DVD Recorders....educate me.

[DragonGunner]

I looked at a dvd,vhs vcr recorder. It will record my tapes to a dvd. But when I looked at if the dvd would record off the tv, there was no check marks in the box....so I take it that it can't do that.

This is what I want, I want to record shows from tv to dvd, an record my tapes over to dvd.....so do I need to buy a dvd,vhs vcr recorder an a dvd recorder for the tv???? What do I need. I would also like to record some material on dvd over to another dvd.... I can do this with tapes, just takes another vcr an some jacks....can this be done also with multiple dvd players as well?

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I haven't followed it closely, because I never bought a digital TV, so I don't really care that much I'm not sure how the digital rights argument settled out, but I know at one time they were planning to prevent recording of DTV. Looks like maybe they succeeded.

 

[Mr. Habib]

The DVD recorder you looked at probably doesn't have a tuner in it. How are receiving your TV signal now? Your satellite or cable box may have more than one output. One of those could feed a DVD recorder. The only downside is that you will only be able to record what is being sent to your TV. If you are going to do much recording, it might be worth it to get a second box and dedicate it to the DVD recorder. Then you could record one program while watching another. We have a satellite box with a built in DVR. In the past I've recorded shows on it, and later played them back to a DVD recorder to make hard copies. That's another option.

 

[DragonGunner]

The DVD recorder you looked at probably doesn't have a tuner in it. How are receiving your TV signal now? Your satellite or cable box may have more than one output. One of those could feed a DVD recorder. The only downside is that you will only be able to record what is being sent to your TV. If you are going to do much recording, it might be worth it to get a second box and dedicate it to the DVD recorder. Then you could record one program while watching another. We have a satellite box with a built in DVR. In the past I've recorded shows on it, and later played them back to a DVD recorder to make hard copies. That's another option.

I have a new Plasma HD tv.....DirectTV that goes into a vcr then goes to the tv where the antena goes....I need to get a upgrade from directv, the old one an the vcr doesn't have the HDMI outlets...right now I'm using a cable from the vcr to the antena input on the tv...not the best, buts looks great. No DVR

 

[7th Stepper]

This is what I want, I want to record shows from tv to dvd, an record my tapes over to dvd.....so do I need to buy a dvd,vhs vcr recorder an a dvd recorder for the tv???? What do I need. I would also like to record some material on dvd over to another dvd.... I can do this with tapes, just takes another vcr an some jacks....can this be done also with multiple dvd players as well?

Hi, um, I'm not sure about the technicalities with all the machines, but the only way we've been able to record things from the TV is to use the Comcast DVR box that comes with the service, record the program to that, then play it from that box thru our original VHS/DVD player, and record it to tape.

We've tried everything else, and it was all a "no-go". Dunno why, it just wouldn't do it. I realize that while the VHS tape is an outgoing thing of the past, but if you want it bad enough, at least it's one option you can check into.

I did have a thought tho, if you have a Comcast DVR, and hook it up to another privately owned DVR, you might be able to transfer from one to the other. Record it on the Comcast DVR first, then play it, while recording it onto your own DVR box. Not sure if it'll work, but it sounds plausible....
Or you can check on Amazon.com and see if it's for sale that way. We've gotten several seasons of some favorite TV shows that way.

Good luck.
7th Stepper

 

[Benny]

I have a new Plasma HD tv.....DirectTV that goes into a vcr then goes to the tv where the antena goes....I need to get a upgrade from directv, the old one an the vcr doesn't have the HDMI outlets...right now I'm using a cable from the vcr to the antena input on the tv...not the best, buts looks great. No DVR

Why are you running your new Plasma through something that obsolete?

Why not run the coax directly to the TV? I used to do that(cable to vcr to tv) back in the day so I could hook my stereo up to it, but technology has drastically changed since then.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Hmm, if you can record to a tape, you should be able to capture it with a computer video capture card. Keep in mind, the video you can record on a VHS is only the analog signal, and the quality is degraded. This is why I would go with the computer instead of the VCR, just to bypass that degradation. I used to use a computer as a DVR and make DVDs of the shows, back in analog days.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I have a new Plasma HD tv.....DirectTV that goes into a vcr then goes to the tv where the antena goes....I need to get a upgrade from directv, the old one an the vcr doesn't have the HDMI outlets...right now I'm using a cable from the vcr to the antena input on the tv...not the best, buts looks great. No DVR

Your Directv box should have a composite video output. (red. white, yellow RCA jacks)You should be able to hook those directly into the DVD recorder inputs. If that doesn't work, and it may not if they have copy protected the signal, then connect the RF modulator signal, the cable going from your VCR to your TV now, to the DVD recorder and hook the composite video signal directly to your TV.

 

[cbseniour]

You are looking for a DVR not a DVD recorder

 

[steve666]

A combination DVR/VCR unit is what you want, but be sure that it isn't like the most recent one I bought, a Phillips/Magnavox. Some of them are very picky about recording copywrite protected things to DVD, whether dubbing from VCR or direct from TV. Mine will record a lot of things. But others, particularly current releases on the "premium" channels (HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc.) and certain oldies on the Western channel like Have Gun Will Travel and Lawman are blocked. Be sure it will record to DVD-RW media so that you can erase and re-record on it.