Recording programs

16 years ago

My setup is antenna, never have had cable nor satellite. I really like some of the very old TV shows and some are currently being broadcast. I use the converter box to a VCR, record the program, then later play that tape to DVD recorder, pausing the DVD recorder as necessary to roughly edit out the commercials. What would be a better way for me to save these programs?

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Comments (5)

yosemitebill
16 years ago
Hi,

The amount of degradation that you are getting from recording to VHS and then going to DVD must be really bad. I would suggest either recording direct to DVD and fast forwarding through the commercials, or recording direct to DVD and then editing on a PC with a DVD drive, using a DVD editing program to remove the commercials, and then burning a new disc.

DVDs can look great but can never be as good as the original source material... which unfortunately in the way that you're currently doing it, is VHS with only 240 lines of horizontal resolution that is then re-compressed.

Bill
bus_driver
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for taking the time to respond. If such a thing exists, I think I need a DVD recorder with built-in digital tuner and timed recording capabilities. It needs to work with antenna input. Does TIVO have such a unit? Which model? Any other suitable units?
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yosemitebill
16 years ago
Hi Bus Driver,

Without knowing how much money you wanted to throw at this, I kept my answer simple. Yes, DVD recorders with built-in ATSC/NTSC tuners & timers are readily available. I took a quick look at Walmart's website, since they are so ubiquitous, and they actually have an even better solution... which is what I was initially going to recommend. Under DVD players, in "electronics" they have a Magnavox DVD recorder that also has a built-in HD (hard drive) recorder. Without knowing all the details of this unit, it should hopefully allow you to record the program to the HD and then edit out the commercials as you burn it to DVD, if you wish.

The Magnavox name is licensed to Funai which is a major OEM supplier to many well known manufactures, so it should be OK.

Regarding Tivo, yes that is an alternative but it only has a HD recorder so that you would then use a separate DVD recorder to archive. You also have a subscription fee, as well. Not knocking Tivo at all though.

Hope this helps!

Bill
bus_driver
Original Author
16 years ago
I checked the Walmart store. The recorder they had on the shelf was Magnavox ZV 427MG9. Online reviews were not so good. Some owners were pleased but about 50% of those posting had serious problems. I will check the Walmart website.
yosemitebill
16 years ago
Here's a link to the example of the Magnavox HDD/DVD recorder I found on the Walmart website.

Here is a link that might be useful: HDD/DVD Recorder