Transferring VHS to DVD

Caveman

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 1999
2,537
34
91
I want to transfer all my VHS tapes to DVD for long term storage. Movies of the kids, etc...

The device at the link below appears to do just that. The problem is that I don't know what is a "good" device/deal vs a bad device/deal.

I'm not too hung up on proice, I just wan tto make sure the quality is about as good as it can get when I transfer the media from VHS tape to DVD disk...

Anyone have any recommendations?

http://www.woot.com/
 

ryema22

Member
Dec 29, 2003
110
0
0
First, the quality of the VHS you're using to playback the tapes will have significant (perhaps greater) effect on the quality of the recording than the transfer device. If you're trying to capture playback from a crappy vcr it won't matter what capture device you use.

That said, a decent DV camcorder will have a good A/D conversion chip. If you already own one or were considering upgrading, I'd use the DV camcorder for the analog to digital conversion. I've done this with a Canon DV camcorder with great success.
 

Qacer

Platinum Member
Apr 5, 2001
2,721
1
91
You can try looking here:
VideoGuys

I've done VHS to DVD transfers. The quality really varies on different factors. For instance, the captured video looks a lot nicer when your using S-Video compared to composite video. VCRs tend to vary in output video/audio quality. This also applies to the capture quality of certain video capture products.

Here's an example of a video capture done more than 7 years ago using Pinnacle's Pro1 device: Video

This video was a VHS tape captured to a MJPEG video format and then imported to Premier. Of course, the quality will not be that good because of the additional compression from the WMV codec and then Google's video compression, but if this was played on DVD, it will definitely look much nicer.

 

AL BE

Member
Oct 1, 2005
58
0
0
ADS PYRO AV Link
I have been using this for a about a year to convert VHS to DVD and it works well. It also comes with Adobe Premiere Elements which is a bonus.
 

iluvdeal

Golden Member
Nov 22, 1999
1,975
0
76
I have an Adaptech VideOh! usb 2.0 capture device to transfer VHS tapes to DVDs. It worked fine for me, quality was good.
 

Davegod75

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2000
5,320
0
0
Bringing back on old topic.

I have a bunch of VHS tapes recorded in teh PAL format. I want to transfer them to DVD in the NTSC format.

What is the best tool/setup for that? Has this sort of thing gotten easier/better since 2007?
 

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
27,370
239
106
A couple of years ago, I replaced a VHS player and a DVD player withn a single Sony DVD-VHS unit.

DVD-VHS

Converting VHS tapes to DVD is a simple, direct dubbing operation. Put the tape in the right slot and a blank DVD in the left, and use the unit's menu that shows on your HE system.

Converting PAL to NTFS is a time consuming chore, and requires special software as it involves timing issues. I have done it, but it was a PITA. Google PAL to NTFS conversion and you'll see Pandora's box.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Originally posted by: corkygConverting PAL to NTFS is a time consuming chore, and requires special software as it involves timing issues. I have done it, but it was a PITA. Google PAL to NTFS conversion and you'll see Pandora's box.

Resolution I don't think would be a problem as you could just record it in an upscaled HD format. The frame rate is the issue as you have to use pulldown. Professional editing software will do it. I know Premiere Pro can. Aftereffects can also, probably Final Cut too. That's expensive stuff though.
 

Paperdoc

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2006
2,442
345
126
I'll not recommend a specific device, but a few ideas to use. First, your link unfortunately does not work - it appears Woot.com changed their feature device of the day.

One way to do this is a dedicated standalone transfer device that incorporates a VHS playback device, an analog-to-digital converter, and a DVD burner. You have no control over the quality of the components and they may not be optimal, and you usually don't have much opportunity to intervene and edit. I really don't know how you arrange to put 6 hours of tape onto 2-hour DVD's, but I'm sure there is a way. However, these systems seem like really simple and convenient units to use, especially if you don't have a powerful computer to work with.

The other general way is to use a computer and added components to capture the analog video stream from the VCR you provide to play the VHS tape, edit if necessary, then burn to a DVD. If you do this, you need the VCR, a device to convert analog video to digital form, a means to capture that digital data stream, some editing software, and some DVD burning software.

Capturing can be done two ways. One is you get a good video card that includes a port for capturing analog video signals and converting them, all in one operation, to a digital format. The capture port may be either NTSC or S-Video, the latter being better quality (but you need a S-Video output on the VCR to use that). Doing it this way you also will need to connect the stereo audio signals from the VCR to the audio Line In port of your sound card so they can be captured, too. You usually use the video editing software to do the actual capture process. Often that same software can do the DVD burning operations for you.

Another way (I do this) involves using a Digital Video camera as your capture device. My Sony unit, for example, has an always-operating chip that converts analog video to digital and makes it available on the camera's Firewire (IEEE 1394a) port. Now, the camera also has a port to input to it the NTSC Composite Video and 2 stereo signals from the VCR. So I can play the tape on the VCR, hook it into the camera's analog input port, and have video and audio together output on the Firewire port to connect to the computer's Firewire input. Then I can use the computer editing software to capture that digital data stream to disk. In some cases, the dedicated analog-to-digital system in that camera may do a better job than a video card's capture system. On the other hand, neither my camera nor my VCR have ways to exchange an S-Video signal, so there is a limit to the quality of the video signal I can get. Not a problem for me - the original tapes were only made in standard NTSC quality, anyway.

Oh, and of course a third way, almost the same as the first, is to use an analog-to-digital video capture device that connects to your computer via a USB2 cable and port, rather than being built into the video card. I've never used these, so I can't comment on their relative quality.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
Originally posted by: Caveman
I want to transfer all my VHS tapes to DVD for long term storage. Movies of the kids, etc...

The problem is that I don't know what is a "good" device/deal vs a bad device/deal.

I'm not too hung up on proice, I just wan tto make sure the quality is about as good as it can get when I transfer the media from VHS tape to DVD disk...
For quality, look at the Canopus ADVC110.
It will lock the audio and video together. Audio/video sync is a big problem with cheaper converters.

If you do go with a cheap converter, one way that you can midigate the audio/video sync issue is to capture/convert smaller video segments, then rebuild them back into a single large file.

 
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