How do I convert my VHS-C tapes to dvds? About This Page:

[dejavu]

I know the first option is to pay someone. Other than that, is there a straightforward method to do this? Is there a machine that I could buy to help do this? My old camcorder warbles the tapes, so to play them, I have to put them in the adapter for the VCR. Then they look fine. The tapes are up to 16 years old. So I guess I would be taping from the vcr to the dvd via computer? As you can see I'm completely clueless. And we don't currently own a dvr.

[emtpej]

they have VCR / DVD-R combos for sale. You might be able to rent one from an AV supply place.

[emtpej]

There is also this thingy:
KWorld Xpert DVD Maker USB 2.0 Video Capture Device VS-USB2800 at TigerDirect.com

You would need a PC with a DVD-R drive, too and whatever else the thingy needs.
I have not used this. There are other sources, too, like amazon, bestBuy, etc.

[Colexis Mom]

I saw this on QVC a couple days ago. http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/v...0103~1681~1805 Something I need to buy for myself

ETA: the link doesn't seem to be working........it's product E04832

[modisney]

Are you talking about the small tapes from your cam corder that you need to play in an adapter? If you are Sony has something called DVDirect which is a video recordable DVD drive. You take your camcorder (with the tape you want to convert in it) and hook it up to the DVDirect unit. Put a blank dvd into the DVdirect, turn on your camcorder to play your tape and it's transferred to the dvd. I'm sure my description here is a little sketchy but it's very simple to do. The DVdirect is small (9" x 6") and was just a couple hundred dollars a couple of years ago when I got mine.

[A & J's Dad]

I've used an older version of this device DVD Xpress DX2 with fantastic results. It's less than $100 and comes with some very user friendly video editing software.

Cheers
Craig

[DopeyGirl]

My parents have actually been transferring all of our old vacation videotapes over to DVDs for all of us recently. They bought a VCR/DVD-R (I think she said it cost something around $300 for the one they got) and, while it took them a bit to figure out how to get it to work right (and they went through a few DVDs wasted while trying), it works AWESOME now.

[bradk]

i too have a USB device that takes a video input and I can capture that into an editing program and burn a VCD. normally I use it for my cablebox.

this is the same company whose product I own, but not the same product. runs about $40 and has decent reviews: Amazon.com: Diamond VC500 One Touch Video Capture Device: Electronics

[WillCAD]

There are lots of combo units that have standard VHS and DVD recorders in a single box. These make it easy to transfer from VHS to DVD-R. My Dad did it with all of the old family videos and movies and they turned out pretty well.

You can also hook up a single VHS player to a DVD recorder to accomplish the same thing.

I've also heard that some types of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) allow you to hook them to your computer and extract recorded video as MPEG video files, which can then be burned to DVD with your computer's DVD burner.

The best thing to keep in mind is that the quality of the video will never improve. Putting a 16-year old vhs tape onto a DVD will not make it look like a DVD; it will still look like a 16-year old VHS tape. But digitizing it will stop the degradation of the image that occurs as VHS tapes age, so it won't get any worse, either.

[dejavu]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have put a little footage on my computer in the past using a firewire but it took forever since I used Windows movie maker (and that was from my mini-dv tapes, not the vhs-c ones.) I may get a dvd recorder and hook up my vcr to it and transfer and some have mentioned above. I've looked into the costs locally to have someone do it and I can't see paying that much (as a SAHM) when I have the time to do it myself. I'll let you know if I ever get my 50 tapes transferred.

[emtpej]

Originally Posted by dejavu

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have put a little footage on my computer in the past using a firewire but it took forever since I used Windows movie maker (and that was from my mini-dv tapes, not the vhs-c ones.) I may get a dvd recorder and hook up my vcr to it and transfer and some have mentioned above. I've looked into the costs locally to have someone do it and I can't see paying that much (as a SAHM) when I have the time to do it myself. I'll let you know if I ever get my 50 tapes transferred.

Maybe if it turns out very well, you could have a home-based business doing this!