Well I wanted to find a partner and the prototype would be the model for the market. I plan on selling hundreds of them.
Irregardless someone has to front the money to have the prototype made... I doubt you will find many 'partners' that are going to assume all financial liability... Product design firms and prototype manufacturing companies or individuals are in the business of getting paid for a service, not financing everyone's dreams while working for free...
Point two, selling 100s is NOT a lucrative number, that firmly still puts you in a low prototype manufacturing level... You won't benefit from any price breaks or volume discounts at that level, in fact you will be subject to huge tooling and upfront production cost as it's still very much considered a small guy hobbyist prototype run... This is going to drive your out of pocket cost through the roof, all the while you are trying to recuperate lets say $50,000 in R&D into what 200 units? That is a $250 R&D tax on each unit just to break even, over and above the cost to actually build the units... To speculate that these are going to exceed $1000 per unit out of pocket cost isn't far fetched...
I have no idea what kind of market you are aiming for or think there is, but I can get a self-contained VHS to DVD dubber
on Amazon.com for under $200... Or I can hook up a VHS player to my computer (most all have DVD burners nowadays., with OEM video editing software) with a
USB capture device for about $7, and I'm on my way to transferring the VHS to DVD for about $7... Or I can spend $50 and get the
USB capture device and a complete video editing bundle in a fancy box from Amazon.com...
IMO you are better off just using over the counter parts and assembling a 'rack' system, using a small PC and an over the counter VHS player and writing your proprieatry software that does your claimed "completely unique" things, that I highly suspect are not real unique it the end when I know what high end video editing software is capable of in the right hands...
Not trying to burst your bubble but have you ever taken a complex product from design to production at the retail level? Have you written out a good (as in honest) business plan and explored an honest marketing model?
IMO a vast majority of the VHS to digital or DVD boats sailed about 10 years ago, the market isn't there any longer...