Digitization of individual tapes to DVD for $19.95, for an additional $2 per tape customers can have their files converted to MP4 and sent as a digital download or shipped back on a thumbdrive. Scan My Photos also offers a prepaid box video transfer rate for customers who are looking to digitize a large number of VHS tapes. The pre-paid box costs $245 and can hold up to 14 tapes. Tapes can be converted to MP4 and stored on a thumbdrive for an additional $83.95 or as a digital download from a Cloud service starting at $42.95. To watch the video on your phone or tablet, it’s as simple as connecting the device to your computer using its USB cable. In order to preserve your valuable VHS collections, you should convert analog media into digital format.
Read more about convert video tapes to digital here.
Suddenly, that Honda zooming around Williamsburg seems like a million years ago. She’s standing in the middle of the stadium, in little more than a sequined minidress and platform boots, playing guitar, overthinking flashbacks of a relationship. A few minutes ago, she was singing about how she didn’t give a fuck about what anyone thought — the public, her exes — and here she is airing her heartbreak.
However, if you choose to burn them to DVD or Blu-ray, it’s best to use uncompressed video files. Once you have all of those things, it’s time to start getting things connected. The first step is to make sure that you download and install the converter’s software to your computer.
Plan for the time involved in a home digitizing project
The red and white ones are the left and right audio channels; the yellow one is for video. If you’re using an S-Video cable for higher quality, leave the yellow RCA plug disconnected and put the S-Video cable into the S-Video sockets on your VCR and your VHS to digital connector.
Budget for the speciality equipment needed to transfer home videos
Some of these tapes can be fixed by baking at a low temp in a special oven. Experts take about one hour to digitize 500 feet of film, and it might take you a bit longer. Digital8 cameras have the luxury of being hybrid beasts that could play back Video8, Hi8 and digital format. Find the output RCA connections and attached the cables. In the above example there is only VIDEO and MONO sound.
Like the others, the Elgato package includes software that lets you save video from VHS to DVD or your hard drive. Aside from the ability to trim the beginning and end of the video, though, there are no editing capabilities here. With the right hardware and software it’s really easy to take old VHS video tapes, digitize them and then edit, store or share them with others. If you have the tapes, you can digitize them using a VHS to DVD converter. Alternatively, you can use a device that plugs into your computer, like an external USB VCR. These devices often come with software that makes the process easy. For the highest quality, you should plug a VCR into your computer via an external USB port.
Particles on the tape can cause blemishes in the video during the transfer, while dirty heads can ruin the entire project. Or even your local Craigslist, though we recommend caution if you go those routes — always make sure your eBay seller has high review scores before proceeding. Then you’ll need a stand-alone DVD recorder, which can also be a challenge to find these days. Securing one will likely require the same methods outlined above. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. There also may be local shops in your area that perform similar services, so check Yelp or ask around to see what might be available.
We recommend storing them with all your other data files and sync them with a cloud service like Dropbox or OneDrive. That way they’re safely preserved for future generations. If you have mini-sized tapes (called VHS-C tapes), you might need a camcorder rather than a VCR. There are also adapters that let you insert those old VHS-C tapes into an ordinary VCR. Stop the recording software at the end of the video, and stop the video VHS cassette..
You won’t need a lot of hard drive space—your videos will consume about a gigabyte per hour of footage. Unless you have a truly monstrous library, you can probably fit your entire family video library on a 32GB USB flash drive, or archive it in a cloud storage service like Dropbox. That gives you a lot of options; you can keep all your VHS movies on the same hard drive as all your other files, or put them on a special portable USB drive just for those kinds of memories.
Some, such as the Elgato Video Capture, also come with recording and editing software. Do it yourself.This may be one of the easiest conversions to do yourself if you have the time and the right equipment. If you have a DV camcorder, your “tapes” are probably already digital files, but you’ll need a FireWire cable to transfer them from the camcorder to your computer. As you probably noticed, there’s no television listed in the things you need earlier in this article. The VCR connects to your computer via the video converter, and you’ll see the videotape play on the computer screen. So don’t waste any time looking for a way to connect the old VCR to a new all-digital TV. If you want to preserve your family VHS tapes as video files on your computer hard drive, you can do it without much trouble; you just need to assemble a few components.