DVD Recorders to replace VCR's starting 2005

[PPRuNe Pop]

Now that a line has been drawn under the VCR, that one large store has announced will phase out commencing in January 2005, in favour of DVD Players. I am wondering what I should do with my collection of aviation stuff going back several years and more! I have two VCR's, one a SVHS, and I could keep one of them but then again should I get a DVD Recorder!

How then do I transfer about 200 video tapes onto DVD discs. Is the connection from the VCR simply vid/aud.out to vid/audio.in? How much can you put on one 4.7gb disc from say a 8hr LP cassette. Is there a shortcut to editing the ads out? I have for example 10 tapes of The World at War, cracking series. Or Test Pilot, or Reach for the Skies, or War at Sea, and many other series, not to mention a selection of many wonderful aircraft from the Discovery series or the F'boro airshows..............the list is endless. I cannot pass them on to my grandson unless I do something so what do those who have done some archiving suggest?

This subject will become one of immense interest in the coming months so we might as well start now.

Your help please.

PPP

[BEagle]

Well, PPRuNe Pop, 'tis funny you should raise the subject as I've just had to replace my DVD player which had eaten its laser after less then 2 years....

I bought the excellent Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD recorder (with multi-region hack). This has lots of inputs and outputs and I've now transferred 'Strategic Air Command', 'High Flight', 'Conflict of Wings', 'Out of the Clouds' and others from VHS to DVD. The Panasonic system uses 'DVD-R' discs for 'one-time' recording and you can 'finalize' them and play them on any other DVD player. Or it can use re-recordable DVD-RAM discs, but those can only be played on compatible DVD-RAM players....

The most basic way of transferring from VHS to DVD is to take a 'video out' feed from one of your VCRs and plug it into the 'input' sockets of the DVD recorder. The DMR-E55 will accept RF, 3 x phono (left, right and video), RGB, composite or S-VHS - take your pick! Just pop in the disc, select the correct input, start the tape and then hit record when you get to the bit you want. Easy peasy - honest!

My set-up is a little more complex as I have a Sky receiver, DVD recorder and VCR all feeding the TV. The Sky receiver feeds RGB via one Scart lead to the DVD recorder (AV2) and the DVD recorder passes it on to the TV's RGB Scart socket (AV1). The other Scart from the Sky receiver goes to the VCR's 'in' socket; the VCR's other 'in/out' Scart socket is connected to an adapter which connects to the TV's non-RGB socket (AV2) and also to the DVD recorder's rear panel 'input' sockets - 3 x phonos (AV4). To complicate things further, there's an RF daisy chain which takes the roof aerial input to the Sky receiver, from that to the VCR, from that to the DVD recorder and from that to a distribution splitter feeding the aerial sockets of the main TV and the kitchen TV...... That gives me 9 channels in the kitchen, 6 terrestrial plus Sat, VCR and DVD. Assigning the frequencies was somewhat laborious though!

Which means I can record from Sky to DVD or VHS, terrestrial to DVD or VHS and from VHS to DVD. You will be surprised how well your old VHS tapes transfer to DVD!

Next is to get a jobber which will allow me to connect the laptop to the DVD recorder to record certain 'canned' synthetic AAR exercises onto DVD for the 'day job'. Which must mean that it's a 'work tool' - and tax deductible! Sorry, Fat Gordon, that's another £250 off my net income which your grasping hands won't be taxing:ok:

PS - Leave the ads in, I suggest. They will have an historic value of their own in years to come! "Grandad - what was 'Hai Karate'? Did people really do the 'Shake and Vac' dance? And what was a Hamlet?"

[joe2812]

Could always try a DVD recorder/VHS combi and have best of both worlds!

[BEagle]

Not much point if you've already got 2 x VCRs - and it'd be more prone to a single point failure!

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

PPRuNe Pop,

You could always go get the Digitally Remastered Version of the programs on DVD. ;)

I already have The World at War on DVD. :ok:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005NOOH.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Along with:

Victory at Sea. :cool:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AQS3X.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Take Care,

Richard

[BEagle]

Both are available in Region 2 PAL from 'rain forest' - but I imagine only in 4:3 aspect ratio?

[PPRuNe Pop]

All very encouraging.......thank you very much. BEags You have instilled me with confidence. Had to show the family your final sentence - LOL.

Everything seems straightforward enough and I am off to the US in January so maybe I can get some stuff a lot cheaper there.

My existing DVD player is all compatible. No region restrictions either, so it might be a good idea to get World at War at a cheaper price. Thanks Richard for reminding me. But I must be able to transfer the aviation 'library' I have and it certainly looks like it is a goer.

Another question arises please. There is a Scart box on the market with two, three or four slots. Is it an advantage to plug everything in there from each device. I have 2 x VCR's, 1 x DVD and 1 Digital Freeview box - then leave it to sort itself out?

BEags. I'll have a look at that Panasonic you mentioned.

PPP

[BEagle]

"...and Grandad, did the Esso sign really mean Happy Motoring? Were there really more writing miles per Tallon - and why were Consulate cigarettes as cool as a mountain stream? Did you slap it on all over, as Henry Cooper (who was he, Grandad?) told you to with Brut?"


Not sure about those multi-scart boxes - are all the inputs and outputs in parallel or do you have to make manual or remote selections? Are they all fully-wired and RGB compatible? Personally I'd prefer to keep it simple - although wiring together 2 VCRs, a DVD player and a DVD recorder and a Freeview receiver is going to be......interesting, to say the least! I'd wire up the DVD recorder, the S-VHS VCR and the Freeview together - and perhaps find a new home for the old DVD player and the non-VHS recorder?