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Thread: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

  1. #1
    Stegodon
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    Default Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    Bear with me. I have come to realise that I own a lot of videos which are taking up a lot of space. I no longer watch them because the video player is downstairs and the TV is up. So. I thought I would copy my favourites to disc and then throw the VHS's out...

    I mentioned my plan to MrScotch, all gung-ho and excited because I'd seen a scart to USB cable on ebay and thought, "Wow, copy video to computer, copy film to disc. Even I can do that...". Then he goes and gets all technical and 'boy' on me, mumbling things about programs and drivers and widgets and gadgets. Raining on my technological parade.

    How difficult is it really? What gadgetry is involved?
    "We don't need to all lose glitter privileges because one kid makes a sparkly penis on the carpeting." - Excalibur

  2. #2
    Member
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    I'm not familiar with the product you mention, but such devices such as this are available which sound similar. You install the software and plug the box into a USB port, feed in video and you're away.

    Not that I've used anything like this, but it seems straight forward.

  3. #3
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    Those things work OK, but a lot of times the audio and video is not synced correctly. I finally gave up trying to do that after many wasted hours and blank DVDs. I still use it to record animated movies for my kids, because you don't notice if the lips are not exactly synced with the sound anyway.

    FWIW, I'm using this.

  4. #4
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    Are we talking about home movies or pre-recorded Hollywood films?

    I ask 'cos many old VHS tapes have Macrovision protection (at least here in the US), so copying them may be problematic. It's not "impossible", but Macrovision can add another layer of complexity to the process - so much so that in many cases it's simply easier to buy the film on DVD than spend 30 man-hours per film copying it to DVD.

    But yeah, there are many "solutions in a box" out there, and they're pretty cheap these days. They have varying levels of success, as don't call me shirley points out.

  5. #5
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    My videos are all European format, and pre-recorded, not home movies. The gizmo I saw was like the one don't call me shirley is using. I'll go nutty if the sound and pics don't sync, it drives me up the wall!! Thanks for the tips so far though!
    "We don't need to all lose glitter privileges because one kid makes a sparkly penis on the carpeting." - Excalibur

  6. #6
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    I've known people to get decent results by skipping the computer step and just buying a DVD recorder. They are pretty cheap now. You'll also need a Macrovision black box, which can be found on the internet pretty easily, I believe.

  7. #7
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    Seriously, what kind of movies are we talking about here? I dunno about Europe, but here in the US many older movies can be had on DVD for $5-$7 these days. For that kind of money, I'd just as soon buy the DVDs. Because no matter how well you capture the video, it's gonna look like crap (in the same way a perfectly made mp3 of an old, scratched 78rpm record will sound like crap no matter what).

    Of course, if the movies are unavailable on DVD, then you don't have much of a choice. Still, I've seen films transferred to DVD, and the results are... less than optimal.

    If you were doing this because you wanted to learn about video capture, or if you had tons of old home movies, that would be one thing. But given that they're actual pre-recorded movies... well, it's a lot of time and effort for not a lot of payoff.

  8. #8
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Recording my videos to DVD. Help!

    You are probably right. What I really want is my FRIENDS! Sad but true. I have series 1-8 on VHS and 9 & 10 on DVD. They take up a lot of space, but I hate to part with them. There are others, Fawlty Towers, Star Wars... But thinking about it you are probably right, I'll check out how much they'll coat on DVD and maybe even fill up my wishlist!
    "We don't need to all lose glitter privileges because one kid makes a sparkly penis on the carpeting." - Excalibur

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