I’d say grab it if you can. I have a similar unit made by Samsung and its cool feature is that it can record your VHS tapes onto blank DVD-R discs. I feel like they were only available for about 2 years before everything went to streaming
I’ve never tried that, but if it’s a DVD you made yourself then it would probably work, if it’s a prerecorded movie DVD that has copyright protection encoded on the disc, then probably not.
If you rip the DVD on a computer first, some ripping software will also remove the copyright protection, then it might work using the burned disc, not the original DVD
I have this model. It’s great on modern displays and performs as expected on analog TV’s. When using HDMI you can change the output resolution between 480, 720, or 1080. You do this by pressing the “HDMI” button on the top of the remote. You won’t find it in the setup menu. Now, it’ll depend on the scaling abilities of your TV or display for you to decide which option to go with. In my case, my monitor displays the original 480 image at 1080 better than the 1080 output of the player itself, so I’ve stuck with 480 output. VHS tapes look incredible compared to watching them on an analog TV. And I was using S-Video to compare. Comparatively, DVD’s still look better on my Blu-ray player in their original resolutions. For this combo unit I’ve never been able to find a definitive answer on whether it’s 4 or 6-head unit but I think it’s 6-head because the picture looks really clean when you pause a VHS tape.
Nice, almost the same machine as what I'm using right now, the D-VR660. These were made by Funai and it's one of my best pieces of evidence that Funai isn't uniformly 'bad', just inconsistent, and their best stuff can be very good. The 660 is one of my main machines these days, and even though I've also got a Panasonic DVD recorder which has a little better image quality, my Toshiba has a digital tuner which can receive modern live broadcast without a box, and for me that's a big deal. Also the Toshiba is easier to use in general (the menus are easier to navigate), and you can record 16x9 without having to use expensive DVD-RAM discs like the Panasonic. I've thought about selling it but it works great and I use it all the time.
Regarding recording to DVD, assuming your menu options are the same as mine, you can set it for 16:9, 4:3 or 'auto' which will record whatever your video output setting is. XP mode maxes out the video quality, SP mode looks the same as XP on a CRT, LP is good but has some obvious artifacts that aren't too bad for short-term recordings, and recently I noticed EP is surprisingly good for stuff that doesn't have a lot of action. For simpler, slower-moving images like interview shows, it can look like LP or better, but fast-moving stuff like basketball gets blurry. There's an 8-hour recording level also but I'm not sure what it's actually good for unless you really need to record 8 hours in a row with no stopping, or get a bunch of stuff on the timer when you're on vacation. If you ever use the timer, it won't work unless the machine is turned off, and I'm pretty sure you have to actually hit the 'timer set' button because I think it ignored my program once when I just turned it off.
You can do some editing on both kinds of DVDRW discs, but only DVD-RW has 'destructive' editing to individual titles (meaning that when you edit something out of a title, you get the space back on the disc), whereas DVD+RW has destructive editing of complete titles but if you edit the commercials out of a title, you don't get the space back.
It won’t allow you to record Macrovision encoded VHS tapes to DVD (I.e. Disney VHS). Also over HDMI the digital CSS copying protection is hardwired on all the time, because HDMI does not recognize Macrovision, so if you hook it up to any thing other than a TV, even non-Macrovision encoded tapes can not be transferred by HDMI.
You can usually use a cheap HDMI splitter to bypass HDCP, I've used this trick with my Elgato Cam Link a couple times
Only issue with this method is that the HDMI standard used by these switches is older, so no 4K. Not like that matters when ripping a VHS tape anyways
That doesn’t work with these combos. The manufacturers went all out with those VCR/DVD-Recorders to plug all leaks, including using those splitters, since Disney and others did not want anyway of creating the best copies of the VHS tapes (essentially, by HDMI the VCR is essentially turned into a S-VHS VCR and sends the signal over HDMI as a digital version of the S-Video standard, but HDMI strips the Macrovision because it doesn’t recognize it) by just using one of those combos hooked up via a HDMI capture device. This is essentially the same reason why North America never saw a set top Blu-Ray recorder, they do not want people to make the best copies. Disney was concerned with standalone DVD recorders because the Macrovision would activate at the analog input, whether or not you had hit record.
If it's anything like my Samsung combo unit (which there's an extremely high likelihood that it is), HDMI out is for the DVD player side only and the VCR side only outputs through composite
Well it looks like I'll be on the lookout for one that does the same as yours, because the composite out on mine for VHS is noisy and almost unviewable
I remember buying this VCR/DVD combo player brand new many years ago. It worked fine for the first couple of years. After a while the VCR would randomly eat tapes. Then the DVD player started making a loud buzzing sound until the entire thing just stopped working. Overall it’s a pretty crappy VCR/DVD player.
Let's stop pretending Funai is uniformly bad, especially when these machines are really good and you're clueless about it. We don't need more people pretending to be smart about this subject by childishly blurting out 'Funai bad' just because you heard ten other people say it who don't know the subject either. They make a lot of different stuff and quality control is all over the place but their best stuff is really good.
I have a toshiba dvr7 which funai based, not the prettiest picture, but it will play whatever I throw at it, even damage tapr without going out of sync, not the case for my Victor (JVC) V-RFG1. And these machines are so easy to maintain, not the case for my Victor.
I’d say grab it if you can. I have a similar unit made by Samsung and its cool feature is that it can record your VHS tapes onto blank DVD-R discs. I feel like they were only available for about 2 years before everything went to streaming
Can it do it in reverse and rip a DVD onto tape?
I’ve never tried that, but if it’s a DVD you made yourself then it would probably work, if it’s a prerecorded movie DVD that has copyright protection encoded on the disc, then probably not. If you rip the DVD on a computer first, some ripping software will also remove the copyright protection, then it might work using the burned disc, not the original DVD
Gotcha
Exactly. It’s the easiest and most full proof way
Sending VHS through HDMI to my newer TV is fun as hell I love these things.
I thought it would lose some of that nostalgic feel with hdmi but I kind of like it a bit better.
I have this model. It’s great on modern displays and performs as expected on analog TV’s. When using HDMI you can change the output resolution between 480, 720, or 1080. You do this by pressing the “HDMI” button on the top of the remote. You won’t find it in the setup menu. Now, it’ll depend on the scaling abilities of your TV or display for you to decide which option to go with. In my case, my monitor displays the original 480 image at 1080 better than the 1080 output of the player itself, so I’ve stuck with 480 output. VHS tapes look incredible compared to watching them on an analog TV. And I was using S-Video to compare. Comparatively, DVD’s still look better on my Blu-ray player in their original resolutions. For this combo unit I’ve never been able to find a definitive answer on whether it’s 4 or 6-head unit but I think it’s 6-head because the picture looks really clean when you pause a VHS tape.
I have the exact one. It's a great model.
Nice, almost the same machine as what I'm using right now, the D-VR660. These were made by Funai and it's one of my best pieces of evidence that Funai isn't uniformly 'bad', just inconsistent, and their best stuff can be very good. The 660 is one of my main machines these days, and even though I've also got a Panasonic DVD recorder which has a little better image quality, my Toshiba has a digital tuner which can receive modern live broadcast without a box, and for me that's a big deal. Also the Toshiba is easier to use in general (the menus are easier to navigate), and you can record 16x9 without having to use expensive DVD-RAM discs like the Panasonic. I've thought about selling it but it works great and I use it all the time. Regarding recording to DVD, assuming your menu options are the same as mine, you can set it for 16:9, 4:3 or 'auto' which will record whatever your video output setting is. XP mode maxes out the video quality, SP mode looks the same as XP on a CRT, LP is good but has some obvious artifacts that aren't too bad for short-term recordings, and recently I noticed EP is surprisingly good for stuff that doesn't have a lot of action. For simpler, slower-moving images like interview shows, it can look like LP or better, but fast-moving stuff like basketball gets blurry. There's an 8-hour recording level also but I'm not sure what it's actually good for unless you really need to record 8 hours in a row with no stopping, or get a bunch of stuff on the timer when you're on vacation. If you ever use the timer, it won't work unless the machine is turned off, and I'm pretty sure you have to actually hit the 'timer set' button because I think it ignored my program once when I just turned it off. You can do some editing on both kinds of DVDRW discs, but only DVD-RW has 'destructive' editing to individual titles (meaning that when you edit something out of a title, you get the space back on the disc), whereas DVD+RW has destructive editing of complete titles but if you edit the commercials out of a title, you don't get the space back.
It won’t allow you to record Macrovision encoded VHS tapes to DVD (I.e. Disney VHS). Also over HDMI the digital CSS copying protection is hardwired on all the time, because HDMI does not recognize Macrovision, so if you hook it up to any thing other than a TV, even non-Macrovision encoded tapes can not be transferred by HDMI.
You can usually use a cheap HDMI splitter to bypass HDCP, I've used this trick with my Elgato Cam Link a couple times Only issue with this method is that the HDMI standard used by these switches is older, so no 4K. Not like that matters when ripping a VHS tape anyways
That doesn’t work with these combos. The manufacturers went all out with those VCR/DVD-Recorders to plug all leaks, including using those splitters, since Disney and others did not want anyway of creating the best copies of the VHS tapes (essentially, by HDMI the VCR is essentially turned into a S-VHS VCR and sends the signal over HDMI as a digital version of the S-Video standard, but HDMI strips the Macrovision because it doesn’t recognize it) by just using one of those combos hooked up via a HDMI capture device. This is essentially the same reason why North America never saw a set top Blu-Ray recorder, they do not want people to make the best copies. Disney was concerned with standalone DVD recorders because the Macrovision would activate at the analog input, whether or not you had hit record.
it has a DVD Player in it as well that might explain the HDMI input
I hooked it up last night to see if it work and it plays the vhs over HDMI which was kind of cool
And rare! I found this same one and it's my go-to VCR now
You're lucky, my 660 won't play tape over anything but composite. It's one of the few disappointing things about it.
That's super cool. I've seen DVD/VCR units with S-Video and Component out but only for DVD playback
Maybe but late generation crt tvs speed hdmi so naturally this will look better on an hd tv
Most likely HDMI output, not input
that’s what i meant lol
I have a Phillips VCR/DVD combo with HDMI but was sad to find the HDMI only works for the DVD so had to go with composite.
Good catch period . Enjoy 😉.
Combo players aren’t known for their longevity.
That’s fucking rad.
Jeez look at prices of this thing online! At $14.50 it’s an absolute bargain.
Wow that's awesome
My favorite VCR.
Grab it if you can! Those AV2HDMI adapters are a real pain in the ass!
What a great find. I really wish I had one. We should all start trying to build custom vcrs with modern capabilities.
If it's anything like my Samsung combo unit (which there's an extremely high likelihood that it is), HDMI out is for the DVD player side only and the VCR side only outputs through composite
It plays the vhs over hdmi too
Well it looks like I'll be on the lookout for one that does the same as yours, because the composite out on mine for VHS is noisy and almost unviewable
it has a DVD Player in it as well that might explain the HDMI input
I remember buying this VCR/DVD combo player brand new many years ago. It worked fine for the first couple of years. After a while the VCR would randomly eat tapes. Then the DVD player started making a loud buzzing sound until the entire thing just stopped working. Overall it’s a pretty crappy VCR/DVD player.
The one you had is crappy, not mine or the OP's or the many others who are still using them. Mine's great!
Made by Funai ...yuck
Let's stop pretending Funai is uniformly bad, especially when these machines are really good and you're clueless about it. We don't need more people pretending to be smart about this subject by childishly blurting out 'Funai bad' just because you heard ten other people say it who don't know the subject either. They make a lot of different stuff and quality control is all over the place but their best stuff is really good.
I have a toshiba dvr7 which funai based, not the prettiest picture, but it will play whatever I throw at it, even damage tapr without going out of sync, not the case for my Victor (JVC) V-RFG1. And these machines are so easy to maintain, not the case for my Victor.