Repair/service a twenty-year-old JVC BP-5300U videocassette player in the Portland, OR metro area? [more inside]
posted by cgc373 on Jul 27, 2009 - 2 answers

What's the deal with DVRs in America in 2009? Can I buy one off the shelf and take it home and hook it to the cable and use it successfully like a digital VCR or am I "supposed" to get one from my cable provider and get billed a monthly fee for some program-guide service I do not want? [more inside]
posted by Liver on Mar 19, 2009 - 14 answers

Help me help my wife's parents make this DTV conversion work with their VCR [more inside]
posted by cmm on Dec 15, 2008 - 13 answers

Help me hook up the VCR to the TV along with our new digital converter box. I don't care that the VCR can't record or display digital channels - I just want to be able to watch videos and DVDs. [more inside]
posted by IndigoRain on May 3, 2008 - 7 answers

I have a TV/VCR combo. If I get a DVR through the cable company, can I record to VHS tapes from the DVR playback? [more inside]
posted by JanetLand on Feb 4, 2008 - 4 answers

I'm looking for the remote control code for a Philips/Magnavox MDV560 VR DVD/VCR combo. [more inside]
posted by tnoetz01 on Nov 25, 2007 - 4 answers

My VCR died. I want to replace it with a digital recorder ... [more inside]
posted by Camofrog on Nov 15, 2007 - 4 answers

Using MEncoder on Fedora 7 Linux and a bt878 TV card, how do I avoid or work around duplicate frames when encoding video from a VHS tape? [more inside]
posted by remi on Aug 16, 2007 - 9 answers

Looking to purchase a DVD recorder with a built in VCR....need help finding a good one.... [more inside]
posted by TwilightKid on Mar 8, 2007 - 4 answers

How do I replace my Sky Plus box? [more inside]
posted by salmacis on Feb 15, 2007 - 10 answers

I have VHS videotape. I have a PC computer running Sony Vegas. I need to get the stuff from the videotape onto a harddrive and into Sony Vegas in my PC to splice into reel. Help me please. [more inside]
posted by Elle Vator on Jan 9, 2007 - 10 answers

My grandpa enjoys recording TV shows off his satellite feed (DishNet, I believe). The problem is, while the VCR (heh) has a timer, it cannot change the channels and what not. So I found out that he gets up a few times a night to change the channel and what not. I think some sort of PVR is in order. What is the cheapest/simplest thing I can get? [more inside]
posted by aeighty on Dec 6, 2006 - 25 answers

Is it possible to get a non-PAL VCR plugged into a Mac Mini to show content from a PAL videotape? Or will I need a PAL VCR? [more inside]
posted by destro on Jun 12, 2006 - 8 answers

Some strange problem with my cable TV. I was connecting a new Sylvania DVR/VCR unit in my bedroom. I used to have a Sony DVD/VCR in that same place and the cable reception used to be just fine. First thing I noticed after attaching the new unit is that the signal quality is very poor. But anyway then I come down to living room which has the Comcast's digital set top box connected to the wall outlet. I noticed there was no signal on TV and box was displaying a 'this channel would be available soon' message. Usually that means some kind of bad or no connection. Before I went up to the bedroom everything was running fine. Did plugging in the DVR/VCR unit blow the cable circuit ? [more inside]
posted by flyby22 on Apr 6, 2006 - 4 answers

Subtitles from DVD/VCD/Video Cassette Tapes into a computer text file ----- the fastest way ? Without typing or paying someone to transcribe? Any software or hardware that can do the job? I know of one VCR player made in the early 1990s that can do this but it has been discontinued and the manufacturer no longer around. [more inside]
posted by studentguru on Mar 4, 2006 - 11 answers

Trying to use a 17 LCD monitor as TV with my VCR. Where can I get something, hopefully not too expensive, to connect the RCA composite output to the VGA input of the monitor. Not sure if i need to find a converter box or some adapter cables exist to do the job. Did not find much useful info by googling.
posted by flyby22 on Sep 17, 2005 - 9 answers

Why does the manual on my new DVD/VCR recorder say "do not install NEAR any heat sources such as radiators,..or other(including amplifiers that produce heat)"? I just bought a Toshiba D-VR3SU and if I put it in place of my old VCR it is about 2" from my amplifier. Well the amp gets warm, but I can't feel any heat more than 1/4" away. Do I really need to rearrange all the stuff to avoid this? The manual says this twice! [more inside]
posted by judybxxx on Aug 6, 2005 - 7 answers

I am thinking converting bunch of VHS tapes recorded in LP format to DVDs. These are 6 hr tapes I think. I was looking at the option of those combo units that come with the DVD recorder and VCR units. I was wondering if somebody can tell me how do these units deal with 6+ hr long video tapes ? do they automatically break the content up into separate DVDs or can they compress the content enough to fit into one DVD ? thanks
posted by flyby22 on Jun 7, 2005 - 2 answers

Since moving, my DVD player is unable to play some DVDs it once was able to play. There's sort of a rolling/fading picture at all times, or the menus look fine but the movie itself is messed up. The sound is okay, and some discs play perfectly. It's a Samsung DVD-S221.

Is there anything I can do, or is it just plain broke? [more inside]
posted by swift on Oct 9, 2004 - 6 answers

If I run my TV cable (for cable TV) into my VCR first, then into the television, will I (noticeably) lose signal/picture quality? [more inside]
posted by Shane on Jun 3, 2004 - 21 answers

Is there away around using an A/B switch for my digital cable? Here's the deal, the Cable In on my television is malfunctioning. I get intermittent reception, almost as if the cable is not making full contact. I have a VCR, DVR and DVD player. The television only has one set of A/V inputs, which are currently being used by the DVD player. The DVR is not compatible with the DVD player, so I can't run them through the same A/V lines. I went to Radio Shack and the only solution they could come up with was using an A/B switch, which requires me to physically switch between the DVR and DVD player. Isn't there any other technology that would not require me to get off my lazy butt and walk across the living room when I want to switch between television and a DVD? I've been unemployed for four months, so buying a new t.v. is out of the question.
posted by Juicylicious on Apr 2, 2004 - 8 answers