🚀 go-pugleaf

In article: <3179fab1.2451028@news.demon.co.uk>  
matt@tdraft.demon.co.uk (Matt West) writes:
> 
> I have seen an advert for the Danmere Backer that backs your hard 
> disk onto VHS tape through a video recorder.  For only 35ukp + VAT, 
> this card will backup 9MB per minute and will allow you to store 
> up to 1.5GB on a VHS video tape.
> 
> Does anyone know if this product is any good or can suggest any
> alternatives for this price ?
> 

Well I knew there was a good reason for filing this answer...

>
> From: leo <leo@lgab.demon.co.uk>
> Newsgroups: demon.tech.pc
> Subject: Re: Danmere Backer Video Tape Backup
> Date: Thu, 25 Jan 96 07:55:15 GMT
> Message-ID: <822556515snz@lgab.demon.co.uk>
>
> In article <MsVp7BABErBxEwHm@davent.demon.co.uk>
>            david@davent.demon.co.uk "David Entwistle" writes:
>
> > I have seen an advert. in the February Computer Shopper (Page 572) 
> > for the Danmere Backer PC hard disk back-up system which backs up 
> > to your video player on an ordinary video tape at 9 Megabytes per 
> > minute and looks like it is ideal for large hard drives.
> >
> > They are only 42.45UKP inclusive & on the face of it look good 
> > value for money when compared to tape streamers.
> >
> > Has anyone tried one of these devices out, and are they any good?
>
> Not this again - I've tried one out, and it worked. However, there
> are some things you should know.
>
> a) if you ask the salesperson, they will say that all cables are 
>    included  - they're not. You will need to buy two cables, 
>    probably BNC to phono, to allow you to connect the card to the 
>    VIDEO IN and VIDEO OUT sockets on your VCR. Make sure that the 
>    leads are long enough to get to the VCR or use a spare VCR if 
>    you have one.
>
> b) The card and attached software cannot be used to back up network
>     drives.  The software does not recognise any drives except those
>     physically on the machine. Of course, you could always copy 
>     stuff over from network drives onto one of your drives and back 
>     it up from there.
>
> c) There is no software control of the VCR - you have to be there to
>    press the REC button. Think of it as backing up onto a very large
>    audio cassette.
>
> On the plus side, the software works well, with a particularly nice
> Verify function which allows you to see whether your buffer and 
> error checking levels are set correctly. There are several levels 
> of compression and the default is low, so you won't get 1.5 Gig 
> unless you explicitly set the software to use high compression. 
> You should also be aware that the performance is dependent upon the 
> state of the VCR - if it's completely clapped out then you won't get
> good backups.
>
> To summarise; if you only want to do complete drive backups, you 
> have a large local hard disk, a spare VCR and some space on your 
> desk, definitely try it. If you want to backup and restore single 
> files, do unattended backups or network backups, don't bother.
>
> Hope this helps. I think I shall save this text as a FAQ
>
> --
> leo
>
 
-- 
Ian Wilson
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England