VHS to DVD Project

This week I started a VHS to DVD conversion project for a client. There are 23 VHS tapes that need to be converted to DVD. I was going to use my DVD recorder to do the job. DVD-VR mode allows you to edit right on the DVD recorder. The only problem is that most DVD players can not read DVD-VR format. I need to find a program that will convert DVD-VR into DVD-Video format. There are a few out there, but none that are free. So, it's either buy the software to make the conversion, or buy a large hard drive and edit all the video on the computer. I may still use the DVD recorder in DVD-Video mode and then transfer the files to the computer for final editing and arrangement. But those extra steps may be a waste of time compared to running the VHS through my video camera and saving the files directly to the computer in a compressed format.