HOWTO: Convert VHS Tapes to DVD - Comments Page 1

I've converted many VHS tapes to DVD -- family creations (with a lot of 8mm still to go), TV shows, and commercial tapes for which I did not wish to buy a DVD replacement. I have a special "stabilizer" (can't recall the name and haven't used it in a while) that did a fabulous job even on Disney VHS tapes, which are notoriously hard to convert.
Not of these are regularly viewed, so I can't comment on longevity, but I can say that, in response to Bob Green, I have seen deterioration in VHS tapes, including commercial ones, most notably in color (fades like old photos) and audio (becomes soft or even garbled). I do archive the most important tapes, but in general, I'll take my chances on DVD.

I have used the Roxio Easy VHS to DVD unit with very good success. The combo VHS DVD unit we have will indicate copy protected way too easily and refuse to copy to DVD. The Roxio unit is small and the software works easily, getting good sound sync so it's not like watching the old late night martial arts movies. Easy editing software, and since it's installed on my laptop, I can take it to the stereo and use it to record LP's and cassettes to CD.

Is it possible to convert DVD movies to this format using the machine you spoke of in this article? Will this machine work for this conversion.

You can also archive video files to a harddrive. USB Hard drives are cheap these days. If you have dvd's you can burn ISO images of them using IMGburn which is free (asks for a donation) You can also goto DVDFab site and download free virtual drive to mount ISO images and play them.

Don't bother with DVDs, go straight to hard drives (duplicated of course) and view on PC, or on TV via a media player. Tapes may be long-lasting, but tape players are not - I've had one 8mm and four full-size VHS players die on me in the past couple of years. They've disappeared from retail outlets, nobody knows how to fix them now, and there's little service info on the net. Most people seem to have dumped theirs long ago, but if you still have one, keep it safe! I managed to buy a second-hand 8mm camcorder to convert old family videos. I played them through my Canon MV750i miniDV camcorder in pass-through ADC mode to its Firewire output, from where my PC captured the videos using WinDV (a great free program). Files were 13GB-per-hour AVIs, essentially uncompressed, so I invested in a 2TB hard drive to archive the AVIs, because subsequent editing is easy with AVIs. You can get more manageable file sizes by using Avidemux to produce mp4s of about 1 GB per hour - tape videos don't need bigger mp4 files than that. Compared to the mpeg2 files of DVDs, mp4's more advanced compression gives smaller files. Be aware that digitized videos with fast motion will need "de-interlacing" (I found Avidemux's Kernel Deint just fine). The picture may also need cropping to clean up the edges.

The unit mentioned above by Jim is called a Digital Video Stabilizer that allows the user to bypass "Copyguard" that was used on many commercial VHS tapes to discourage copywright infringement.

Once I had my vhs transferred to dvd, I most certainly threw out those space-hogging tapes. Yes, the dvds may not last forever but I have digital backups of them on more than one computer, and now you can also store them on a cloud service.

With external HDDs relatively inexpensive nowadays, how about copying onto one of these, or copying the DVD copies onto a HDD as a backup? What is the longevity of data recorded onto a HDD? Keeping the VHS tapes might be wise, but they take up so much space.

This article makes me question the integrity of this website. To recommend keeping VHS tapes for as long as possible and not to mention digital backups?

EDITOR'S NOTE: I guess you missed this line: "You can convert VHS to digital format and save the video to a hard drive. You can view the video on your computer, or store the digital version as a backup of the video tape."

The bottom line is that all media can fail, whether it's tape, optical disk, a hard drive, or cloud storage. Multiple backups are the key to surviving any data disaster.

my low-cost approach has been to have a Liteon all-write stand alone player, which can also copy audio cds, & it has enabled us to not only convert from vhs, but also from cassette tapes.
there's also a download you copy to a disc that when played into the machine, it will also add a 3 hour recording option, & also bypass a copy-protected disc, handy when making back-up copies.
just keep in mind Liteon optical readers are very sensitive to high temperatures so one can opt to put an extra fan, or just blow a house fan towards the back of the unit when in use..

Here's a question for you, Bob--with Hollywood moving away from film and to digital, what steps are moviemakers taking to ensure that the originals are archived, and not lost?

There are vhs/dvd recorders avail with TBC(time base corrector)integrated. This will by-pass the
copy protection called macrovision on your VHS tapes. I'm not sure if a tv/monitor is necessary, will have to have composite/RCA cables. This type of recorder is a professional/studio deck and not found in the usual consumer outlets, Best Buy, etc. If anyone can elaborate on the nedd for a TV/monitor please post it. Thanks

I am using a Toshiba brand VHS-DVD all in one machine. But it does tell me I cannot copy my old VHS movies to the DVD. Is thee a way to unblock the VHS so it will download to my DVD.
Was there a way that you cover over the notch in the back with tape to make it work?
Or is there something inside the VHS that stops the DVD from burning?
I need help here. Thanks.

HI BOB. I have read your wonderfull, article about howto convert vhs tapes to Dvd. One of the option is to use a video camera by connect the vcr machine to the video camera. Is it right. Now! I want to use this option. Plaese let me know, if I can use my Dvd Camcoder to record the vhs tapes to my Camcoder. My camcoder uses a sdhc memory card. 2. Send me more details about Fanalizing a dvd . Witch software has this function? Yours Werner Kemp

Tapes will not stop. while we will convert to DVD and HDD, archive to Tapes is still having longer lifespan for companies and small business and some home users.
Sony has just invented 185 Tera Bytes cassette for data store.
the only best way to keep the memories is to use Mdisc technology which last for 1000 years.

I have copied my tapes onto my computer but when I burn to DVD there is no sound. I use "I Q Mango " converter. Where am I going wrong.

I have both VHS and DVD material (from VHS transfers) that I have recorded from the video game Halo. I would like to edit/re-edit all this mass of material to a DVD at home without the use of a computer. Is that possible?

I'm like Roy I have the toshiba VHS to DVD and cannot record Walt dinsey VHS is there a way to unblock they

I have a Samsung DVD/VHS combo but do not have the remote (given to me by a friend). I would like to convert my VHS tapes to DVD. My MOST important question, does the DVD that I am recording ONTO...HAVE to be blank? Nextly, again this is a Samsung DVD/VHS combo. It DOES have a "record" button AND a button that says "DVD/VHS". May I please get step by step instructions on doing this without a remote? Greatly appreciated!

Will the Toshiba DVR 620 convert only NTSC vhs tapes or also PAL vhs tapes?. Please let me know.Thks