Simplest way to put VHS on DVD
 

There's been so many discussions on transferring VHS to DVD, that I'm thoroughly confused. I have some VHS tapes of movies that are not available on DVD, and I'd like to back them up to DVDs as simply as possible. Quality isn't as important as cost, and simplicity. From what I've read, I gathered that the simplest thing to do would be to hook a VHS player to a digital video stabilizer and then to a DVD recorder. Is that correct? I want to bypass the computer entirely, if possible. Years ago, I imported some VHS tapes to the computer, and authored DVDs, but it's very time consuming, and I don't want to get into all that now. I can get access to a VHS player, but I'd still need to buy the stabilizer and the DVD recorder, if I can find cheap ones. Are there any specs or features I need to look for? Thank you very much.

Ideally, you want a quality VCR, meaning a S-VHS deck with TBC. Any old VCR just is not going to perform well for you. It's not a matter of not looking as good, but major issues with tracking, image stability (tearing, jitter, etc), audio, etc.

All of those "image stabilizers" are snake oil. It's an attempt to not use an external TBC. And that will be extra important when converting any retail/commercial tapes. You will run into copy protection. TBCs ignore/defeat it, while those "stabilizers" will do a lot of odd things.

Finally, yes, a DVD recorder will work very well. However, you need to look for specific units known to give good tape recordings, not just any old recorder. Quite a few machine have serious issues. You must also always use very specific runtime settings, and not deviate. Some recorders do some terrible things at certain recording modes.

Hmmm... :hmm:

In fact, if you get some specific models, there is a chance that we could skip the TBC. And all you'd need is the recorder and a good VCR. That's NOT a general workflow, for converting any old tape, and depends on your tape sources.

How many tapes and what lengths? I ask (but don't need the answer) because if the number is small, you may be better served by paying someone who already has the gear to do it for you than going through process of locating and buying gear, climbing the learning curve, doing the transfers, and then disposing of the gear.

Hmm, I guess I better rethink this then.

It would be 5-10, but I'm worried about paying someone to do it, because technically they are still copyrighted. I don't think it would be wrong to do it myself, since they are unavailable on DVD, and it should be considered fair personal use to transfer a copy to newer media, since VHS's are obsolete.

Some additional thoughts

The market place forum will give a feel for the cost of the recommended tools for doing a good transfer job. Any tools you buy can be sold later, probably at only a modest net loss. But you do have the upfront cost and risk.

5-10 tapes is not many. The cost of a basic but decent transfer equipment suite alone would run on the order of $100 per tape.

Not all commercial tapes were copy protected. If you can make viewable VHS-to-VHS copy it is likely not copy protected. And many commercial VHS that the studio has not released on DVD may be available in the "gray" market (internet search may find it); e.g., Song of the South.

I've had reasonable success with basic (no restoration or editing - just a dump to DVD) tape-to-dvd transfers using a modest cost JVC S-VHS VCR (HR-S3500U) and Toshiba D-KR10 DVD recorder.

Your profile does not list a location. There may be nearby people who would help you in this project, and if editing/restoration/color correction is not involved (i.e., just a dump to DVD) it could be simple. You might contact some one-man-band wedding videographers who have been in business since the days of VHS, or perhaps garage operation DVD copy services, they might have the needed equipment on hand and willing to help for a nominal "equipment rental" fee. Some of the people at this site may still offer the service.

Thank you for the suggestions. I'm looking into a few options.