anybody turn vhs movies into dvds?

[eliza61]

I've got a bunch of old movies, mainly black and white classics. Streetcar named desire, the clock,it happened one night, stuff like that on vhs. I thought about simply repurchasing the dvd edition but some are really pricey. I think maybe it's because they are out of print.

Has anyone turned old vhs tapes into dvd format?

 

[jlewisinsyr]

The quality of VHS and overall degredation that has occured from first play to now would be all the reason for me not to even consider transferring.

Unless the VHS is a home movie with no other altnerative, I would buy the DVD.

 

[Grog]

I bought a DVD burner that hooks up to a VCR to make my own DVDs. The reason I chose this route was that my tape collection had a lot of foreign films, old movies that never made it to DVD, home movies, etc. If the movies you want are on DVD then it's probably cheaper to just buy a new DVD unless you're talking about a really huge collection.

 

[Kimberle]

Walmart will do it for only a couple of dollars a tape. Why don't you try a couple and see how it works.

 

[sam_gordon]

Walmart will do it for only a couple of dollars a tape. Why don't you try a couple and see how it works.

I'm guessing they won't do the transfer for commercial tapes. Home movies... sure.

 

[happygirl]

I'm guessing they won't do the transfer for commercial tapes. Home movies... sure.

I think they do it for any type of movie on VHS

http://www.dvdwalmart.com/Services_Pricing.aspx

 

[avgeek81]

I bought a dvd recorder to transfer vhs to dvd about 5 years ago. I mostly got it t otransfer home movies and short films my friends and i made in High School. I also had some shows i taped off tv and are not available on dvd.

The one I got does not transfer commercial vhs you have purchase it will just record black. Some of the films my friends and I made contain movie clips and it wont records them. It records before and after them but blacks that part out.

I would think Walmart couldnt transfer commercial VHS tapes because of copyright laws but I dont know for sure

 

[sam_gordon]

I think they do it for any type of movie on VHS

http://www.dvdwalmart.com/Services_Pricing.aspx

While it doesn't say they WON'T do it, I'd still be surprised if they would. As mentioned, there's a copyright issue.

 

[ford family]

While it doesn't say they WON'T do it, I'd still be surprised if they would. As mentioned, there's a copyright issue.

But their adverts say that for $2 Walmart will convert your favourite films from dvds to digital so why can they not convert your vhs to digital?

ford family

 

[sam_gordon]

But their adverts say that for $2 Walmart will convert your favourite films from dvds to digital so why can they not convert your vhs to digital?

ford family

I'm pretty sure they're talking about home movies. Most people won't have theatrical release films.

I could be wrong. I would just be surprised if they (anyone for that matter) would be willing to convert a commercial VHS to a DVD.

 

[HM]

Well, I've been wondering about the DVD to Digital thing too. In the tv commercial, the people are seen carrying store bought DVDs in to get them digitized.

I also would love to turn many of my VHS into DVD. I just hope VCRs will still be available years from now....so I can show our kids movies to grandkids.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, I've been wondering about the DVD to Digital thing too. In the tv commercial, the people are seen carrying store bought DVDs in to get them digitized.

I also would love to turn many of my VHS into DVD. I just hope VCRs will still be available years from now....so I can show our kids movies to grandkids.

Like I said, I could be wrong. Simply bring your VHS tapes to Wal*Mart & ask (or call).

 

[CdnCarrie]

They are referring to home movies which is why they are asking for your choice of background music.

It would be totally against copyright for them to make a copy of a commerical VHS tape.

 

[CdnCarrie]

If you look farther on the Walmart website it specifically says home movies.

Hassle-Free Digital Transfer
Walmart provides the most convenient way to convert your home videos to DVD. No complicated software or expensive equipment is needed. Simply drop off your media (videotape, movie film, etc.) at the Walmart photo counter.

 

[ford family]

I looked futher into the Walmart offering and what they are actually doing is confirming you legally own the commercial dvd and then, for a fee, granting you access to that same film on a remote server system called VUDU which is similar to Netflix but owned by Walmart. They then mark your dvd as having been used this way to prevent someone else using the same film for this purpose.

As far as the OP's question, we have a dual vhs/dvd player that is designed to copy tapes to discs. We had many commercial tapes (as well as non commercial like school plays) and the vast majority have been copied over successfully. A few of the later tapes would not allow copying but this technology was not widely in use by the time we stopped buying vhs and started buying dvd versions instead so it hasn't been a big impediment.

ford family