Sony VRDMC6 DVDirect Compact Size DVD Burner with AVCHD Recording

I've stopped using my old hitachi video camera(from 2001)awhile ago since I never liked dragging it out, setting it up, charging it, finding a tape or lugging it around etc. But, none the less, I still have at least 10-12 mini cassette(8mm) tapes that needed to be put on DVD, as well as some old VHS tapes too. I haven't seen any of these home movies in years because watching a VHS is aggravating(waiting for it rewind?! geez. hello old school). I was so excited to hear about this and figured it would be a great idea to finally transfer my stuff.

Out of the box, it will literally take you moments to set up and start recording. If you're taping from a VCR, make sure you plug into the line OUT on the back of the VCR.

It formats the DVD disc for you, and when you press play on your video camera(or VCR) you also hit the big main button on the DVDirect to begin recording. If there's snow in your video for more then a few seconds, it pauses recording and resumes when the video kicks back in. You can choose 5 min, 10 min or 15 minute automatic chapter inserts, so it's easy to navigate a long video. Sound is good, but only as good as it was originally. If you have crappy sound on your old video camera, it'll be crappy on DVD. I wasn't expecting it to turn my stuff HD or work miracles, so this is exactly what I wanted and expected.

The screen on the DVDirect is easy to see and tells you how long you've been recording, when it's stopped, it tells you how long is left on the DVD to record. Only a few buttons, so it's simple to stay on track and not get lost in countless options, which means it won't be hard to figure out even for someone who's not good with technology. It does record live time, so you have to have a little patience. Press play, record, and walk away. Also, amazingly simple to finalize the DVD and pop it in a player and begin watching. I also notice on the box it says you can make photo slide shows with music. Pretty cool! Definitely a great buy for anyone with tons of old VHS and mini cassettes.

I'm a teacher and not very technically savvy, and I am thrilled with this product. I needed to convert my vast VHS library of teaching materials to DVD format. This product is working perfectly. There are just a few points I might add that I did not see in the reviews I read. I think some are so obvious that anyone with technical experience might not have thought they needed mentioning. First, if you are trying to convert plain old VHS tapes, you'll need a VCR. I didn't have one, and I actually thought (not understanding the scale of the photo of the product) that the tapes would go IN this machine. The good news is, you only need a VCR and one cord with red, yellow and white plugs. This will not tie up your TV. You play the tape into the converter. The converter has a small screen that lets you see where in the tape the converter is "reading". The other really cool part is that you can "edit" out parts of your VHS tapes you don't want (in my case, commercials embedded in videos). You just hit the pause button to skip those parts. The one thing mentioned in earlier reviews that I would just like to reiterate is that you need to change the recording quality setting from HQ to SP. This will give you 2 hours of video on each disc, as opposed to just over 1 hour and 20 or so minutes. Finally, you should buy DVD-R type DVDs. I lost some time trying to figure out the difference between DVD+r and DVD-R.

This is a great product and there really isn't anything quite like it on the market!

Buy Sony VRDMC6 DVDirect Compact Size DVD Burner with AVCHD Recording Now

Okay, I'm a bit of a gadget junky. Not only did I buy this DVD burner, but I also own a similar device made by Canon, the DW-100, which you can find here: Canon DW-100 DVD Burner for Canon Hard Drive & Flash Memory Camcorders + Accessory Kit as well as one made by Panasonic, the VW-BN1, which is no longer sold on Amazon. Why do I have these two? Because I have Canon and Panasonic HD camcorders and these devices offer a very easy way to transfer HD footage straight to a single or dual layer DVD. So, you ask, why did I buy a third...especially when I don't have a Sony camcorder? Because neither the Panasonic nor the Canon device will allow me to take footage that I shot in HD and transfer it to disc in SD format. This Sony unit does.

I have several relatives that do not own HD equipment and the only way to send them our family video is to put it in SD format. This Sony VRD-MC6 makes that transfer simple and painless. So far I have transferred about 12 discs. The other two devices mentioned above ONLY have connections for their respective camcorders and will only produce DVDs in the same format as recorded. With the composite connections on this Sony unit, you can pretty much take ANY HD player that has a composite out connection, connect it to this unit, and burn it to disc in SD format. So simple.

Things to note:

1. Nice little screen so that you can see what you are recording...none of the others have that.

2. HD footage recorded to dual layer will just about fit (in SD) on a single layer disc on this unit...with about five minutes on average that you'll have left that won't go on.

3. Interestingly, the Canon and Panasonic devices will only record dual layer discs in the DVD-R DL format, which are very hard to find. This device will record in the DVD+R DL format, which are fairly abundant. It will NOT accept DVD-R DL, but it will accept single layer DVD-R blank discs.

4. The size is compact enough to travel with, and it works on 110 as well as 240 volts. It does not have a "brick" at the plug, but it does have one mid-way through the cord (which converts the voltage, just like most camcorders). The Panasonic burner is wafer thin, and oddly, the Canon burner is ridiculously huge.

5. Remember that it will NOT record in HD for any camcorder except the Sony Handycam camcorders, but will record anything that can output via composite cables in the SD format.

6. Keep in mind that it does not "copy discs." Whatever is on the screen is what is being recorded. If, for example, you have a menu at the start of a disc that allows you to select a file to play, all this unit will do is record that screen until you start to play the video...thus the menu screen on the disc you create is pretty much useless.

It really is too bad that Panasonic or Canon did not allow this same input of composite cables (SD) as a recording option. Now, I burn from either of my camcorders via their respective device as HD and then I play the HD disc on my BD player and output it into this Sony burner to record an SD copy for the relatives. A little cumbersome, but for me it's less hassle than doing it all via the PC.

One last note: I bought a refurbished unit with an extended warranty, and even with the warranty included it was far cheaper than what the new ones cost. Most prices I saw for the brand new versions at the time of my purchase were way over what I was willing to spend. However, if I actually owned a Sony camcorder that would transfer HD video for burning I'd probably think otherwise.

I hope this review helped!

Read Best Reviews of Sony VRDMC6 DVDirect Compact Size DVD Burner with AVCHD Recording Here

I purchased this DVDirect from HSN not Amazon, mine is piano black and shows every fingerprint ugh. This is a quality made video recorder BUT it is really intended for a Sony Camcorder being attached to it by the fire wire connection or by using Sony memory sticks. If you use Sony equipment with this, the DVDirect will record almost anything automatically. If you use another brand of Camcorder or camera, you are restricted to the composite (yellow, red, white) connections and the SD card slot for JPEG photo's and then it's pretty much a manual operation to get the video and JPEG photo's onto DVD disks. That may sound discouraging, but to use all the features properly with a Sony Camcorder reads as very complicated procedures. The manual recording from non-Sony cameras is very simple and even though your using the worst way to copy video (composite cables) the video you get is outstanding. It should be noted that you cannot copy video onto a DVD and then copy JPEG photos onto that same DVD disk as the disk formats itself for one or the other (video or pictures). I cheat on this by using the composite cables that came with my camera (Panasonic FZ28, Canon SX110IS) then put my camera into slide show mode and copy the JPEG's and video from those cameras onto the DVD disk that way. I eliminate the need for the SD card slot. I also can add music to my photo slide shows by hooking up an audio source (IPOD, etc) to the audio inputs on the DVDirect and record audio as it records my JPEG's, works slick. The dirty little secret is that you could use most any camcorder and hook it up to a DVD recorder with composite inputs and do the same thing as this DVDirect will do, so why buy this? Convenience and quality is why, this makes everything simple and the results are great.

Want Sony VRDMC6 DVDirect Compact Size DVD Burner with AVCHD Recording Discount?

I use the Sony VRD-MC6 to copy from VHS tapes and miniDV tapes to DVD-R. For VHS tapes, I use composite video and analog stereo audio (the yellow, red, and white RCA pin plugs). For miniDV tapes, I use iLink (the 4-pin IEEE-1394 connector). I have not used the USB port, the Memory Stick port, the Memory Stick Duo, SD cards, or xD cards because I would use my computer to copy them to DVD if I needed to.

As I write this review, my VRD-MC6 is sitting on top of my VHS player, copying an ancient TV program to DVD. I glance at the display from time to time and hit "pause" to stop recording during commercials.

This device's principle advantage is its "oh how simple can it be" operation. Connect the cables (or insert memory cards), insert the DVD you are recording to, follow the instructions on the screen, and voila. The manual is clear, and printed partly in color to guide you through the steps YOU need to take to achieve YOUR objective.

Dedicated DVD recorders certainly have their place. They free your computer ("I can run CPU-intensive software") and are free from your computer ("yikes the software crashed and I need to reboot").

There are a few limitations you might like to be aware of.

Caveat 1: No audio output. Cannot monitor audio during recording. What a shame, considering that monitoring video is vivid and seems to refresh at a frame rate identical to the VHS tape image (i.e., no pauses or jitter in the monitoring video). I would like to verify that audio is being recorded clearly along with the video, especially via an analog connection. I did inadvertently burn one DVD with substantial audio noise. Found out only after I finalized the DVD-R and attempted to play it.

Caveat 2: The monitoring video image is partially obscured by status displays (e.g., "VIDEO --> DVD", "SP", "Recording 01:23:45", "STOP", "PAUSE"). The top and bottom of the VHS tape video image is hidden on the device's display window. Enough is visible to ascertain the video content, but adjusting VHS tracking is somewhat cumbersome because tracking noise starts appearing at the top or bottom edges of the screen.

Caveat 3: No cables supplied. Probably not an issue because most people own plenty of cables.

Caveat 4: The device itself is about the size of a stack of 10 DVD cases. The external power supply and power cords add some bulk, if that is a concern.

Compared to the Sony VRD-MC10: The MC6 is smaller, lighter, and cheaper. The MC10 has (a) S-video input and a Compact Flash slot, and (b) HDMI, component, and composite output.

Compared to the Sony VRD-MC5: The MC5 is cheaper, and has S-video input and a Compact Flash slot. Its manual is slightly less clear than the MC6.

Following an industry-wide trend, user manuals for the MC5, MC6, and MC10 are available online from the manufacturer.