On Friday I'm getting my income tax refund. after I pay off some much behind bills I was thinking of maybe getting one of these. I can't get one of the suped up great Panasonic ones though. If I get one it has to be the one they sell at WalMart for $294. I dont need anything fancy I guess. I just would like to have the option to offer DVD's when I trade/sell since people seem to wnt them so much. Plus I would love to start moving my collection to DVD to get rid of some of the 2,000 tapes I have in my home.

Can I still tape to VHS from a DVD after it's been transferred?

Is buying one of these recorders as easy as coming home, hooking it up like a VCR and then recording? Will I have to buy extra stuff for it? I won't have any exra money left to buy a bunch of stuff for it - I just know nothing about them.

any help from anyone would be appreciated.

This is the one...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2408717&cat=105664&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A62055%3A105664#long_descr

I dont want to hook it to my main TV. I want it for transferring what I already have on VHS.

Will that one work?

If this one can be used to transfer videos to DVD then I might be interested in it too but if it doesn't then no as I need to put some of my vhs on DVD... Would love to know the answer too...

i have the one from sears that has the vcr and dvd recorder combo. it uses the dvd-r discs. it was pretty well a plug & play or should i say plug & record unit. it has been very easy to operate. i am not a techie so it has to be easy. i recommend anything that records on dvd-r discs, because they are compatible with more dvd players. this unit at sears is more expensive than the wal-mart model, but the unit at walmart is dvd+r. some people advised not getting the combo unit, but i liked the idea of the vcr & dvd recorder being together. once i get use to using it, then i may move up to one of the panasonics with the built in hard drive. hope this info (opinion) helps.

:wave: Hi Nanny Fine! I can tell which route NOT to take!! Do not do the computer route! What a NIGHTMARE this has been!! If I could do it all over again, I'd go with the most simple stand alone recorder I could find!! By the way, the Panasonic 50 models can be found pretty cheap online. One of the cheapest places I found while researching my purchase was www.6ave.com

anyone else?

The main expense I found with having a DVD recorder is having to buy blank DVDs. You see, you probably can find them at Walmart, but in order to get the best bargain on-line, you have to spend quite a pretty penny up front.

It might be better to wait until you can afford to get a really good deal on blank discs. For instance, the other day I found Princos on sale at $.53 each, but I bought 500. The initial expense seems high, but it's worth it in the end.

By the way, at the time I bought my Panasonic DMR-E50, the best deal I could find on-line was $339, postage paid (no tax) which isn't all that much more than $294.

IMHO :wave:

Originally posted by Agent 13
The main expense I found with having a DVD recorder is having to buy blank DVDs. You see, you probably can find them at Walmart, but in order to get the best bargain on-line, you have to spend quite a pretty penny up front.

It might be better to wait until you can afford to get a really good deal on blank discs. For instance, the other day I found Princos on sale at $.53 each, but I bought 500. The initial expense seems high, but it's worth it in the end.

By the way, at the time I bought my Panasonic DMR-E50, the best deal I could find on-line was $339, postage paid (no tax) which isn't all that much more than $294.

IMHO :wave:


Well Jen if you can find me a deal like that (the Panasonic) I might just do that. I just can't be paying this horrible outrageous price for one that's all.

What are R/Rw discs?

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
Well Jen if you can find me a deal like that (the Panasonic) I might just do that. I just can't be paying this horrible outrageous price for one that's all.

I'm as frugal as they come, and I don't buy much of anything until I'm sure I've found the rock bottom price. At the time I bought my Panasonic DMR-E50, I'd done a thorough google search. I found that prices vary dramatically on these recorders.

I have made around 400 DVDs with my machine, and I'm very pleased with it. My husband hooked it up for me, as he does with all of my equipment. :D From what I understand, it was fairly self explanatory. I got the hang of it within a couple of days.

By the way, the last time I checked, my DMR-E50 was selling for $349.00 at Walmart. That's still cheaper than at some places.

well I just searched and found one for $356 including shipping. Is that good? Gosh that seems like so much money but this is something I'd really like to have, that I think I will get good use out of and there is no other time I could ever get one.

Do they hook up just like VCR's? I just connect it to a VCR to tape VHS to DVD?

When you transfer to DVD and want to copy the DVD what do you do then? Does the uality stay the same from one DVD to the next or does it do the generation loss like VHS tapes do?

I have a GE DVD player, will they play on that player?

The Sansui DVD Recorder + VCR combo unit and GoVideo DVD Recorder & VCR combo units are good products as well... just fyi stuff... :wave: $399-$450.00

Originally posted by Beavis
The Sansui DVD Recorder + VCR combo unit and GoVideo DVD Recorder & VCR combo units are good products as well... just fyi stuff... :wave: $399-$450.00
Too much money

$350 or under is what I need to stay at. The GoVideo Thing would be amaing though.

Wow I just looked at the infor on the Go Video one. That is sweet - it's just too much money. I'm already thinking I might just forget it because I can't find answers to my ??'s and I dont know that I can hook up things like the DVD recorder and know how to do it right, will it be compatible, etc.

I think I might just stay with VHS :(

Nanny,

For a Panasonic DMR-E50, you will also need a modulator, unless you have a newer TV. You'd also need a modulator for hooking up a DVD player to your TV, unless you have a newer TV.

My husband says that it was fairly simple to hook the machine up. If you get one, he will be sure to answer your questions. We'll set up a time for this purpose, if you need it. I'm electronically illiterate, so he's used to trying to explain things in simple terms. I'm still having trouble getting him to tell me "up and down" and "left and right", though. LOL That's far easier than "in and out", etc. See how dense I am?! :lol:

By the way, $356 including shipping sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

As far as if the quality remains close to the same when making copies of my homemade DVDs, I can't say exactly. I don't have a large TV screen, nor do I have a critical eye for such things. Perhaps someone else with the same machine can answer that question. There is not a lot lost as there is with another generation in video; I do know that. The loss is nothing like you would have with videos. Also, Panasonic brags in their ads for this machine that it makes "pristine copies".

With my particular machine, I copy videos or DVDs just like I would on a VCR: play in the VCR and push record on the DVD recorder. I do not have the option to easily make episode titles, though... at least without watching the screen like a hawk.

I hope that this helps.:)

Thanks

I dont care about menus so that is no problem.



What is a modulator? I have a DVD Player already so does that mwan I have one?

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
What is a modulator? I have a DVD Player already so does that mwan I have one?
My husband thinks that if you have a newer TV you probably wouldn't need a modulator. We got ours at Walmart in the TV department, and we couldn't run the DVD player without it. (We have a very old TV.)

Do you have a newer TV? Is your DVD player directly hooked to your TV, or is there a small rectagular box connecting the two (a modulator)? If you had one, you'd probably know it. Therefore, you probably wouldn't need one for the Panasonic recorder.

I know very little about this stuff. Sorry. But my husband's pretty handy in this department. :D

:wave:

Originally posted by Agent 13
My husband thinks that if you have a newer TV you probably wouldn't need a modulator. We got ours at Walmart in the TV department, and we couldn't run the DVD player without it. (We have a very old TV.)

Do you have a newer TV? Is your DVD player directly hooked to your TV, or is there a small rectagular box connecting the two (a modulator)? If you had one, you'd probably know it. Therefore, you probably wouldn't need one for the Panasonic recorder.

I know very little about this stuff. Sorry. But my husband's pretty handy in this department. :D

:wave:

My cousin hooked me all up so there's nothing actually connected TO my TV but to my cable box. If I end up getting one of these recorders the TV I will use won't be my main TV it will be one I use for trading. My VCR's on that one are just connected through the yellow/red wiring cord things. I dont want to tape off of TV with it (the recorder) so would I still need a modulator? How much do they run?

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
My VCR's on that one are just connected through the yellow/red wiring cord things. I dont want to tape off of TV with it (the recorder) so would I still need a modulator? How much do they run?

A modulator runs around $20 at Walmart. That cost disturbed me when we first got our DVD player (not the recorder). I mean, you think you're getting a good deal when you find a player for $40, but then having to buy the modulator seemed a rip-off to me. But that's just with really old TVs. Newer ones shouldn't need it, I don't think.

The Panasonic has three "wiring cord things" (red, yellow, white) for audio (stereo sound) and visual. It seems to me that if the TV you use has those thingamagigs, then you'd be good to go with just the recorder.

I'm sorry I'm so dense. :blush: I just know it works. :blush:

There are others on this board that have the same machine, so I think that they'll probably be able to give you better answers. My husband would be happy to help you set it up, via email, though. :) My husband is literally a genius with such things.

Jen

I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I will give it a shot.

I have a Panasonic E30 DVD recorder. Before buying it, I did a lot of research. I even called up Panasonic to ask what the difference was between the E30 and the E50. They told me there wasn't much difference at all. The E50 just had some extra fuction for the computer. Something I will never use. So I went with the E30. I bought my recorder about a year ago off ebay for slightly over $300. I think it's less now.
If you are looking for something cheap, you may just want to try ebay. I just did a search for "Panasonic DVD recorder" and there were several listings. The only thing I would say is to get something off there only if it's BRAND new, still in the box. That is what I did. I am very happy with it.
I agree with what Agent 13 said about the DVD-R's costing a lot, they do! That is a big expense. But, in the long run, I think it will be worth the money. I buy only TDK DVD-R's and they work great. There are some cheaper brands out there, but I am afraid some don't last.
The DVD recorder for me was very easy to hook up. I had no problems at all, it was just like a VCR.
About the quality, like the VCR, SP mode is the best. The LP mode is pretty good, but I wouldn't use the EP mode at all, especially if copying from VHS. The quality looks awful. If you record straight from the TV in EP mode, it's not quite as bad though.
I am not sure about the "modulator" thing. I've never had to buy anything extra. My TV is about 6 years old.

Anyway, good luck!

I would really caution against making a purchase of this magnitude via EBAY. Even if it is new in the box and sealed...you still could have problems with it. Even if they were willing to exchange, you would be out the shipping charges - again - and the time it would take. Also, if you buy at a local store, you can return it if you decide you do not like it - or want it. Just make sure you have clear information on their return policy and do not charge a restocking fee.

I know how confusing this is!! I went through it trying to decide when I finally decided that buying an external dvd recorder would be best. It was 299.00 and burns and reads just about every type of media out there. The problem is that all of the gadget required to transfer videos added up quickly and I still only have about 2 hours of videos on dvd now;o)

As far as purchasing blank media goes, there are some previous posts on here for good places to buy from. So far, from what I have found, it is best to buy blank dvd-r's online. I buy my blanks cds locally. CompUSA has deals all of the time with in-store and mail in rebates that makes it all free with the exception of tax, and a stamp to mail in the rebate forms.

Good luck in your decision!!

Is it possible to make custom menus?

For example, if I made a couple DVDs with The Simpsons Season 4, could I make a menu that actually says "Simpsons: Season 4" and then have all the episodes accesible underneath or something like that?

And are DVD recorders easy to use? Is it easy to switch VHS tapes into DVD and does the quality increase?