True, but the number of devices sold that specifically required format shifting leads me to believe that most companies don’t care so much.
That said, why would you want to watch a crappy VHS of something you can get the exact same version on DVD? VHS on HDTV? Yuck.
Be sure to check for combos that are capable of burning DVDs; lots of them aren’t.
I could make a pretty extensive list of movies I have on VHS that have never been released on DVD. And that’s not even counting the ones I’ve taped off TV broadcasts that were never released on VHS or DVD.
I used Amazon to get a VHS to DVD converter thingy made by Honest Technology. It is called “VHS to DVD 5.0” and it has a little box that takes input from the VHS and uses a USB connector to the computer. It comes with software that allows some editing of the videos, but it is pretty limited. I had old copies of the Boston Marathon that I converted. Here is the 1988 highlights. Ignore the copyright issues.