, don't worry about filling up the whole disc - i'm not worried about a few minutes of space, but when I copy the 3 hours VHS, i'll have a whole hour of DVD left on one of the 2 DVD's I split that VHS on, so it's about dividing other VHS up - time consuming.

Interesting about the time left on the DVD - i'm glad I got a Sony now as I can get all your advice Thanks