BoxRec

So what am i missing here? How many hours fit on a DVD as opposed to a 3 or 4 hr VHS?

Is the picture quality exactly the same as TV?

Oh yeah and since i have a good PC & a VHS myself what am i missing to transfer my own tapes onto DVD since those VHS do take up a fair bit of space?

Fill me in guys.

I think we have a luddite here lads.

the storage is comparable, actually with a long play video, you get a lot more up to eight hours with the right tapes, but DVD's are much more convenient as you don't have to spend 10 minutes rewinding or finding the right spot and you can back them up on your PC etc.

Picture quality is certainly as good as TV. It's digital so... as good as digital TV.

You can get DVD players that can record upto 6 hours on a DVD and claim that the picture quality is as good as on long play video, it is not.

The picture quality is better than SP video for 2 1/2 hour setting, beyond that there is a deterioration. However, I do believe Phillips has a firmware CD out now that will increase the picture quality at the longer settings.

overhand_right wrote: what am i missing to transfer my own tapes onto DVD since those VHS do take up a fair bit of space?

Fill me in guys.

To transfer your VHS tapes onto DVD you will need to connect your TV or video to your PC. There are several ways to do that. You will also need a video file capture/conversion program to convert the PC files, which will probably be mpeg or avi files, to DVD files.

If you are a "luddite" it would probably be best to take someone's advise on which is the best way to connect your TV/video to your PC, or better still for them to actually do it for you. The capture/conversion part is quite easy when you get into it.

Or you can just keep them as computer files, in which case you have 3-10 hours of play time on a DVD depending on the video quality.

The best (and easiest) way to transfer VHS to DVD is to buy a standalone recorder (I recommend the panasonic with the 400gb hard drive) and connect your vcr to it.

I have done 100's that way. Simple and easy.

Stand alone is the way to go withotu doubt, then you can drop the files on your hard drive from DVD and fiddle about with it if needs be.

Dont know about anyone else but I've found the panasonic series give really good quality up to 4 hours. over that is a waste of time. ive tried other recorders and nothing gives the pic quality up to 4 hours of a panasonic.

Standalone is easy I've had one since Xmas and never looked back...

My LG Recorder is okay on 2 hours but the 4 hour setting is awful...the new Panasonic apparently records onto a disk for 4 hours with no loss of picture resolution but i heard that Panasonic's are fussy with what recordable disks they use. The new Sony is supposed to be excellent picture quality at 4 hours now as well, with advancements in technology i expect there are recorders out there that can do great 4 hour quality.

Sony is generaly regarded as top dog in the broadcast industry. I had a Grundig DVD recorder, but just threw it out when it broke down, because it was so crap.
Picked up a Sony DVD recorder for £200 and it's the dog's - just plug in a cable and you can record VHS onto DVD, or whatever you want....

Quality is excellent - but of course depends on record speed. 1 or 2 hours on a disc and the quality is pretty damn good - once you get up to 4 hours though, you're looking a VHS level picture quality.....

But yes, it's so convenient with the menus and chapters, and storage makes a hell of a difference too.

DVD's are cheap as hell, why would anyone want long play anyway? They're much cheaper than videotapes.

Southpaw Stylist wrote:DVD's are cheap as hell, why would anyone want long play anyway? They're much cheaper than videotapes.

Probably because it's easier to string fights together, only two 12 rounders can really fit onto a 2 hour disk and then there's ring walks and interviews...imagine Sven Ottke's fight collection? It would be on about 46 DVD's

Great info guys thanks for the responses. One or two more questions-

1. Can anyone paste some links to these specific recorders we're referring to as ones i saw on amazon are probably different?

2. Is a PC part of the process for transferring videos to DVDs?

3. Can we stop using VHS all together & actually use the DVD recorder to record stuff directly off the TV

oh and finally bit of a tricky one--

4. I have a lot of US NTSC videos also- do these recorders have the facilities to transfer/decode these fights onto pal format & a UK DVD?

Thanks in advance again..........

Oh yeah & what if i get a US region 1 DVD can i transfer it using the recorder or PC onto a UK region 2 DVD?

overhand_right wrote:Oh yeah & what if i get a US region 1 DVD can i transfer it using the recorder or PC onto a UK region 2 DVD?

if you copy an american R1 disc it will always be in NTSC format but your burnt copy will become region free. all multi region players in this country that play burnt discs will play these no bother. You would have to do this on PC unless you have a macro box and standards converter hooked up between your player and recorder.

If however you copy a Region 2 Disc for someone in America it's a different matter. Because the Americans dont see the point in being able to view anything other than their own stuff, most DVD players dont have PAL playback facility and will play in black and white.

steve689 wrote:

Southpaw Stylist wrote:DVD's are cheap as hell, why would anyone want long play anyway? They're much cheaper than videotapes.

Probably because it's easier to string fights together, only two 12 rounders can really fit onto a 2 hour disk and then there's ring walks and interviews...imagine Sven Ottke's fight collection? It would be on about 46 DVD's

Yeah true, but they can be edited on computers though. It all depends how much you wanna charge and how in demand you are...

overhand_right wrote:Great info guys thanks for the responses. One or two more questions-

1. Can anyone paste some links to these specific recorders we're referring to as ones i saw on amazon are probably different?

2. Is a PC part of the process for transferring videos to DVDs?

3. Can we stop using VHS all together & actually use the DVD recorder to record stuff directly off the TV

oh and finally bit of a tricky one--

4. I have a lot of US NTSC videos also- do these recorders have the facilities to transfer/decode these fights onto pal format & a UK DVD?

Thanks in advance again..........

2. You dont "need" a pc to transfer VHS to DVD. PC DVD to DVD copying is loads quicker and takes a lot of headache out of copying overseas discs.

3. Yes, if you have a good one and use good discs.

4. Yes you can record NTSC VHS to DVD if you either
a) have a standards converter to convert the VHS to PAL to record the disc in PAL format.
b) have a standards converter to play the VHS in pure NTSC format, then set the DVD Recorder input signal to NTSC. While its recording it will be in black and white but when it's finalised it will play just like a R1 NTSC disc, if you can do it this way it gives Far far better pic quality.

Thanks for all the info guys but can anyone post me some links to the recorders referred to in your responses?

Come on fellas, dont go all shy on me...

I use a Philips R80 dvd recorder to transfer my tapes to dvd. It burns both NTSC and PAL system tapes onto discs but only one system on each dvd. When I have burned a NTSC video to dvd, I can copy the dvd back to PAL system tape if neccessary. No PC or Hard disc involved. Best quality is two hours on each dvd but 2,5 and 3 hours gives acceptable quality. I live in Denmark, but I don´t think that there should be any problems in UK.

Søren Woller

Woller wrote:I use a Philips R80 dvd recorder to transfer my tapes to dvd. It burns both NTSC and PAL system tapes onto discs but only one system on each dvd. When I have burned a NTSC video to dvd, I can copy the dvd back to PAL system tape if neccessary. No PC or Hard disc involved. Best quality is two hours on each dvd but 2,5 and 3 hours gives acceptable quality. I live in Denmark, but I don´t think that there should be any problems in UK.

Søren Woller

Where did you buy it what did it cost?

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I think we have a luddite here lads.

.

THAT is the funniest thing you have ever said!

I tried a Philips but it didn't work for me and the customer feedback on amazon strongly suggested people didn't use Philips...Panasonic are good but some only use the Panasonic disks which are expensive. Sony seems a good bet from what i hear, might get me one of those next.

steve689 wrote:

Southpaw Stylist wrote:DVD's are cheap as hell, why would anyone want long play anyway? They're much cheaper than videotapes.

Probably because it's easier to string fights together, only two 12 rounders can really fit onto a 2 hour disk and then there's ring walks and interviews...imagine Sven Ottke's fight collection? It would be on about 46 DVD's

LMAO!!