Another option is to buy a dedicated dvd recorder to hook up to your vcr and tv. I just bought a Samsung (150CA at Best Buy and other places) because it was the cheapest I could find. This device acts just like a vcr. I haven't tried it for copying vcr tapes, but I believe that commercial tapes won't work as they have a form of copy protection.

If you record onto dvd-rw disks, the Samsung allows you to edit out sections (commercials, but the manual doesn't actually say that). The manual talks about moving and inserting sections as well.

Getting to the exact spot using the remote for the recorder is very finicky. What I've done a couple times is to record onto the dvd-rw disk, do the editing with the recorder, then using a computer to copy the recording onto a cheaper dvd-r disk. I might try doing the editing on the computer, then burning it onto the dvd-r.

If you want to spend a bit more money, you can get these recorders with hard drives so they function as a pvr. I had gone the route I did because I don't have a working laptop right now, and marrying a desktop to the pvr by the tv wasn't an option.