As I’ve talked about before, I have a lot of VHS tapes I want to transfer to DVD. Today we went to a bunch of yard sales, and one of my finds was a dual-deck VHS/DVD unit. It had a button that said “copy” and a post-it saying they hadn’t tested the record function because they didn’t have the discs, so I assumed it was a one-touch copier. Well, it is…from DVD to VHS. Of course I didn’t find this out until I’d paid the $15 and dragged it home, so I now have a combo player…anybody want it?

This did inspire me to get the DVD recorder from our old house, though, and I hooked it up to the VHS player we already have at the new house. So I finally recorded my 1995-1996 season of It’s Ac onto DVD, along with a couple of other short pieces about my high school. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the 1996-1997 season, so I will have to make that into a separate DVD because I’ve already finalized the first one. I also have two huge bags of old VHS tapes that I watched growing up, with movies like Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story and Konrad, which I can now finally burn to DVD! I’m not sure if I have Nadia in the collection or not, but I will definitely want to burn that one…and, of course, my beloved tape of the ‘88 Olympics, which is now 20 years old and needs to be preserved pronto. My father-in-law has given me a bunch of DVD+R’s to start with, and I will be buying more in bulk if I can, because I have so many things to copy!

I missed a woot for a combination VHS player/DVD recorder, and that got me thinking about transferring my old VHS tapes to DVD. The one I’m most concerned about is my tape from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea - it has been watched a few hundred times and the tape is probably near broken through in some places. I know the whole thing practically by heart, but I really want to preserve the tape…it’s mostly gymnastics and diving.

Anyway, in the comments for that woot, I saw that you can’t use such a device to copy commercial tapes. We have a bunch of movies on VHS that we never watch anymore, and it would be nice to copy them onto DVD so we could put them in our collection and maybe actually watch them someday instead of having them gather dust. To copy commercial tapes, you need something called a “video enhancer” or “video stabilizer” inserted between the VCR and the DVD recorder. Since I already have the VCR, all I would need is a DVD recorder and the video enhancer.

So I did some Googling and some Froogling, and I ended up buying a Panasonic DMR-ES10S DVD recorder on eBay for $75 including shipping. Next I needed the video stabilizer. The Sima CT-2 had been recommended to me in the woot thread, so I got that on eBay for $55 including shipping. So hopefully I will be able to record my tapes to DVD soon, provided I can get it all hooked up properly - and if there’s enough space in my entertainment center for everything!

The first DVD player A and I ever had was a Toshiba SD-2109 that perigee gave us several years ago. A couple of weeks ago, it finally kicked the bucket - it wouldn’t respond to the remote control anymore. We tried using the PS2 (a gift from perigee, actually), but it’s been having drive problems for a while. It can usually still play games, but it was balky with DVDs, so it was time for a new DVD player. Before buying one, we asked A’s dad if he had one he wasn’t using anymore - and he did. So I’ve just installed a Panasonic DVD-F61A in our bedroom. It’s a 5-DVD changer, not sure what we’ll use that part of it for, but it works with the remote, and it’s shiny, and I’m glad it was a snap to install. (Well, once I realized my father-in-law had given us the wrong cable - it was audio only - but I used the A/V cable from the old DVD player and it’s all happy.)

While at the Farpoint convention, I made the mistake of spending $25 for two DVDs that I knew were bootlegs. One of them was for seasons one through three of The Brak Show, and when I purchased that bootleg I assumed somebody had taped them off television and ripped them to DVD format, and that they weren’t available any other way. It turns out the first season has been released on DVD, so if that bootleg doesn’t play it’ll serve me right and I’ll buy the real thing.

The other bootleg DVD, though, was something I couldn’t find anywhere else. It’s the original unaired pilot of The Questor Tapes, a Gene Roddenberry creation that is said to have been the basis for the character of Data on TNG. I’ve wanted to see The Questor Tapes for a while, so I was happy to snap up this bootleg. It’s never been released on VHS, DVD, or any other format - though D.C. Fontana did turn it into a book - so I have no idea how it got onto this DVD in the first place. When I put it in, the DVD started playing and we got through the first 15 minutes or so with no major problems - just long enough to get into the story! Then, without warning, the picture and audio started stuttering and finally froze up.

I was using PowerDVD, and I did try a few various options before giving up on that. I hunted around on Google for tips on how to play bootlegs, but all I could come up with was an alternative player: Media Player Classic. I downloaded that and was able to bring up the title menu (with music), but when I clicked either “play” or “chapters” it started spinning the disc but not doing anything. Incidentally, my first thought was to try the URL mentioned on the title page, www.dvd-archives.com, but that site seems to be down.

I’m not sure what to do about the DVD itself. I suspect the same vendor will be at Shore Leave in July, so I may hang onto it until then and ask for my money back…or I could use it as a coaster. But I still want to see The Questor Tapes! This is where I’m appealing to you for help. Do you know of any tips for playing bootleg DVDs? It does start fine, and I can start at the beginning then fast-forward to the bad point, but then it freezes again. We weren’t nearly done with the first chapter, so I don’t want to just skip ahead - if that would even work. Alternatively, does anybody with a high speed connection and a Bittorrent client know if this show is floating around out there, or if there are Bittorrent request forums? I just want to see this movie - and I’m not stealing anybody’s money, because it’s not available any other way! Any and all help and suggestions are welcome.

Added: I was able to get it to play on MK&R’s DVD player! He’s away until Thursday and she works late on Wednesday night, so A and I can invade her room (she’s given permission!) then and watch the movie. Thanks to those who helped!