We have loads of old videos and wish to record them to DVD (also so I can send some over to my brother in US). Does anyone have one - can anyone give me any useful information - i.e the sort of models there are and what to look for?

Many thanks!

I have one Liose; I got mine for £119 from Big W in August last year, which at the time was really cheap.

I'm no audio visual expert, but you could try looking here (http://films.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/search?siteSearchQuery=dvd+recorder&catId=120501&x=26&y=11) for ideas on prices.

K x

I've just bought a DVD Recorder - JVC DR-M10 about £200 delivered.

Brilliant!!! Very easy to use, just connect to VCR with a scart lead and away you go.

Had to buy online though as couldn't find a shop locally that stocked them, But I orderd on Monday evening and it was here by Thursday. Got it from Hughes Direct.

How easy is the recording bit from video to DVD and what about timing...does it take the time to record as it would as if you were playing a video normally?

Here's my tips because I'm halfway through archiving all my rock videos (TV sourced and pre-recorded) from the last 20 years. If you can afford it, go for a DVD recorder with a hard disk. Mine's a Panasonic 40gig model but now comes in 80gig. Prices are about £329 for Panasonic DMRE85HEBS Multi region - but other makes available.
The hard disk makes life so easy. Just connect the video to the DVD with a scart cable and then record - recording is in real time, a 3 hour tape will take 3 hours to transfer. Then you can edit away. Very easy to divide the tapes into smaller sections - eg, individual programmes in a series. Best of all, you can cut out all the adverts in the programmes. Once the editing is complete you can burn the programme to DVD-R, which can be played on any normal DVD player. Also with a hard disk model you can store up to 40+ hours and you can use timeslip - start watching a programme while you're still recording it or watch a programme while recording another one. If you can't stretch to a hard disk model, DVD-RAM models also use the timeslip function.
One word of warning though - you may not be able to transfer some pre-recorded tapes (Disney etc) because of copy protection.
I bought mine from a local dealer and would recommend them - http://www.cramptonandmoore.co.uk/shop/
Hope this helps and feel free to ask any more questions.

Recording from VCR to DVD is easy, just press play on video and record on DVD.

On the JVC that I have,you can use DVD-R,DVD-RW or DVD RAM disks.

You can still edit,modify,rename disks and as Cols said,RAM disks have the timeslip function, which means that while you are recording a tv programme,you either watch a different programme from the same disk, or watch the begining of the one you recording.

If you are recording stuff to play on another player you need to use DVD-R or DVD-RW.

I looked at the 'Which' report on DVD Recorders before I bought mine, you just sign up for a months free trial online.:smile: