converting VHS to DVD

I convert mine by hooking my vcr thru my Digital Camcorder using Sony Vegas 5.0.

I have no info for you but I am interested in doing the same thing. I would like to do it without having to downlaod to my computer. Hopefully someone here comes up with a easy solution.

Well, I actually purchased a DVD Recorder last year plannig on doing this very thing! However, I haven't been able to get the thing to work!!!

Quickest and easiest conversion?

Use a company like this https://www.videosilo.com/

quote:

Originally posted by KellerDad:
Quickest and easiest conversion?

Use a company like this https://www.videosilo.com/

I'd think that's pretty expensive. We've got a local place that does it. I had to video my daughter's golf swing for college coaches and convert the VHS-C to CD. They charged me $5.00 per CD they made. Much more economical than the $16/VHS-C from Video Silo. So my suggestion is to look local.

Fow what it's worth Fungo, I'm in the same boat. We've got a ton of tapes of random things; birthdays, holidays, sporting events, vacations. I think it would be neat to categorize them either by "Holiday" (all Christmas tapes on 1 CD) or "Person" (each kid would have a CD of their various activities).

Bought a vcr-dvd recorder last year and just started copying video tapes over to dvd last month. You can edit and do just about as much as you could on your vcr. I've copied games that I had on 4 differant tapes and put them on one dvd. (Actually my wife does it because i can't figure out how to use it. Ours is made by Zenith and we got it from Best Buys.

OK here is what I did. I purchased a SONY VRD-VC20 $220.00.

This does NOT use a computer. You hook your VCR directly to the SONY DVD Unit, insert a DVD in the unit , push "play" on your VCR and "record" on the you have just converted your VHS to DVD in real time. You can also hook your video camera (digital or analog) (A/V cable, S-Video, cable, or firewire) and burn DVD's. PLUS, I said it doesn't use a computer ...BUT.. use the USB port on the VC20, hook it to the USB on your computer and you have an external DVD recorder that you can download to. Slick operation.

Bandits - If your wife would like a vacation to KY - she's welcomed at my house!

I bought a lite-on dvd recorder for $79 at Best Buy. It seems to work pretty good. If I want to edit the dvd I burned on the dvd recorder, I just stick it in my coputer make my changes and then burn a newly edited dvd off my computer.

Prior to buying the dvd recorder I just copied the old VHS tapes onto digital 8 and then downloaded them onto my computer via firewire to burn and edit the dvd. This was a hassle but it worked.

I also considered buying a new graphics card to record directly off of the vhs player to my computer, but I choose the dvd recorder because it offered more flexability at a low price.

Fungo, that's the exact same unit I bought a few months ago. There are jacks on the back so you can record from essentially any source....dvd player, vcr, analog video camera, digital video camera, etc. It's a wonderful product and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to made DVD's from multiple sources.

Jon

That unit is probably alot less hassle than digitizing it thru your computer. You could also get a DVD recorder and go straight to that from the VCR. Me, I did it the hard way--with the "pass through" feature on my digital camcorder, then to the computer. A lot of hassle, but more fun.

Fungo,

Welcome to the fun world of technology. I'm a video nut and do a lot of tape to DVD converting in my spare time. Personally I'm not a big fan of using USB to transfer/capture video. In my experience it increases the probability of lost frames.

I do it the long way... Into my PC and then I have software to edit out the pauses, the stops and the starts. I can even add scene transitions, music and voice-over. It's time consuming but the end result is a much cleaner video. Also I can make the video wide screen, clean up the picture and add surround sound to name just a few things.

Like I said... I'm a video "nut".

Jason

P.S. You have a PM.

Fungo I just bought a vhs/dvd combo unit that also records either. All I have to do is put the tape in, format a dvd in the other, and push a button. It's so simple even I figured it out. Plus I now have the convenience of recording shows off the TV on DVD. To be honest, I don't want to edit the old footage. I want to see all the goofy stuff, including the wiggly frames. There were times my wife was recording my youngest while I was off coaching my oldest that were great. She would turn the camera down to the ground to holler when he did something good every time, but you could still hear all the coomotion. It was frustrating at first, but looking back now it's kinda funny.

My .02

I went with a DVD-R - hook the camcorder to the input jacks and away you go. The DVDs can then be edited using a mac or PC - Mac is much better....

Just thought I would start a mac vs pc religous war

quote:

Originally posted by lafmom:
Well, I actually purchased a DVD Recorder last year plannig on doing this very thing! However, I haven't been able to get the thing to work!!!

I bought one a couple of weeks ago and used it to take a Christmas play from VHS to DVD. I plugged my camera staight into the DVD recorder. Mine uses an on-screen optins where you pick VCR, TV, camcorder, or another device to record from. All new TV's have connections on the front and back so that you can hook up multiple gadgets. If you need anymore help, just holler.

Tas - I might take you up on that. I tried the VCR to the DVD because I had older larger VHS tapes but could never get it to work. Thought I was doing it just like the instructions said! My newer (last few years) tapes are those small ones and I might try the camcorder to the DVD Recorder and see if I can work it in order to transfer those.

I have to try that kinda stuff when I have plenty of time though - the frustration does nothing to add success to the project!!

Fungo,

I bought the exact same Sony DVDirect recorder you did. Got mine last summer and have been converting many of my old analog tapes to DVD. I recently bought a new Sony Digital 8 camcorder that also plays back my old Hi8 tapes so I just plug the camera into the recorder, put in a tape that I want to put on DVD, put in a blank DVD and press record...haven't had any problems at all so far. I use the AV cable for the analog recordings and a firewire cable for the digital recordings. I'm not a video master by any means but if I can do this I know anyone can.

If anyone is considering purchasing a Digital 8 camcorder to replace their old HI8 camcorder and you want to be able to play back your old tapes in the new camcorder, I highly recommend the Sony DCR-TRV480. It is very inexpensive and takes great video...uses the same tapes as my old analog Sony camcorder. It has a 20x optical zoom and a 990x digital zoom which works great for filming at baseball games. A great camcorder for the money!

Ann