After some contemplation and investigation, I realized I am still not qualified to make a descision here yet. So get ready for another round of questions haha. Upon looking into several of the recommendations made, and a few leads of my own, I am just about as confused as I was on my first post. There are so many choices and so much variation between the price and abilites. When I read about two diffrent converters, with almost $200.00 diffrence in price, I could tell no diffrence in there abilites. That is when I realized I needed to learn more. Any help would be appreciated! As far as functionality, I need to backup vhs to dvd, dvd to dvd, and I will also need to edit the material. DIVX is not required but couldn't hurt. I do not need a PVR, however if the best way to accomplish these task is via PVR, so be it. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you all have, and wish to convey my deepest thanks to you all for helping the video n00b!