VHS to DVD:  I am thinking about getting a DVD burner but want to
determine which is best for my goal - that is, I would like to
transfer my home movies from VHS, digital 8 and miniDV onto DVDs. 
What DVD burner should I buy?

There are two different types of DVD burners: standalone VCR-style
units and drives you attach to your personal computer. Proponents of
the standalone units point to ease of use and speed as the main
advantages. Advocates of the personal computer approach point to lower
cost and superior editing features.
For a discussion of the merits of each approach, see this Usenet
discussion:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&client=googlet&threadm=3cdf0c3a_4%40corp-news.newsgroups.com&rnum=7&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dgooglet%26scoring%3Dd%26q%3DPanasonic%2BDMR-E20%26btnG%3DGoogle%2BSearch

Since your question talks primarily about transferring, a standalone
unit may be the better solution for you.
 
There are three makers of standalone DVD-burners: Pioneer, Panasonic
and Philips.

Here is a review of the Panasonic and Philips units by Dave Getz,
President of Satellite & Sound, Inc. (May 8, 2002):
http://www.satsound.com/DVDRreview.html

SMR home theatre provides information about audio and video products.
Their web site offers this article about Panasonic, Philips and
Pioneer DVD recorders:
http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/ces2002/technologies/page_03.shtml

Information from Pioneer's web site:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/CDA/HomeProducts/HomeProductDetails/0,1422,20922,00.html

Information about the Panasonic DMR-T2020 DVD Video Recorder:
http://www.panasonic.com/PBDS/subcat/Products/dvd/specs/s_dmr-t2020.html

Information about the Philips DVDR 985 unit: 
http://www.dvdrecorder.philips.com/tell.html

Information about tranferring your old videos to DVD with the Philips
unit:
http://www.dvdrecorder.philips.com/archive_tell.html

About.com's Robert Silva wrote this review of the Philips unit: 
http://hometheater.about.com/library/weekly/aafprphilipsdvdr985.htm

Silva also wrote this article about DVD recorders:
http://hometheater.about.com/library/weekly/aa012302a.htm

These USA today article on the subject may also be useful:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/2001/11/14/baig.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2002/4/09/dvd-rec.htm


If you prefer to go with a DVD-recorder that you attach to your
computer, and use video editing software, there are dozens of burners
available.

Andrew Brown of TechReport (March 11, 2002) wrote this in-depth review
of units from Philips and Pioneer:
http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q1/dvdrw/index.x?pg=1

In an article entitled, "DVD Burners, Six External SuperDrive
Stand-ins Connect via FireWire," (Macworld, December 2001), Jim Heid
compares six external DVD burners that are compatible with both
Windows and Mac computers equipped with FireWire ports. MacWorld gave
its highest ratings (4 mice) to both EZQuest's Boa FireWire DVD-R/RW
and the QPS Que Fire DVDBurner Pro.
http://www.macworld.com/2001/12/reviews/dvburners.html

Google search terms used: dvd burner reviews 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=googlet&q=dvd+burner+reviews&btnG=Google+Search

Google groups search terms: panasonic philips dvd recorders
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=panasonic+philips+dvd+recorders&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Are you aware that you dont actually need a dvd burner to do what you
intend.
You can get very good quality using the divx codec. This will enable
you fit vhs/dv stuff onto 700mb cds.

there's lots of useful articles/programs at http://www.divx-digest.com

It's also possible to create VCD (video cds) discs with a normal cdrw.
Some standalone DVD players let you watch VCDs

hth 

browolf

You really don't need a DVD to capture the quality of image that's
recorded on your tapes. Recording a VCD will deliver equivalent
quality to VHS, and most DVD players, as noted, can play them.

Common CD burning software such as Roxio Easy CD Creator and Nero can
create VCDs from video files for you. Expect to get about 45-60
minutes on one disc.

I agree with these comments. There is no gain in converting to DVD.
VHS basically is VCD quality and will not improve converting to DVD.
Freeware tools are availble for the conversions. You can even create
Chapers and entry points in VCD. You can also look at SVCD, subtitles,
logos, ...
The best site for both types of conversions is http://www.vcdhelp.com
A very good compatibility guide is also there.
Cheers,
Koen