Sony DVDirect VRD-MC3 2.5 in. DVD Recorder

Finally, a way to bypass the PC for making transfers from tape to DVD. This product has helped me get going on my plans to get my VHS tapes onto a DVD, without all of the complications associated with encoding, dropped frames, etc. that my PC and software was giving me. I haven't had any problems working with the features; the timer is a nice feature, and I like the ability to set the picture quality/length - there are some VHS tapes I made that weren't recorded with the best TV reception or picture quality; for those tapes I'm just getting them onto a DVD and not worrying about whether they're good quality or not - although the SONY does a great job of reproducing the tape's original quality.

I would suggest three things for this device:

First, if you're going to work with your PC after recording with the SONY, start off with a DVD rewritable disk until you feel comfortable with the steps and get more comfortable with the end results. I still wanted to do some basic things with my PC software (i.e. set up DVD to 'autoplay' without a menu) and found that I could work with the DVD-RW before burning to a finished copy. I'm using the SONY to give me a working copy, then I'm transferring my DVD files to my PC, using software to 'autoplay' the DVD, and then burning my final copy using my DVD/CD burner that I've had for a few years now.

Second, use good quality DVD media, especially if you want to record onto a DVD /-R disk. I tried a cheapo DVD-R and the SONY didn't record on it.

Lastly, if you have an amplifier with extra audio input jacks and would like to monitor the tape's sound while you're recording (because the SONY doesn't have audio), go to Radio Shack or someplace similar and buy 2 'Y' audio plugs - one for the left audio jack and one for the right. The 'Y' plug enables you to split the audio signal to both the SONY and to an amplifier. You may need extra left and right audio cables to connect from the 'y' plug to your amp; here's what I did - hope this makes sense: I plugged the 'stem' of the 'Y' plug into my VCR's left and right audio 'out' jacks, then connected left/right audio cables to one end of the left and right 'y' plug and the other end of the audio cable to my amplifier's left/right 'in' jack. I then connected the SONY's left/right jacks to the other left/right 'y' plug. I hope you get the idea; if not, try drawing it out and take it to the Radio Shack folks - I'm sure they'll know how to help and will get you the right 'y' plugs and extra audio cables.

Overall, this is a very useful product and meets my needs very well.