So, I started converting my father’s 1500+ VHS movies onto DVD. Again, the point of converting the movies, was to preserve his collection before the tapes began to deteriorate, losing his entire collection.
Solution #1
Sylvania DVD Recorder/VCR Combo Model SSR90V4
The Machine
This is an all in one VHS and DVD player. But it’s not just any player. The DVD section records whatever is playing in the VHS slot and it can record from the TV to DVD as well. Pretty snazzy, right!?
Now that I had the machine, I needed supplies. I bought blank DVDs, along with DVD cases, from my local Micro Center computer store. I came up with a recording system and got started.
The System
Because the collection was so large, I decided to convert, at minimum, two movies a day. I would set the movie to record while I was asleep and another before I went out to work. If I had something to do at home that took longer than two hours, I would pop another in while I took care of it. The system worked and I was able to get a decent amount of movies converted per week.
After playing with the settings, I was also able to record more than one movie per DVD to cut down on cost.
The Problem
As I’m making my way through the boxes of movies, I soon realized that a some of the movies were not transferable because of copyright encryption. It was a kink in the plan, but I moved onward.
Eventually, after 1 1/2 years, the dual recorder’s VHS compartment begin to chew the tapes. Ok, kinda defeats the purpose of preserving the movies when they are being eaten.
I needed a new recorder. By now, I told friends what I was trying to accomplish and they helped me research solutions to continue the conversion.
So I moved onto solution #2.
