JVC HR-XVC38 not a converter?
 

I recently bought a JVC HR-XVC38 under the assumption that it could record a vhs tape onto a dvd but on further inspection and research it seem to only do the opposite instead? Can someone confirm or explain what’s actually happening please?

It's not capable of recording to dvd no. JVC sold similar variants with DVD recording capability but those have different numbers and clearly state on the front and in the manual that they are capable of recording to DVD. I think they're typically named DR-MV___ something. This and a number of other JVC VHS/DVD combos are actually made by LG rather than JVC. JVC made some of their own combo decks before outsourcing it, but they may have stopped at this point.

sucks to find out I definitely did not get what I paid for, but thank you for answering!