VHS video is inconvenient in today's digital world, and there are a lot of people who want to convert their older video recordings to DVD. You can certainly find a service that will make this conversion for you, but these transfers can get expensive if you have several tapes to convert. This article will describe two ways to transfer that VHS tape of your graduation, wedding or birthday party to DVD so that you can have a more permanent digital copy to share with family and friends.
If you're looking for a way to transfer old VHS but the recordings are popular movies or TV shows - or even unpopular, obscure ones - don't buy costly hardware and spend lots of time with your VHS! You're far better off going to a website where you can download these movies and TV shows onto your computer - I recommend you check out TheMovieDownloads.com.
Recording with a DVD Recorder: A DVD recorder is a video device specifically designed for consumers to record to DVD, even if they don't own a computer.
Advantages: DVD recorders will normally record from analog sources like VHS players, older video cameras or even cable TV. They will also record from digital sources like camcorders or DVD players. As mentioned, with a DVD recorder you don't need a computer to make recordings of DVDs.
Disadvantages: What DVD recorders will not do is record copy-protected tapes or DVDs. They are often difficult to integrate into a home audio-video entertainment system due to the lack of inputs and outputs on cable boxes and VCRs. They also have very limited editing capability. And one of the biggest drawbacks of all is price. They are not cheap, with the least expensive models starting at about $200 at the time of this writing. They can also be complex and confusing. If you have trouble with a conventional VCR, then a DVD recorder can be a real challenge to hook up and use.
But if you decide to buy or borrow a DVD recorder, it is not too difficult to transfer a VHS recording to DVD.
- Connect the DVD recorder to the video source. Use the higher quality S-video cable if you can; otherwise, use standard RCA dubbing cables for both video and audio. Connect from the VHS player output to the DVD recorder input. Connecting to a digital source is different. Consult your recorder's manual....
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Author: Charles Clendenen