[Bluedabadee]

just a question that popped in to my mind a little while ago..

I still use a VCR to record things off sky, but really seeing the advantage of a PVR / Sky+ thing so might invest in one really soon. I'm also using a SONY CRT TV too (my Wharfedale one gave up a few months ago).

I have LOADS of video tapes in the tv cabinet full of recordings going back to 2004 I think

[David (2)]

to make recordings from Sky, you would need the Sky+ or Sky+HD box. The record feature may increase your subscription if you are on a very low subscription package or just using the free channels.

there are people still using CRT and VHS. Due to the area we live in, most people here got Sky some years ago, but some are still on very old Sky boxes, and have a VHS machine hooked up for making recordings. Very limited though. You cant view and record different channels at the same time, and thats just for starters.

[Chasing Shadows]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (2)

The record feature may increase your subscription if you are on a very low subscription package

No it won't. All Sky TV subscriptions receive Sky+ functionality free of charge.

[call100]

Throw it all away and enjoy some new stuff.....you won't regret it...You can digitise your tapes if you are that desperate to keep them....

That said, I feel the same old arguments about to start!!

[Soundbox]

We have as main viewing:

25" Phillips 4:3 CRT TV (2005)
Panasonic NV-HS710 Nicam stereo VCR (2001)
Panasonic DVD player (2006)
Technica FreeView HD box (2011)

Upstairs:

21" Panasonic 4:3 CRT TV (1998)
Sanyo VTC-6500 Betamax VCR (1983)
Technica FreeView HD box (2011)

So CRT TV's and VCR's in use at the moment.

[David (2)]

for the most simple way to transfer VHS to DVD's, you need a Combi DVD-VHS Recorder.

Other methods include transfering between a VHS machine and DVD Recorder using Scart, or buy a conversion kit to connect the VHS to a PC and record and edit on the hard drive with burning to dvd on the pc.

Obviously, recording stuff from tape to disc doesnt automatically result in a boost in quality to Shop dvd quality - the end recording on disc will still be the same quality as the tape original. Some pre-recorded tapes wont transfer due to built in encoding.

[2Bdecided]

@Soundbox:

VHS downstairs, Betamax upstairs? How convenient!

Can't you fit a 405-line TV and CV2000 VCR in a spare room somewhere?

Maybe a little Baird set and some phonovision records in the WC for completeness?


Seriously, 4x3 seems a strange choice when no programmes have been made in 4x3 for a decade, and 16x9 TVs are now going to the dump.

Still, we'll keep ours till it breaks.

Cheers,
David.

[D.Page]

I use a Sony KV-21LS30U CRT for SD viewing, which I admit is small, but I'm on the look-out for a larger 16:9 Sony Wega.

Although my main recording devices are two Panasonic DVD recorders with hard drives, I have a Panasonic NV-HS1000 S-VHS, but I also have two Panasonic NV-SV121 S-VHS's (one is in its box and never been used, which I keep as a spare deck for future use) and two old JVC HR-S7000 S-VHS's (I know, I ought to get rid of some of these machines on eBay!). I have a vast archive of VHS and S-VHS material, and use some of these decks to play them back. I did start the process of transferring from VHS/S-VHS to DVD, but this will be a long-drawn-out process.

BTW (and I know this is off the point a bit) I have noticed one 'issue' when transferring footage from any of these S-VHS recorders to the DVD recorders, and that is I occasionally get a dropped-frame, which is annoying and, until I find out if there is anything I can do about this, the transferring of my material is on hold.

[Deacon1972]

Just unearthed 2 14" (4x3) portables, one was a video combi, we've put the non combi in the spare room and connected a DVD player to it for the kids - it won't be long until they realise their movies are being chopped/cropped and they ain't HD then we'll have to change it. (kidding)

........... it's a stop gap until the conservatory is finished, the 32" LCD from the bedroom may go in their or the spare room as it never gets used.

[Martin Phillp]

Living room:

28" Beko CRT (2006)
Sharp VHS/DVD Recorder combi (2007)
Sharp Freeview 160GB PVR (2007)

Kitchen:

Sanyo 14" CRT (2002)
Dion Freeview receiver (2010)

[couchtripper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.Page

BTW (and I know this is off the point a bit) I have noticed one 'issue' when transferring footage from any of these S-VHS recorders to the DVD recorders, and that is I occasionally get a dropped-frame, which is annoying and, until I find out if there is anything I can do about this, the transferring of my material is on hold.

You could buy a cheap TV capture card (you'd probably get an old Pinnacle for a fiver). The important thing is the capture software - make sure it's got the option to add a blank frame where lost ones are detected and the sync should be fine.

[D.Page]

Quote:

Originally Posted by couchtripper

You could buy a cheap TV capture card (you'd probably get an old Pinnacle for a fiver). The important thing is the capture software - make sure it's got the option to add a blank frame where lost ones are detected and the sync should be fine.

Any idea why it's doing it with the equipment I've got already, though? I know the Panasonic DVD recorders employ a TBC (probably just a simple sync-restorer) during copying via analogue input and so I make sure that the TBC is off on the S-VHS deck I'm using. The dropped frame never repeats itself in the same place if I start the transfer again. If I spot a dropped frame, then stop the transfer and record the material once again, the dropped frame won't occur at the point where the first transfer was affected, but will occur somewhere else, before too long if I leave it to continue transferring.

[call100]

I don't usually like to stereotype, but.................This

[ThePenkethPedan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluedabadee

just a question that popped in to my mind a little while ago..

I still use a VCR to record things off sky, but really seeing the advantage of a PVR / Sky+ thing so might invest in one really soon. I'm also using a SONY CRT TV too (my Wharfedale one gave up a few months ago).

I have LOADS of video tapes in the tv cabinet full of recordings going back to 2004 I think

I use a Sony CRT TV with a combi VHS/DVD recorder. I too have many,many self-recorded VHS cassettes which I know I`ll never watch again, or even transfer to DVD (costly and time-consuming). I prefer VHS to DVD as one can stop the tape and resume without any FF through from the start as with DVDs. I have transferred some VHS tapes to DVD, but believe that these discs need `finalising` to ensure they can be played on another DVD player than the one they were recorded on. With tapes, they will play on any VHS player.
I think that`s correct. I tried to `finalise` a DVD, but it still wouldn`t play on my cousin`s DVD player. Wonder where I went wrong? I still buy VHS tapes (films,sport,railways etc) from charity shops, 50p max down to 10p each. Many shops are not accepting/selling them now though, so I suppose they`ll die a natural death eventually.

[jenzie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (2)

to make recordings from Sky, you would need the Sky+ or Sky+HD box. The record feature may increase your subscription if you are on a very low subscription package or just using the free channels.

there are people still using CRT and VHS. Due to the area we live in, most people here got Sky some years ago, but some are still on very old Sky boxes, and have a VHS machine hooked up for making recordings. Very limited though. You cant view and record different channels at the same time, and thats just for starters.

still using the steam powered tech here

and i can tape anything off sky ..... even box office!! (well i haven't taped off box office for ages so i don't know now)

oh and i have tapes from 1989!!!!!!!!

[zandar]

I also had a load of stuff on VHS that I wanted to keep. I resolved the problem by buying a Panasonic Freesat HD(twin tuners) hard drive recorder which has a built in DVD recorder. This means that anything I wish to keep in future can be sent from the hard drive to blank DVD's.

I was able to connect my old VHS recorder to this new device with cables, sent stuff to the hard drive and then run off the DVD's before throwing away the old bulky VHS tapes.

Several models by Panasonic have since appeared. Some are for Freeview HD instead of Freesat HD and some have blu-ray recording/playing. It is a great pity that more manufacturers have not followed Panasonic's lead and brought out such devices. The hard drive recorders are ideal for watch & wipe but it is certainly an added bonus to be able to store something on a DVD and clear the programme from the hard drive. Such devices also mean you don't need a separate DVD/blu-ray machine taking up room (& more wires plus yet another remote control).