Converting VHS to digital - help

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if any of you techies could help me.

I have some vhs tapes (the big ones and small camcorder ones) of family videos that I want to convert to digital and put them on a portable hard drive. I have family in Spain, and there are a lot of members on these tapes who are no longer with us. I'd like to give them copies in digital form.

What is the best way to do it?

I do have a vhs player, a tv, and a laptop. What program/system (affordable, please) can I get?

Thanks!

 

[pharmjenn]

I don't know about doing it yourself, but know there are groupon-type deals all the time to do this. Costco also does it- $17.99 for 2 tapes up to 2 hrs. I just dropped 2 tapes off there, we have done film in the past with good results.

 

[KristEn87]

We bought years ago a VHS to DVD recorder to do just this. It is quite simple to use and have had great success getting our home videos from old VHS's and even Beta to DVD's. I think we bought it at Best Buy.

 

[sayhello]

I don't know about doing it yourself, but know there are groupon-type deals all the time to do this. Costco also does it- $17.99 for 2 tapes up to 2 hrs. I just dropped 2 tapes off there, we have done film in the past with good results.

I would heartily vote against using the companies offering the Groupon deals. I did that with a mail order company called ScanDigital, and it took them 7 months to do my transfers! And when they finally arrived, the quality was crap! I think they got more response than they expected, and the quality control went out the window. They also forgot to transfer one of the tapes. I really have no desire to send my tapes back to them, so I'm eating the money, considering it a lesson learned, and trying to find a local place that will do the transfers.

Sayhello

 

[timmac]

If you have moderate-to-high-end computer hardware, you can get a video adapter so that you can record from an analog (RCA-plug type) source. Then, mostly it's just time waiting for your computer to process it.

The cost, after just a few videos will pay for itself.

That said, if you aren't into tech gadgets and the like, it may not be worth it.

 

[mikelan6]

I bought a video adapter a few years ago and transferred all my VHS and Beta tapes to my hard drive on my PC. From there, you can make DVDs, YouTube videos, edit ... etc.

It takes some time to transfer, but it's way worth it.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I bought a video adapter a few years ago and transferred all my VHS and Beta tapes to my hard drive on my PC. From there, you can make DVDs, YouTube videos, edit ... etc.

It takes some time to transfer, but it's way worth it.

That's exactly what I want. If you don't mind, would you give me the product name?

 

[mikelan6]

That's exactly what I want. If you don't mind, would you give me the product name?

The one I have is no longer on the market it seems, but if you look on amazon.com or your favorite store, there are several to choose from.

Here is one example:

http://www.amazon.com/EasyCap-DC60-...2468168&sr=8-9&keywords=video+capture+adapter

 

[stacielee]

Been thinking about doing this as well, Mary Jo. Does anyone have any recommendations for a Mac OS X capture device?

 

[disneym2m]

I took all of my VHS tapes to Costco and let them have the fun of putting it on DVD. It was so much easier than me trying to do it myself.

The above posts have offered great suggestions.

My parents own a VHS to DVD recorder thingy and it worked well, but I had to sit for the million hours to have everything transferred.

Costco was really good and they offer a lot of choices.

My FIL used a mail away to convert his stuff and the items were returned....eventually. It took forever and I wouldn't want to risk the off chance the videos get lost in the mail.

 

[wdwscout]

Mary Jo, I am looking for this as well.
I purchased 2 devices from amazon over the summer. Neither one of them worked.
One was Diamond VC500 One Touch Video Capture Device, around $30.
The other is Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe, around $55.

My security software would not even allow me to install the first one- identifying a worm in the software!! I sent that back right away.

The Honestech version seemed more promising. I even "copied" a good chunk on one tape- and I could see the images on my laptop the whole time. Once it was finished- it would never "process" or convert to allow me to play it in any format.
I tried a number of times, did more research and gave up and sent it back.

I am getting a new laptop in a month or so- so maybe it will be more robust and I will give this another shot with a somewhat more sophisticated device.
I prefer not to hand my tapes over to anyone else. #1- I don't want them to get lost. But #2, and also very important- I want to pick and choose where to stop and start the recording. We have pieced together videos and they are messy. I envision making/organizing "chapters" so you can find an event more quickly and not sit through 3 hours of other "stuff"!! No one else but me is going to put that kind of time into a project like that.

Still looking. So I will watch this thread to see if someone has a really good product they have used.

 

[OKW Lover]

Been thinking about doing this as well, Mary Jo. Does anyone have any recommendations for a Mac OS X capture device?

While I haven't actually done it, I've been considering using my EyeTV dongle to convert some of my tapes before I finally get rid of my VCR player. I figure I can just feed the video into the EyeTV device which will digitize it for the computer. Might be some details/bugs to work out of that theory though.

 

[nickyb720]

The one I have is no longer on the market it seems, but if you look on amazon.com or your favorite store, there are several to choose from.

Here is one example:

http://www.amazon.com/EasyCap-DC60-Capture-Adapter-Software/dp/B0049RZFBY/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1342468168&sr=8-9&keywords=video+capture+adapter

ION also has a program called EZCAP. I use it and it works great.

 

[jpeka65844]

I don't know about doing it yourself, but know there are groupon-type deals all the time to do this. Costco also does it- $17.99 for 2 tapes up to 2 hrs. I just dropped 2 tapes off there, we have done film in the past with good results.

Will they do TV programs? I have a VHS of two Christmas specials from years ago that I'd love to have converted to DVD (80's commercials and all!)

Does anybody remember Jim Henson's "The Christmas Toy"? And the full-length version of "Muppet Family Christmas" (NOT the butchered version available now on DVD!)

 

[freesone]

I have used Roxio VHS to DVD with pretty good success. It comes with computer software and an adapter for your VCR/Camcorder.

You can read more about it from this link to see if it will work for you:

http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/e...verview.html?gclid=CJjr8eOVobECFQFx4Aod6hvNgA

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys. I would need to go from my vcr to the computer. The video recorder (if I can find it) plays those mini videos, and I have regular sized ones AND the mini ones that I need to convert. I'm just nervous about getting one that works, and I'm leaving Aug 1, so time is running out.

 

[SkaGoat]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys. I would need to go from my vcr to the computer. The video recorder (if I can find it) plays those mini videos, and I have regular sized ones AND the mini ones that I need to convert. I'm just nervous about getting one that works, and I'm leaving Aug 1, so time is running out.

You might be able to find one of those adapters that let you play a mini-VHS tape in a normal VCR. It's basically a VHS tape that you put your little one into so it fits in the VCR.

Also if you have a more modern Camcorder with Firewire (i.Link, IEE 1394), and a firewire connection on your computer you might be able to use it as a capture device (some camcorders allow you to do this) and plug your VCR into the new camcorder and record into Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie on the Mac.

Aug 1st is cutting it a little close, stuff like this always takes much longer than you think (especially if you want to cut it into clips).