Well, i'm looking to transfer some homemade VHS tapes to DVD via a standalone unit, any suggestions on what to get?

A standalone unit is definitely the way to go.

This forum has had discussions about them. Unfortunately, it seems units with hard drives are difficult to find.

The only hard drive unit I know of that is still available is from Panasonic. Only available in Canada. It's on the Panasonic Canadian website only. A few electronic dealers located in Canada sell them on ebay. It's around $599. Thought about getting one as a backup in case my current one goes kaput. I only got two years out of my first one before it went belly up.

I'm thinking about buy a DVD recorder to transfer some VHS to DVD as well.

Although I looking for a DVD recorder that can record dual layer, has the ability to record off any channel, and that I can pause during recording (no commericals).

I hear that Sony DVD recorder cannot record off channels like HBO, or other premium channels. And some DVD recorder does not have a "pause" button.

I don't know about dual layer. I haven't seen a standalone that has it. Panasonic will record any channel and has a pause button. Hard to believe some wouldn't have a pause button since thay are also players. Being chained to the recorder, on the edge of your seat, with the remote constantly pointed at the recorder in order to hit pause in the 1/100th of a second between show and commercial would be a bitch. With a hard drive you can record the show, edit commercials later, and then dub at 8x to disc.

yeah, i did some research on it, but i couldn't find much that was affordable. i do have a TV card in my computer, as well as an old VCR, and an internal DVD burner. This setup works, but it's a major PITA, so if something is a little more affordable, then i'd def. be interested in it.

but if as "rw2516" states it's ~$600, then that's a bit too much. is there any decent affordable (say under $150, if possible) standalone DVD recorders that can accept input from a VCR?

The high prices may be why hard drive units are getting scarce. Too much of an "enthusiest" type product. For the hardcore only. Inexpensive recorders are all over the place. They probably all accept input from a vcr. If you have a cable box or satellite receiver you can save even more money by getting one without a tuner. Use input 1 for cable/satellite and input 2 for vcr. I still reccomend getting a Panasonic. You will not be able to transfer copy protected vhs tapes. There is a buit in "blocker" that won't allow the recordr to start recording.

The philips is the only player with hard drive left I think. I got it as a backup right before Christmas at Shopko with a 15% discount.

Walmart-

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5663214

What about this one?

Panasonic DMR-EZ37VK DVD-Recorder/VCR Combo with ATSC Tuner Black
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NTMGVO/

refurb'd models are well under $150.

I didn't know that DVD recorders with hard drives are hard to find in the US now. I still see plenty of different kinds here in Canada. I guess this is because TiVos and such are less commonly used here compared to the US.

I've been meaning to pick one up. I've tried transferring VHS to DVD using a computer and it's way too much of a PITA. A recorder would be much easier.