Home VHS to DVD converter program?

[Buzz Rules]

Home VHS to DVD converter program? Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

[Kennywood]

Check out Amazon and the customer questions & reviews.

 

[tvguy]

Roxio makes a program. But I have a Toshiba VHS to DVD machine. Bought it 6 years ago.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/roxio-easy-vhs-to-dvd-3-plus/6183731.p?skuId=6183731

 

[kdonnel]

Depending on how many tapes your want converted it might be easier to use a service.

There are many local services near me and a quick Google finds many online services.

https://www.dvdwalmart.com/services-and-pricing/videotape-transfer

I am lucky in that I just use my neighbor. He is a video editor and has all the needed equipment.

 

[sam_gordon]

Personally, I wouldn't even burn onto DVD. That's just something else collecting dust. Make it an .mp4 or .mov and keep it electronically. Best best is to have multiple copies, at least one online. I'd even put it up as a private YouTube video.

 

[kanerf]

You need a video card or adapter that can take the output from a VHS player and convert it to digital. Probably very expensive and while they may have been popular 10 years ago, most of that market is gone.

 

[Buzz Rules]

You need a video card or adapter that can take the output from a VHS player and convert it to digital. Probably very expensive and while they may have been popular 10 years ago, most of that market is gone.

Would that be a RCA to HDMI adapter?

 

[sam_gordon]

You need a video card or adapter that can take the output from a VHS player and convert it to digital. Probably very expensive and while they may have been popular 10 years ago, most of that market is gone.

<$25
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FJR4W1...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

<$50
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010MIN9A...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

<$100
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JVQVR3...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[sam_gordon]

Would that be a RCA to HDMI adapter?

No. You need RCA to USB. Or google "video capture card".

 

[tvguy]

You need a video card or adapter that can take the output from a VHS player and convert it to digital. Probably very expensive and while they may have been popular 10 years ago, most of that market is gone.

Adapters are about $30 at Best Buy and it is a HUGE market as millions of folks still have home movies on VHS that need to be converted. Commercial TV stations still use VHS for their FCC required logger tapes.

 

[tvguy]

Depending on how many tapes your want converted it might be easier to use a service.

There are many local services near me and a quick Google finds many online services.

https://www.dvdwalmart.com/services-and-pricing/videotape-transfer

I am lucky in that I just use my neighbor. He is a video editor and has all the needed equipment.

I guess if you only have a few, that might make sense. We transferred about 20 tapes over when our son and DIL's wedding video that my wife edited together. So it was cheaper to just buy the VHS to DVD burner for $120. Also means we have a new VHS player for tapes we choose not to transfer. But funny you mention your neighbor, that is basically what my wife, the retired video editor is doing for some of our friends now with that deck.

 

[kdonnel]

I guess if you only have a few, that might make sense. We transferred about 20 tapes over when our son and DIL's wedding video that my wife edited together. So it was cheaper to just buy the VHS to DVD burner for $120. Also means we have a new VHS player for tapes we choose not to transfer. But funny you mention your neighbor, that is basically what my wife, the retired video editor is doing for some of our friends now with that deck.

I mentioned the service because it is not always just VHS tapes that need conversion. The services will handle many more tape formats, Beta, DV, MiniDV, Hi-8, etc.

Even in my limited time collecting home video, I was not an avid recorder, I have some on VHS, Digital8, and MiniDV. I don't have any way of playing any of those formats, but my neighbor does!

 

[sam_gordon]

Commercial TV stations still use VHS for their FCC required logger tapes.

Some will. Others have gone to servers that will record all of the subchannels also.

 

[tvguy]

I mentioned the service because it is not always just VHS tapes that need conversion. The services will handle many more tape formats, Beta, DV, MiniDV, Hi-8, etc.

Even in my limited time collecting home video, I was not an avid recorder, I have some on VHS, Digital8, and MiniDV. I don't have any way of playing any of those formats, but my neighbor does!

Mine are all home movies, all VHS or VHS-C. No interest in transferring movies. With the VHS to DVD unit, I also have a working VHS VCR, so no issue playing or recording VHS with either of those decks.

 

[tvguy]

Some will. Others have gone to servers that will record all of the subchannels also.

Not to mention the mini-market security camera systems that still use VHS and haven't been upgraded to servers.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not to mention the mini-market security camera systems that still use VHS and haven't been upgraded to servers.

I'm sure those VHS systems (as well as the TV stations still using them) are special systems that record 24 hours on a single tape. So you need a special player to play them back.

 

[Buzz Rules]

No. You need RCA to USB. Or google "video capture card".

If the data goes to USB, can it be converted to a playable dvd?

 

[kdonnel]

If the data goes to USB, can it be converted to a playable dvd?

The RCA to USB devices have a built in capture card to take the analog data from the source (VCR, camcorder, etc) and output a digital video file.

You would then need to use DVD authoring software to create a DVD from the digital video files.

Or as @sam_gordon said you could just leave the output as the digital file as it could be played on virtual any computer or upload the files to a YouTube channel that you limit who can access.

Not sure how current this article is:
https://nerdtechy.com/best-standard-usb-rca-s-video-capture

 

[tvguy]

I'm sure those VHS systems (as well as the TV stations still using them) are special systems that record 24 hours on a single tape. So you need a special player to play them back.

Could be at some stations. Station I retired from, and that my daughter still works at they are plain old VHS decks set to the 6 hour record speed. MCR operators had to change the tapes every 6 hours. When they went to a HUB in January 2021 and laid off all the MCR operators that was one of the tasks that had to reassigned to people still in the building. So guess what my daughter has to do twice during her shift? Change the VHS tapes....(along with tune in satellite shots and data basing commercials)

 

[MillauFr]

Why transfer from an outdated media to a less outdated media? Just convert the media to a file you can upload to a cloud based server and stream it?