Transferring Video Tapes to DVDs

[Jodi1980]

Has anyone ever had this done somewhere or at home?

 

[Feralpeg]

I am in the process of transfering about 400 VHS tapes to DVD. I record everything. The VHS tapes take up so much space. I'm dubbing the things I want to DVD and trying to organize them. I have every episode of "The Scarecrow and Mrs. King". I know, crazy!

I bought a Panasonic VHS/DVD player/recorder. I love it. I use the DVD-Rs because they are cheaper. DVD-RWs let you rerecord if you mess up, but they are more expensive. If you record to a DVD-R, you can stop and start until the disc is full. You can't rerecord over anything. With a DVD-RW, you can rerecord. Hope this helps.

 

[holycow]

I took mine to a company who converts the tapes...I only had 2 tapes and it was 20+ $$.

 

[Jodi1980]

I'm not very sharp at all with electronics - was it hard to figure out? Walmart will transfer videos to DVD for $20 with additional copies for $9 each (two hour tapes) but I won't be able to edit the tapes.

 

[Feralpeg]

It was a little tricky getting everything hooked up correctly. Now that I've got the hang of it, it's not bad. I'm not doing anything fancy. Right now, I'm only dubbing movies and TV shows that I've recorded. When I get to the VHS recordings I've made of DD, I will probably do a little editing. If I had to pay to have all of my tapes dubbed, I wouldn't be doing it. But then, I'm a recording nut. I do way too much of it.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

This is a great idea. The life span of a VCR tape is only 10 years. I have some priceless videos of my kids that I'm going to have done. I can see that they are losing quality. My kids watched them a LOT when they were little.

 

[gina2000]

My DH is currently in the process of doing exactly that. Took him a little bit to get the hang of it but now it's smooth sailing. Of course, everytime I walk into the room he's transfering The Sopranos to DVD. It's driving me a bit bonkers......

 

[acidXrainbow]

i know its really expensive to buy a dvd burner.... other then that im clueless

 

[Shutterbug]

I have done lots of research on this because I have wanted to put my vacation vids onto a dvd for easier access.
I have been trying to decide if I wanted to use one of those vhs tap/dvd recorder. Those by far seemed the easiest way to do it but I wanted a manufactured type DVD like screen that showed chapters with pics.
So to do that I needed 2 things
1. DVD burner (which I just bought Pioneer external dvd burner)
and
2. A way to get the vids onto the computer. Seeing that I have a laptop I cant buy vid capture card and install it I need an external device. There is one that has come on to market that made by
Pinnacle. Its called Studio MovieBox USB.
Heres the link to the product
USB Box

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by acidXrainbow
i know its really expensive to buy a dvd burner.... other then that im clueless

You can get DVD burners for under $100 now if you look really good.....

Without really even trying, Best Buy has one for only $139

 

[iluvdisney]

I am in the process of transferring some 250+ family vhs tapes to dvds - I find I can fit 2 tapes onto each dvd. Sometime in the future if I have the energy, I will edit them and again transfer them to dvds for the family. I am finally approaching the 100 mark - my dvd recorder was under $400 and I just pop in a tape and let it go. Hope this helps answer your question.

 

[Shutterbug]

Originally posted by jfulcer
You can get DVD burners for under $100 now if you look really good.....

Without really even trying, Best Buy has one for only $139

Yes the internal ones have come down in price. If you need an external it will be more. Mine was originally 249 but had a 40 dollar rebate plus I had 70.00 worth of Best Buy rewards that I used.

I recommend doing research on any DVD burner you are interested in getting. Blank DVD's are more expensive than CD's. The last thing you want is a stack unusable DVD coaters

 

[jcemom]

I have been wondering how to do this myself! I have a DVD burner and have burned DVD's from internet downloads, and I also have DVD editing software but not a clue how to use it. What else do I need? How do I get the VHS into the computer to burn it to DVD?

 

[Feralpeg]

Actually, the Panasonic unit I bought allows you to specify chapters and change titles. It was around $400.

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by jcemom
I have been wondering how to do this myself! I have a DVD burner and have burned DVD's from internet downloads, and I also have DVD editing software but not a clue how to use it. What else do I need? How do I get the VHS into the computer to burn it to DVD?

Shutterbug posted a link to a Pinnacle product abive, and I have used this USB Capture device before with good results. (it's only $69) You hook it up to your computer, hook it up to the VCR and it captures if for you! It's relatively easy to do.

 

[Towncrier]

I purchased all the hardware necessary to transfer VHS tapes to DVD, but I haven't found the time to transfer any of my home movies to DVD.

Before you throw away your videotapes, be forewarned that there is evidence that the burned DVDs might not have as long a life as once believed. You may end up having to copy your DVDs to a fresh DVD-R every so many years to ensure that you can continue to read them. This may also be true for CD-Rs that you have burned. Do not fall into the belief that media that your burn will last forever. It won't. It will hold up better than videotape, but it is definitely not a final permanent solution to data storage.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Thanks, John, that's good info!