Convert VHS tapes to best DVD+R?
 

Hi, I convert VHS tapes to DVD and have found it to be pretty difficult. Some things I have found to do are:
Make sure you have a good working vhs machine. you can usually find these at 2nd hand stores.
I also recommend you keep them powered off when not using to avoid them going bad. If you leave these machines unplugged for too long, they tend to do bad. Also make sure you keep the heads inside cleaned so that you get a crisp picture. You can do this by buying a tape cleaning head cleaner which can be found online. These are just some tricks I have found to be useful. I also recommend DVD+R rather than DVD-R. They are of higher quality and will record quicker and be more usable in more devices.

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Rarely. Most "2nd hand stores" are places like Goodwill, and contain nothing but the lowest-end consumer garbage. These days, mostly 2000s Funai (combo or solo). Most are in terrible shape, eat tapes, were abused, etc. I've perused such places for years, and in that time have maybe found 1 deck that was minimally useful (and only for mold work).

Some of my best finds have been offline auctions, estate sales, temp-controlled storage auctions/sales.

This is myth from 15-20 years ago. I've not heard this being parroted in years, and I'm somewhat amazed that anybody still believes that nonsense.

The origins of it are rooted in in the early (2002) "DVD-R vs. DVD+R war" (more like a minor skirmish), which was over by 2003 due to almost all burners accepting both DVD-R and DVD+R (and +RW/-RW). It was marketing hooey to sucker people that didn't know about optical media.

The only real difference in the formats is the lead-in/out, the end. There's nothing different in the physical construction or materials that would create a quality change. Certain marketed/touted DVD+R potentials were essentially vaporware, such as Mt. Rainier (eventually DVD-R support edit as well, but nobody used it, because it added issues to disc readability, and it was a failed spec).

What is true is that bad media is bad, and good media is good.
- bad/cheap DVD+R and good DVD-R = the person thinks "DVD-R is better"
- good DVD+R and bad/cheap DVD-R = the person thinks "DVD+R is better"

But the comparison is faulty, and the conclusion is faulty.
John like bananas. John likes blue. Bananas must be blue? <<< the logic, or rather logical fallacy

DVD+R vs DVD-R
 

This guy that replied, sounds like he knows alot but he is incorrect I'll go into more detail so it clarifies the real Teuth. I cant believe this guy thinks DVD-R is of the same quality of DVD+R. This is simply not true.

DvD +R came out way after DVD-R and is enhanced quality and therefore costs more. It's also more compatible in more devices. I have devices that accept both but handle much better when using dvd+r
See below more info on DVD+R vs DVD-R :

2. DVD+R :
It is pronounced as DVD Plus R. It was released in year 2002.Like DVD-R, it is also a recordable DVD format, but it does not carry the DVD logo. It has about 80 to 80 percent better playback compatibility with all DVD players. It uses ADIP system and generally slightly more expensive than their DVD-R counterparts. You can follow the link to see all the differences cause there are quite a few. Please dont reply to posts when you haven't done your research

Correct..

No.

It is very much true.
For example, lets go back to 2003. A PVC (Pioneer manufactured) DVD-R was superior to pretty much all DVD+R available at the time (mostly RICOH). Fast forward a few years, and some good DVD+R did exist, mostly YUDENT (Taiyo Yuden) and MKM (Mitsubishi Verbatim), but most good discs were still DVD-R. Not just TY and Verbatim, but also MXL, TDK, SONYD, and some others.

Nonsense.

More nonsense. DVD-R and DVD+R have historically been identical pricing. In fact, early DVD-R(G) were far more pricey than DVD+R ever was.

No. Overall, DVD-R is slightly more compatible with devices, even when setting booktype. Part of this has to do with overall disc quality, but dye/materials also had a hand in it. However, the lead-in/out was still the major problem (booktype, etc)

That is merely anecdotal, nothing more. If DVD+R works better for you, great, use it. But your sole experience does NOT override the big picture.

That's nothing more than a content mill, not an authoritative site on anything whatsoever.

That information is factually challenge horsepuckey that was badly copied/pasted for other non-authoritative sources. For example, DVD-R(G) did not come out until 2001. I should know, as I was on a wait list to buy the very first DVD-R(G) drive, the Pioneer DVR-103. DVD-R(G), what most everybody calls simply "DVD-R" is entirely different to DVD-R(A), which also didn't come out until around 1999 (I forget the exact date off-hand).

The Wikipedia entry is also pretty well f'd up from misinformation, because any idiot can edit it. And I'm assuming that's where this "article" of regurgitated info came from.

Here's an actual source: http://pioneerdvd.rpc1.org/GeneralvsAuthoring.pdf

More reading: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/guides/media/dvd-formats.htm

I don't know why you felt the need to
(1) bump a post from 10 years ago (2011 thread, now 2021)
(2) talk nonsense, disputing facts/information that's been well-known since the 2000s

Moved from the other thread, which is now:lock:

Back in the day, if you were going to burn a DVD, you had to go to dvdrhelp.com (now videohelp.com) and lookup your player to figure out which burnable media types would play in it. Some only supported DVD+R, some only DVD-R, some both, and some neither like my first generation Toshiba. It was well-known that DVD-R were slightly more compatible, at least at first.

If your player supported neither type, it was still possible that it would support video CDs, or better yet cDVD/miniDVDs.

Fun times!

This is one the funniest replies I've ever read! :D

Ooooooo...lordsmurf, you got pwned by a first time poster! :smack:

He don't know you very well, do he?

Edit: A long time ago, when I first joined Videohelp, I thought lordsmurf was full of it. Over the years, I've confirmed he IS full of it. Knowledge and experience! He rarely says "I think", it's almost always "I know because I've experienced or studied it for a long time!".

Edit 2: Awww...I left off without a rib. Hmmnm...Turn BLUE you lovable coot! [;^)] There...better. :D

That geeksforgeeks link is total BS, As far as I know most if not all those comparison points are not accurate.