Double video

[Quizmonster]

Please bear in mind that I am a totally Luddite technophobe, so treat me as the village idiot in any response...
Goodness knows, there is little of real interest on TV most evenings, but every now and then it happens that there are simultaneous broadcasts that one would like to record. Is it possible to have two video-recorders taping different programmes at the same time?
At the moment, the aerial lead feeds into the recorder, from which another lead goes to  the TV. Can I add a spare recorder into the system to achieve what I want? Presumably, as well as an extra lead, I'll need to buy a single-to-double gizmo of some sort to fit in there somewhere, so what's it called and who sells it? My thanks in anticipation.

[kempie]

If your intention is to record terrestrial broadcasts then the setup you describe, i.e. video recorders in series, is perfectly feasible. This is because each recorder has an inbuilt TV tuner and so can select which of the channels is to be recorded from the aerial signal as well as allowing the complete signal to pass through to the next device, be it another recorder or TV and all done using the standard aerial (RF) cables.

This arrangement would also work for one of the recorders to tape from a digibox whilst the second was taping terrestrial.

As to the quality of the signal passing through multiple machines; probably not that much of an issue for 2 recorders. Try it and see.

[kempie]

One proviso; if the two recorders have similar output channels this may cause interference which should be negated by re-tuning one of them to a different channel.

[Kev_UK]

From experience you do not have to have a tv connected to a vcr to record, only for playback.. but you do need an antenna connected. Depending on the reception on where you live it may be possible to use a set top antenna on top of the 2nd vcr to record. Try it and see.

[smorodina]

This was my setup for years. One video in a standard arrangement using rf leads and the second connected to the first by a scart lead. The ariel is split using an easily available Y-connector and goes to both machines. This means that only one machine can be used for playback, but gets round the inteferance problem of having both connected to the TV. It can sometimes be a bit tiresome getting the setup just right, but at the moment I have two vcrs, a cable box and a DVD recorder all connected with a nightmare of scart and ariel leads...

[Quizmonster]

Thanks for your suggestions, folks...which I actually understood! I shall certainly give them a whirl. Cheers

[jedda]

yes, simple, just do the above solutions or buy a arial spltter, I use this solution to get a signal to my PC without interfeering with the TV