dvd/vcr

[Giggsie]

Hi looking to buy dvd/vcr combi recorder. I want to copy my home made films to dvd's. Anyone suggest a good one? Is it better to get one with hard drive on looking at some I see they have with and without. Can someone please point me in right direction as to what to buy.

[wildwood]

Definitely get one with a hard drive. You can store a heap of data without fiddling with DVDs. It is easy to cut out adverts and promos when saving a movie or whatever to DVD. You can record heaps of your favourite programs while away on holiday.
Even an 160GB (a small one nowadays) can store 100 hours of play.

[romko]

As a tech , I would advise against combo units. Apart from the cost cutting and technical shortcuts such as shared power supply, cramped design etc. the tape decks, being the last ones manufactured, are nearly all terrible, flimsy affairs made by the likes of Funai. they die like flies as the thin metal and plastic parts wear.

I would suggest getting (possibly ask on your local yahoo freecycle) a good, used vcr from the mid 90s, made by the likes of JVC Hitachi Akai or one of the later Panasonic NV-SD ones, and a dvd -hdd recorder of a well known brand (except philips!). That way , if one thing breaks you don't lose the lot.
The hdd, as wildwood suggests , gives you real flexibility and does all the donkey work; finally you bun a dvd of what you want.

As an aside, keep your original tapes, as optical media is far less reliable than tape for long term archiving. You may also need to return to them in the future if some new storage format comes out.

[Giggsie]

thanks to you both will concider now what to buy. I already have a combi but not a recordable one records video but not dvd.