Decision time....

[Richard King]

Well, my 1980 or so vintage VCR finally died. The shop says it is not fixable because of lack of parts. It was a very good vcr (much better than the garbage on the market today) that was worth about $1300 in it's day, so I didn't want to just throw it away. I still have my D-VHS Dish receiver sitting in a box awaiting to sell (since I got a 508). I have several tapes that I would like to keep and a few programs on the 508 I would like to archive. The dilemma: Do I get a dvd recorder for my computer or do I buy another vhs deck to replace old faithful? If I get a burner will my computer work. It is a 733Mhz Celeron. If not, what suggestions does everyone have for upgrading? I can use my existing case/pwr supply, hard drives, cd-r etc., so I guess I am looking for suggestions on mother board, chip, etc. This will be my first computer build (although I have moved the innards from one case to another). I don't want to spend a fortune so be gentle.

[gcutler]

A DVDRW will work on a 733MHz, but the problem will be the encoding of data once it is captured. On my 2.0GHz if a 2 hour program takes 2 hours to encode from AVI to MPEG-2, a 733 will take 5+ hours. And you will need on average 40GB free per DVD project, so a hard drive upgrade may be needed.

One alternative is to get a capture device that encodes via the hardware device (not using your PC's CPU) but those do not seem to be the best quality option (according to the discussion sites, people aren't as happy with them) or maybe one of those Stand Alone DVD Recorders that fit in your entertainment center.

http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/shop/newdesign/productlist.asp?categoryid=2596

If you want to do really fancy stuff then the PC way is probably best because you can pick and choose every component (thats the way I like it). Or if you want a good all around system without having to worry about which Authoring SW to use, which encoder to use, which capture device to use then the panasonics DVD Recorders may be best. Maybe buy a cheapo VHS recorder to have if needed to play your tapes one last time to archive and in case a friend brings over a VHS (Luddite!!!) :D

[Maniacal1]

For what it's worth, I replaced a broken VCR a couple of years ago. I've barely used it at all, mostly to download programs from the TiVo. The thing is practically brand new.

[Richard King]

It's amazing picking up a current VCR vs. the one I am retiring. The current ones have no weight to them at all while my old one is very hefty. I look at that as a difference in the mechanics inside the box.

you will need on average 40GB free per DVD projectThe computer that I have now has three drives, a 20G, a 30G and an 80G, so that isn't a problem. I bought the 80G recently at BB for $49 on a 3 hour special. Needless to say, I have plenty of blank drive space. :D

[Richard King]

I recently upgraded the old computer to XP. I haven't registered yet, so am thinking I would leave the C drive in the old computer, restore it to ME and install XP in the new computer using the 30G drive as the master. Do you guys see any problem in this. I have 22 days left to register the XP.

[gcutler]

No should not be a problem. I have a 40GB drive running XP and a 80GB drive totally devoted to my Digital Video and DVD editing authoring. Only thing the machine is a 2.0GHz with 640MB Ram, makes the authoring/editing/encoding go much gaster.

[Bogy]

Originally posted by Rking401
It's amazing picking up a current VCR vs. the one I am retiring. The current ones have no weight to them at all while my old one is very hefty. I look at that as a difference in the mechanics inside the box.
It's probably just the difference between the vacuum tubes in the old one and the processor used in the new ones. :D

[AllieVi]

Originally posted by Rking401
Well, my 1980 or so vintage VCR finally died. The shop says it is not fixable because of lack of parts. It was a very good vcr (much better than the garbage on the market today) that was worth about $1300 in it's day... If it makes you feel any better, that $1,300 in 1980 equates to something like $5,000 today :)

I'm trying to justify a DVD writing setup, too, but figure I'll wait a while until the prices drop a bit and more competition exists in the market. I'm a recovering early-adopter...

The current crop of VCR's can't match DVD quality, but they're not bad. And since they're available at throw-away prices and 6-hour tapes are so cheap, they make sense for me now.

[Richard King]

If it makes you feel any better, that $1,300 in 1980 equates to something like $5,000 todayI won it in a sales contest so I don't feel too bad. :D

I'm a recovering early-adopter...I can identify with that. I had one of the very first DVD players released (still have the same one), a Toshiba SD-3006 with a date sticker of March 1997. I bought it when there were probably less than 100 titles on the market. I seem to do the same with just about everything, but am learning to control myself now (a bit).

[music_beans]

What parts were needed for your old-gold VCR?

BTW, I got an RCA VCR for my birthday about a year ago, and it works great to this day.