VCR to DVD Converter

[borgward]

Are there any video tape to DVD stand alone units available? Someting like the stand alone Vinyl record to CD units that are sold in "record stores"?

[Mark Phelps]

I know the Panasonic DMR-ES35V does this, as I have used it. You stick in a VHS tape and a blank DVD and you can transfer the tape info to the disk. But, be prepared for major disappointments. We're used to such high quality today with 1080p and the like, that when you look at a VHS tape, it looks really awful. This deck can NOT improve on the quality of the original tape -- so all you get is a disk copy of that.

Also, these decks came out in 2006 -- so you probably won't be able to find them anymore, but Panasonic may be selling an improved, newer version.

[SeijiSensei]

I have an LG deck that does these transfers. I agree with Mark that the quality will be unappealing.

Also commercial decks will observe the no-copy flag on commercial tapes and refuse to copy them. I was trying to make backup copies of some Disney movies when my daughter was young and found this feature very annoying.

[borgward]

Will they look worse than playing the tape on tv using a VCR?

[SeijiSensei]

Probably not, though they will look worse than a DVD played on the same TV since NTSC DVDs have 480 horizontal lines of resolution while VHS has 360 I believe. On a traditional standard definition television they should look fine. On an HDTV, they'll look crummy.