How am I going to be able to use my VHS recorders when digital is forced on us?

In article , BeeJay says...

I have looked at this and it seems ideal except for one thing. At
present with a VCR I can tape a programme and then pass the tape on to
a friend, or I can tape educational programmes and take the tape to
work. How is it possible to do this with the Topfield? Or is there
another solution?

It is not possible, the only way would be to copy the programme from the
PVR onto the VCR though the scart.

In message , Ad C
writes
In article ,
says...


You usage is non-typical so will be not be catered for. However, your
VCRs will be scrap by time analogue is switched off. Then you will
perhaps have something like a dual channel PVR that costs in real terms
less than one VCR
But what about those of us who have built up extensive libraries of
irreplaceable videotaped programmes? And what about transporting
recordings to other places? Are there machines that transfer from PVR
to DVD or VCR?




You can transfer to DVD with a DVD recorder, the same way as you would
do so from tape to tape. There are problems here as well.
Because you are making a second generation recording, you are losing
quality, it do not matter that you are putting it onto a digital system,
you are still recording from an analogue source though a analoguee
system.
The other problem si if you got pre-recorded videos, not all of then
will copy across, due to protection.

I think the VHS will still be with us for a good long while yet, even if
Dixons do not think so, I see Currys are still selling them, which is
very strange.


Indeed. It's also noteworthy that the major AV companies are not only
selling VCRs. but are still introducing new models.

For example, JVC currently manufacture and sell no less than 19 VCR
models, and have only just introduced two new-model VCRs (the HR-V615EK,
and HRS-697EK).

I'd also suggest that none of the Dixon Group retailers are the best
people to get *any* sort of advice from.

--
Tony Morgan
http://www.camcord.info

BeeJay wrote:
On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 23:18:50 +0100, Colin Stamp
wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 20:53:09 GMT, "Paul Healy"
wrote:

Answer = Topfield TF5800 PVR

I wondered how long it'd be before someone said that )

I have to agree though. Once you've used the Topfield, you'll find
that the best use for a pair of VCRs is to level-up a table on a
sloping floor.

I have looked at this and it seems ideal except for one thing. At
present with a VCR I can tape a programme and then pass the tape on to
a friend, or I can tape educational programmes and take the tape to
work. How is it possible to do this with the Topfield? Or is there
another solution?

DVD recorders are still dropping in price. Bye the time of analogue
switch off, recording to DVD will likely be cost efficient.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 08:17:27 +0100, Ad C
wrote:

Also these PVR's can not really replace the VCR. They are fine for
recording things you are going to watch and then get rid of, but some
things you may want to keep.

Stuff you want to keep, you burn onto a DVD. If your DVD recorder has
a hard disc as well as a burner, you can edit-out commercials, etc
first, before you burn. If it only has a burner, you can do the
editing on a computer, if you want to.

Either way, you will end up with a much more compact storage system,
probably of higher quality, and probably more durable.

--
Dave
Sheffield, England, UK

http://www.gnudawn.co.uk/

BeeJay wrote:
I have looked at this and it seems ideal except for one thing. At
present with a VCR I can tape a programme and then pass the tape on to
a friend, ...

If Microsoft, Sky, record/film industry have their way, everything will
be Digital Rights Managed so you won't be able to do that.

Owain

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 08:17:27 +0100, Ad C
wrote:

Also these PVR's can not really replace the VCR. They are fine for
recording things you are going to watch and then get rid of, but some
things you may want to keep.

Stuff you want to keep, you burn onto a DVD. If your DVD recorder has
a hard disc as well as a burner, you can edit-out commercials, etc
first, before you burn. If it only has a burner, you can do the
editing on a computer, if you want to.

Either way, you will end up with a much more compact storage system,
probably of higher quality, and probably more durable.

Hmm.. 'probably'.. IMO tape is still the most flexible, reliable, dependable
and inexpensive storage medium for video. AIUI tape is the only medium used
professionally in TV studios.

Roger

"OldBill" wrote in message
...
BeeJay wrote:

I have looked at this and it seems ideal except for one thing. At
present with a VCR I can tape a programme and then pass the tape on to
a friend, or I can tape educational programmes and take the tape to
work. How is it possible to do this with the Topfield? Or is there
another solution?
It can be done via a PC, but only for the techie inclined.
But to be blunt, what % of users actually want to do this? 0.1%?

I think you are wrong. IMO most users want flexibility. They want to be sure
that if they pass a tape to a friend it will be playable and to know their
equipment will play any tape from any source. Institutions who want to send
out educational or promotional material want to be confident the users can play
it.

Roger

"OldBill" wrote in message
...
Alan Holmes wrote:
At present I have two video recorders which I use for recording two
different programmes at the same time, especialy when I'm out at the times
they are being broadcast.

I undersatnd that set top boxes are available for use with conventional TVs,
but how will that help me record differet programmes at the same time?

You usage is non-typical so will be not be catered for.

I don't think its all that untypical. All that I know have two set top boxes
for this reason, or to watch one and record the other. Those who bought pace
twins probably did so for the same reason too.

Roger

"Roger R" wrote

Hmm.. 'probably'.. IMO tape is still the most flexible, reliable,
dependable and inexpensive storage medium for video. AIUI tape is
the only medium used professionally in TV studios.

*****

Others can say whether tape is the *only* medium used in studios - but
not much of it is VHS cassettes!

Once DVD recorders are ubiquitous (and they've made more progress than
one might have expected a few years ago when they were strictly
early-adopter kit), I think you could apply all those adjectives to
DVDs.

I'm still wondering why some semi-intelligent manufacturer hasn't
produced a twin-tuner DTT PVR with built-in DVD recorder. (Perhaps the
answer is lurking in the question, somewhere near the word
'intelligent' ... ).

André Coutanche

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...
At present I have two video recorders which I use for recording two
different programmes at the same time, especialy when I'm out at the times
they are being broadcast.

I undersatnd that set top boxes are available for use with conventional
TVs,
but how will that help me record differet programmes at the same time?

In 3 years when analogue switch-off is supposed to start, there will still
be millions of perfectly servicable VCRs out there along with libraries of
tapes which people don't want to lose. People will therefore have to buy a
new recorder (hard-disk or DVD or both) for new recordings and keep their
VCR as a playback-only device.

Of course, the problem with using a digibox with a VCR or other recorder is
that you can't use the recorder's timer to set the channel to record. The
solutions to that are clumsy at best and probably beyond a large proportion
of the buying public who want ease-of-use, not a basket full of remotes and
a nest of SCART cables which only their teenage son understands.

I recently bought a PVR / DVD recorder which I got for a good price at
Richer Sounds. The down-side of this unit is that it's analogue only so in a
few short years, I will have problems with it. Why did I buy a non-DVB
recorder? Because I wanted a hard-disk/DVD recorder combination and the
options are very limited at the moment. It amazes me that the vast majority
of models available on the high-street are still without digital tuners.

If people can knock-out a STB for £30 with power supply etc, it must be
possible to incorporate one into a recorder for about £15 above the cost of
the analogue tuner - or even include both for about £20 - so why are we not
seeing digital recorders becoming the norm yet?

Here's a prediction:
When the switch-off starts to happen, despite all the pre-warning, vast
numbers of people will be caught without suitable equipment (particularly
the elderly). Digiboxes will be in short supply and priced to take advantage
of the situation. Digital-enabled recorders will be even rarer Aerial
installers will be swamped with people who have left it until the last
minute to go digital, only to find that their aerial is inadequate and their
loop-aerial on their bedroom portable is a waste of space. There will be an
outcry, newspapers will get involved and switch-off will be delayed for
another year or more.

Adrian