Converting VHS tapes to DVDs for the LONG drive!

[LSUmom4kids]

We have lots of VHS tapes bought over the years that would keep the kids entertained on the 10+ hr. road trip to WDW in August. I'd rather not have to LUG the tv/vhs combo unit in the van - takes up too much space and all kids would have to agree on same movie.

Is there a way to convert the vhs tapes to dvd so that each kid could watch his "own" movie on his personal dvd player with headphones? Most of the vhs tapes are disney; some are not.

Is there a company or service out there that could do this for me? Or is there a "user friendly" machine that I could buy or rent that would convert the tapes to cds (or is it DVDs - I personally don't understand the difference!)

I'm not too good connecting wires from the tv to the vcr so the process needs to be super easy for me to understand.

any suggestions?

 

[ktpool]

There are companies that do it...look under "audio/visual" in your Yellow Pages. Or, we have (at work) a VHS/ DVD player that will record the VHS to DVD. It was a couple of hundred dollars, I think, but it was a year ago, so they may be cheaper now.

 

[RobInBigKC]

Most legitimate tape-copying companies will NOT copy your commercially copyrighted tapes (such as Disney movies) onto DVD for you. They will copy your home movies (of Disney visits?) to DVD for you.

You can get a VHS-DVD recorder, similar to the one in this link:
Sony DVD Recorder/VCR Combo, RDR-VX515 , that are all in one, no cables needed to copy from tape to VCR. Just make sure it says DVD Recorder (and not just DVD Player). However, be aware that many videotapes made over the last 12 years or so have Macrovision or some other form of copy-protection on them -- your commercial Disney tapes probably do too and you won't be able to copy them without getting a DVD full of static. Your home tapes (including tapes you recorded over cable TV off of the Disney Channel) should copy over just fine.

-- Rob

 

[dudspizza]

Most legitimate tape-copying companies will NOT copy your commercially copyrighted tapes (such as Disney movies) onto DVD for you. They will copy your home movies (of Disney visits?) to DVD for you.

You can get a VHS-DVD recorder, similar to the one in this link:
Sony DVD Recorder/VCR Combo, RDR-VX515 , that are all in one, no cables needed to copy from tape to VCR. Just make sure it says DVD Recorder (and not just DVD Player). However, be aware that many videotapes made over the last 12 years or so have Macrovision or some other form of copy-protection on them -- your commercial Disney tapes probably do too and you won't be able to copy them without getting a DVD full of static. Your home tapes (including tapes you recorded over cable TV off of the Disney Channel) should copy over just fine.

-- Rob

Took the words right out of my mouth. It is illegal to copy tapes such as the ones you want to copy. It is probably time to go out and buy a few DVDs that the kids can share.

Have a great trip.

Duds

 

[JoeCathyAngelina]

Most legitimate tape-copying companies will NOT copy your commercially copyrighted tapes (such as Disney movies) onto DVD for you. They will copy your home movies (of Disney visits?) to DVD for you.

You can get a VHS-DVD recorder, similar to the one in this link:
Sony DVD Recorder/VCR Combo, RDR-VX515 , that are all in one, no cables needed to copy from tape to VCR. Just make sure it says DVD Recorder (and not just DVD Player). However, be aware that many videotapes made over the last 12 years or so have Macrovision or some other form of copy-protection on them -- your commercial Disney tapes probably do too and you won't be able to copy them without getting a DVD full of static. Your home tapes (including tapes you recorded over cable TV off of the Disney Channel) should copy over just fine.

-- Rob

Vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes, Beta/vhs tapes, cd's, DVD's, next is Blue ray and HDVD!!!
Been There, Done it !!!
It's illegal to make copies,
But the law is only enforced if you sell copies for a profit.
Everything is copy protected,
but some tapes allow you to copy ONCE to a different media for your personal use.
The fact is you CAN copy anything to anything else for your personal use; BUT you have to spend the money on sophisticated equipment, media and spend the time to physically cut and paste.
As much as I hate to say it, most of the time it's faster, easier and even cheaper to buy the new Media.
Good luck all,
Joe

 

[salmoneous]

Can you do it? Sure, there is always a way. But given how cheap most DVD's are, you are probably better off just buying new DVD's.

 

[kat3668]

I have a Go video DVD recorder and it is super easy to use... cost around $165 on Ebay... however all Disney material is not copyable had blocks when you try to.