Copying old camcorder footage onto DVD - equipment connections help please

[familydar]

A couple of years back I copied lots of camcorder footage onto DVD.  I did this by putting the small camcorder cassettes into a normal size VCR caddy, playing this in an old VCR machine I have and recording it onto the HDD of an HD DVD recorder, then copying the edited footage out onto multiple DVDs.  I was able to monitor everything (the recording, the editing, the copying) through a TV.

A few more cassettes have surfaced and I want to repeat the process with them.  I still have all the same kit but can't remember how I connected it although I think I "pointed" the DVD recorder at AV2 for recording purposes.

TV has aerial in, two SCARTs and an HDMI
HD DVD has aerial in and out, two SCARTs and an HDMI
VCR has aerial in and out and two SCARTs (no HDMI)

I can play videos on the VCR and see them on the TV
ditto with the DVD machine
But when I daisy-chain them I can't switch between the two, and I know I did this previously.

I have aerial into VCR, then out of VCR to DVD, then out of DVD to TV
I have VCR SCART2 to DVD SCART1 and DVD SCART2 to TV SCART2 (which is the "smart" SCART)
I'm not using the HDMI connections

What am I doing wrong?

Jane :-)

[hallmark]

Have you tried Google??


https://www.lifewire.com/can-i-copy-camcorder-to-dvd-recorder-1846715   etc etc

[familydar]

Google was my first port of call.  I suspect that when I did it before there was a useful diagram somewhere, but everything is so "smart" these days and I'm dealing with old tech, anything useful that is still out there is lurking somewhere I can't find it.

I don't have the camcorder, only the tapes, but I've managed to follow the logic of what the link is saying.  Possibly if I go deeper into it, it will be specific about multiple SCARTs and whether 1 always goes to 1 or whether it sometimes goes to 2, but I'm not all that good at watching videos - they go too fast for me and I need to be constantly pausing and going back to the job, replaying to check, finding I've done it wrong...…  Give me a line diagram any day!

After a bit more trial and error I have come up with a setup that works, although I'm sure it was simpler last time.  And this time I shall make my own line diagram on the back of an envelope and pack it away with the original tapes.  Plus another copy with the VCR and a third with the DVD recorder.  So when ANOTHER tape surfaces I can be up and running slightly more quickly.

It was my intention to start the job first thing this morning - I was up in the loft before my first cup of tea, locating the VCR - so I could get on with other things while the recorder was doing its stuff, then I could take several hours' worth of recordings over to parents tomorrow morning.  Best laid plans and all that 

[purlin]

Yes, i think you have to connect 1 to 1,   2 to 2 etc.  Also possibly you may have to delve into the tv settings just to make sure all the av inputs and outputs are turned on.

[AngusMcCoatup]

I wouldn't agree with it definitely being "1-1" as both VHS and DVD may both output on SCART1 and both expecting input on SCART2. So if you connect VHS SCART1 to DVD SCART1, you might find nothing happens as the DVD player is "listening" on SCART2 where there's no signal. You'll need a diagram or to check the back of the machines to see if either of them are labelled input and/or output.

Start off by getting a picture from the DVD player on the TV. Then add the VHS to the link and once you've got that working, press record on the HD/DVD. Then edit and burn to DVD as required.

[Dyingout]

It's your first step that is wrong you will get no signal from an aerial going VHS to DVD
It needs to be Scart from VHS to DVD
Then HDMI from DVD to TV

[Guy Etchells]

A couple of years back I copied lots of camcorder footage onto DVD.  I did this by putting the small camcorder cassettes into a normal size VCR caddy, playing this in an old VCR machine I have and recording it onto the HDD of an HD DVD recorder, then copying the edited footage out onto multiple DVDs.  I was able to monitor everything (the recording, the editing, the copying) through a TV.

A few more cassettes have surfaced and I want to repeat the process with them.  I still have all the same kit but can't remember how I connected it although I think I "pointed" the DVD recorder at AV2 for recording purposes.

TV has aerial in, two SCARTs and an HDMI
HD DVD has aerial in and out, two SCARTs and an HDMI
VCR has aerial in and out and two SCARTs (no HDMI)

I can play videos on the VCR and see them on the TV
ditto with the DVD machine
But when I daisy-chain them I can't switch between the two, and I know I did this previously.

I have aerial into VCR, then out of VCR to DVD, then out of DVD to TV
I have VCR SCART2 to DVD SCART1 and DVD SCART2 to TV SCART2 (which is the "smart" SCART)
I'm not using the HDMI connections

What am I doing wrong?

Jane :-)

When using the aerial to transmit the signal you need to tune the receiving equipment to the channel used
Signal from VCR to DVD (tune DVD to the channel used by VCR)
The signal then goes through the DVD to the TV (tune TV to DVD channel to monitor the signal)

This will work but each stage will result in reduction of quality.

I would suggest-
VCR SCART 1 (Scart 1 is the primary scart channel and normally used for sending signals) to DVD SCART 2 (Scart 2 is the secondary scart channel and normally used for receiving signals) then on to TV using DVD  SCART 1.

In reality SCART 1 and  SCART 2 should be the same and allow the signal to flow in either direction but some equipment manufactures cut corners to save money.

There will be a slight reduction in signal quality as you are again converting signals but as the VCR does not have a HDMI connection you have no option, using  HDMI between the DVD and TV may improve the viewed image slightly but it will not improve the image recorded by the DVD recorder.

Cheers
Guy

[familydar]

Thanks for explaining SCARTs Guy.

The setup I ended up with, which worked, was almost the same as you suggested, differences were I had VCR SCART 2 to DVD SCART 2 and DVD SCART 1 to TV SCART 2.

Given that the camcorder footage was recorded by someone with failing eyesight who didn't really know how to drive the thing, I don't think it's worth repeating the process in the hope of getting a better end result, but in the event that any more tapes surface Guy's is the setup I'll use.  It's written down and packed with the tapes, the VCR and the DVD recorder!

Jane :-)

[purlin]

Yes thanks Guy, we live and learn!  I shall also make a note of it.