DVD recorder help
 

I looked around last week for a DVD recorder as I want to transfer my VHS tapes onto DVD. Many players are now combi sets as I guess many others want to do the same as me.

However, there seemed to be a few snags. I need to be able to add chaptering and the machines I looked at, I was told, did not have a hard-drive (the cheapest combi with a harddrive costs £600) and the only way I can add chaptering is to stop the transfer by stopping the DVD record (and VHS also) or by adding chapters using my PC (Vision Express from Nero was recommended to me, which I happen to have) after transferring the material onto a rewritebale DVD and then creating the DVD on my PC after manually adding the chaptering. Was the information I received correct or is there an easier way to add chaptering?

Also, there are a few VHS tapes which have 8 hours of content on them and for a few of them I need to transfer 8 hours onto a single DVD. I believe this is possible via a specific setting.

Finally, I need to be able to ensure I can make the DVD recorder I buy multi-regional which I am told can be easily done. What do I look out for when choosing a machine?

Any help appreciated!

Re: DVD recorder help
 

Can you not fit a TV card to your PC which would allow you to record the VHS directly from the VHS player directly into the PC?

That way you could do all of the editing that you needed to and then use the burner in your PC to create the DVDs.

You could then just go out and buy a multi-region DVD player, or use the existing one that you have.

Re: DVD recorder help
 

1. You should be able to get a Liteon 5045 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...406369-8445441) for under £300 - 160Gb drive, multi-region hack and supports all DVD formats except DVD-RAM. I have the LVW-5006 (no HD) and it does it's job pretty well.

2. TBH anything less than 3Hr mode on DVD is not going to be worth keeping, unless it's just for PC viewing! I usually use the 2 hr mode.

3. You can set the chapter timing on the Lite-on drives, eg every 10 mins, but I found the best way to handle recording a movie to keep (for personal use) is record it on DVD+RW, use Nero Recode on the PC to change the chaptering and menus and burn it back to DVD+R.

As for 8hr VCR's, I would probably try getting a TV capture card and using Nero to recode them as either MPEG4 (if you have a DVD reader than will view them) or record on to four DVD's!

HTH

Re: DVD recorder help
 

My jvc dvd recorder allows you to add chapter marks manually until you close/finalise the disc. If you don't, it adds them every five minutes.

Re: DVD recorder help
 

Thank you for some excellent suggestions. One of my friends said a TV card when we first discussed it a while back but it would need to go throgh a lead connection which would loose more picture quality. Granted VHS picture quality isn't that high, as my pal says, and some of my VHS tapes are taped on SP anyway. It's all so complicated.

Any further thoights would be greatly appreciated.

Re: DVD recorder help
 

I would have thought a decent TV card will have sufficient connectivity to allow the SCART of a VCR to connect at least using RGB and separate audio. You probably wouldn't get much better than that internal to a dedicated VCR/DVD combi.

Re: DVD recorder help
 

I have a vcr, dvd 'combo' connected with the composite and stereo phono connections.

I got b/w tv if I tried svideo/composite at the same time ;)

Re: DVD recorder help
 

I don't know of ANY TV card that allows an RGB connection (Scart or otherwise). The nearest most get is Svideo, This is still good quality, but not nearly as good as RGB.

A seperate DVD recorder will have a RGB scart input.

Re: DVD recorder help
 

My £120 Lite on from Argos does chapters. Its easy.