Stephen Manes writes the Digital Tools column for Forbes Magazine. In the April 19 issue he strongly suggests that it's time to trade in VCRs for DVD recorders. Manes says:

A dusty shelf of home videotapes of your child's early years sparks an idea: If you transferred them to DVD, you might actually watch them once in a while. At minimum you'd be preserving them for posterity on a more stable medium. So how hard is it--and how expensive?

He goes on to suggest the GoVideo VR4940 DVD Recorder+VCR for making the process of converting VHS tapes to DVD+R and DVD+RW formats relatively simple. He also discusses the Gateway AR-230 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder which he thought was OK as the DVD burner component of a VHS conversion effort. However, Manes characterized the AR-230's progressive scan playback on HD-ready televisions as "easily the worst I've seen".

I'm not as concerned with converting existing VHS tapes to DVD unless they are irreplaceable. But I like the idea of owning one of these DVD burners as part of an existing home video system that already includes a Digital Video Recorder. I move programs from my TiVo to VHS tape on a regular basis, and I am less and less satisfied with the result. In my opinion, if you can buy a DVD recorder that can produce two hour disks that look good on NTSC televisions, it's probably worth spending $250 to $300 to do it.