[Vintage-Audio] Converting VHS to DVD

[Charles E. Fox]

At 03:26 PM 7/8/2009, you wrote:
>Hello Charlie,
>
>Thank you. Excellent information to be aware of.
>
>I am going to put you on the spot Charlie, but I would not if I were not
>totally confident you can handle the question!
>
>I am totally blind, now. I was shot by a careless stranger who was Pheasant
>hunting in a residential area. Illegally. That was the afternoon before i
>turned eighteen in October of 1964. I mention this so that you understand I
>have full visual imagery and nearly total recall of what I saw. Hence, I
>comprehend "visual" termonology and have a mind's eye loaded with countless
>images to call upon. So do not worry about saying something I may not
>understand etc.

         Hi Duane:

         I am afraid that with a handicap like that, I would have 
trouble finding the machine, let alone operating it.


>I hate using remote control units. All of my audio and video equipment is
>stand alone and does not connect to any external computers etc.

         While all the DVD burners I have are capable of recording or 
playing back from buttons on the front panel, The remote control is 
necessary to finalize the disk. If the DVD is not finalized it will 
not play back on any machine other than the one it was recorded on.
         Also it is necessary to make a choice from a menu to tell 
the machine to finalize the disk. If this presents too great a 
problem, would it be possible for you to record a number of disks and 
then get sighted help to finalize them?

>If I am understanding you correctly: You suggest that I avoid a combination
>machine that converts a VHS tape into a CD. Right? You want me to use a good
>quality VHS deck, feed that signal out and into a good quality DVD deck.
>
>I assume the DVD deck is both play and record. Now does this DVD deck have a
>side one that is 'play' only and a side B that is both play/record? I could
>copy a DVD from side A to side B, provided the copyright protection did not
>block me from doing so, of course.

         The five dvd burners that I have will all record and play 
disks, but, just like a vcr, when playing back they just turn off the 
record circuits.
While it is possible to make copies from a burner's hard drive if it 
has one, it is much faster and easier to make copies on a PC using a 
program like Nero or Roxio.


>Which of the DVD decks that you mentioned do you "believe" would be the most
>user friendly for a totally blind person?

         The machines I have are from three to seven years old and 
have probably been replaced by much newer models. Also, I seem to 
recall that some DVD recorders were not available in the USA because 
the FCC required that digital television tuners be installed. Of the 
machines I have, the Toshiba RD-XS32SC is the most complicated, and 
the Sony has a couple of features I don't like. (It formats the disks 
in a separate operation that the others avoid, and it calls a program 
a "title". (Do you want to delete this title? Yes, and the whole 
program is gone.)
         I think the Pioneers are the most simple operation.


         I hope this helps a bit.

         Cheers
                 Charlie Fox





Chas E. Fox Video Production
793 Argyle Rd. Windsor ON N8Y3J8
519-254-4991,  cfox1 at cogeco.ca
www.chasfoxvideo.com