You probably need one extra gizmo to do that. See this thread:
http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/2...opy-Protection
and the gizmo that costs about $20 here:
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/80-4280

We had one of these (I think it was JVC brand) and it was a nightmare. I managed to get about 3 movies from it that actually worked. These were only home videos-I was never able to do it with prerecorded movies. Sometimes it would appear to make a dvd successfully but then it wouldn't play. Sometimes it would get about 75% done and an error message would pop up. It was in the shop twice (during the warranty) and then i finally gave up and filed a claim with the extended warranty (through squaretrade) and got my money back for it. I ended up using a service for all of our home movies.

Ours is a Panasonic and it was purchased about 5-6 years ago and it works just fine. The dvds aren't the same quality as the a store bought one but it is pretty good. I believe ours was 400.00 at the time but they have come down over the last 3 or 4 years.

Edit: yes, ours will copy a pre recorded vhs. That is the whole point of the machine.

Edit again: Ok, I'm wrong, won't record copy writed materials. Just our own vhs we have recorded over the years.

Oh I should have mentioned that the few dvds that did record on our old machine will not play on any other machine so far. We've tried 4 that we've owned and my inlaws too. They did play on the machine they were recorded on.

Mine is a Sharp and it is so complicated its not worth using.
Yes it records old VHS to DVD. Have not used it in years but as I recall you could only play the disks on it.

I have a Sony DVD recorder which is connected to my VCR then to the TV. Works great. I also have a Magnavox VCR/DVD recorder I got at Walmart. Was about $250 and works great. I too have a BUNCH of tapes I am transferring over to DVD. The Sony was about the same price. Just be sure to read the manual so you know how to use it properly. You have to be sure to finalize the discs or they won't play on another DVD player. Your manual will tell you how.

CD/DVD converrter
 

I bought a Sony and it is very easy although you do need a VCR player to run the tape and transfer to the little Sony converter. Very easy to do. I had many recorded shows of Simply Quilts that I transferred. You do not need to connect the VCR player to anything else. It was around $150, or 200. (can't remember) but lots cheaper than paying someone to convert them. I thought I was through then someone gave me tapes.

thanks for all the help and suggestions, I'm probably out of luck because it is purchased VHS tapes that I wanted to transfer

If they're available on dvd, you can them pretty cheap (sometimes used, sometimes new) on Amazon.

Did you check out the websites I posted above? They discuss this kind of transfer.