Converting those VHS videos to DVD...

[BigPantsRule]

Our trusty old VHS player has finally packed up after years of stirling service. We've had a DVD player alongside it for several years. Before the VHS format becomes obsolete, I want to invest in a dual VHS/DVD recorder for ease of copying - I really don't want to throw away all our (mainly home-made!) tapes especially as so many of them are still being watched. I'm looking at the PHILIPS DVDR3512V/05 simply because the blurb says it's easy to record from one format to the other. I know I could do it more cheaply with a basic VHS player, but can't be done with all that cable-fiddling. Does anyone have experience of this kind of product? Any turkeys to avoid? Thanks!

The success depends on what you are transferring. Copy protected / pre recorded VHS generally is troublesome to copy from VHS to DVD - many DVD recorders detect the copy protection and prevent the transfer to DVD. For home movies most of the recorders will do the job just fine - for ease of use always look for one that supports DVD+R and DVD-R Discs

Thanks for that hint. I think some of my older home movies are also copy protected - I thought you can remove it simply by taping over the gap left by punching out the tab? I'll need to have another look at them! Don't know what to do about the pre-recorded ones, though - I can't afford to replace them all and was only thinking about doing the favourites.