I AM HOPING TO BUY A RECORDER IN ORER TO TRANSFER MY TV VHS TAPES TO DVD, AND TO GET ONE THAT WILL ALLOW ME TO RECORD TV SHOWS ONTO DVD. I LIVE IN CHICAGO AND ALTHOUGH I VCR TAPE SHOWS FROM THE 80'S, MAINLY FACTS OF LIFE, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TAPE FAMILY TIES, ETC. HOWEVER, I NOTICE SOME OF THE RECORDERS STATE YOU CAN ONLY USE FOR PERSONAL USE AND THEY CANNOT BE USED TO TAPE COPYRIGHTED SHOWS. I'M GUESSING SO AS TO PREVENT SALES TRANSACTIONS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME SHOWS THAT WHO KNOWS WHEN THEY WILL BE RELEASED ONTO DVD (FACTS OF LIFE, FOR EXAMPLE), AFTER YEARS OF PLEADING AND VOTING.:confused: IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME, MAYBE WE CAN MAKE TRADES, ETC. WHEN I'M ABLE TO BUY ONE. THANKS.:wave:

The copyright thing is for like official VHS or DVD releases that you might rent or buy. They don't want people copying those. Now, taping stuff off *television* is completely legal, a problem that was squared away in the early 80s when VCRs came around.

I can't really recommend a DVD recorder brand name, though I can tell you what brand NOT to get. Steer clear of RCA, I bought a vhs/dvd recorder last year, had to replace it within a month, about two months after that it barely worked at all. No longer could record on dvd+r's, and could not play toward the end of a dvd (a laser problem I would assume). So save your reciept!!

EXCELLENT! THANKU VERY MUCH FOR THE INFO. ONCE I CAN GET ONE FOR A REASONABLE PRICE, I'M GONNA BE A TAPIN FOOL. NOT THAT I'M NOT ALREADY, YOU SEE, BUT OH THE SPACE I'LL SAVE! JUST FOR YOUR HELP, IF YOU'D LIKE, I WILL TAPE, UM, RECORD SOME EPISODES FOR YOU AS A THANK YOU. THAT IS, PROVIDED I BUY THE DVD RECORDER WHILE I'M STILL ABLE TO GET THE SHOWS WEEKLY.