How to digitize VHS tapes

If you have analog tapes, such as Betamax, Hi8, and VHS, you’ll need a VCR that plays the type of tapes you have. If you don’t have a VCR, try sites such as Craigslist, eBay, and Freecycle to find a low-cost one. If you or a family member was a prolific photographer back in the day, you may have a number—okay, scores—of photo albums or shoeboxes full of loose prints stuffed into closets. Sadly, these start to feel like unwieldy clutter and can’t be easily shared with relatives, copied, or organized the way digital photos can be. This article cover two methods for transferring 8mm and Hi8 videotapes to DVD or VHS. This is another device in this category that you can rely on. It is a Helical scanning mini-DV VCR with 2 rotary heads.

Options 1 or 2 are the most practical and cost-effective. Also, at this point, transfer tapes to DVD and not VHS. If you have them transferred to DVD by a service, have them do one, and then test it to make sure it plays on your DVD player. If all goes well, you can then decide whether to have your remaining tapes transferred using this option. Option 3 — Take your tapes to a video duplicator and have them transferred to DVD professionally .

A Solution to DVD Rot

Converting your old home VHS tapes into digital files may feel like a never ending project, especially if you’ve got decades of memories stored in the aging format. The process isn’t quite as straightforward as digitizing photographs or negatives and it can be difficult to track down a VCR to even play the tapes, let alone convert them. The VHS format wasn’t intended to be archival, and chances are your old home movies are already starting to degrade. However, once you convert VHS to digital, you can then use one the best free video editing software to clean up and share your videos with friends and family. DIY requires technical knowledge, editing skills, time, and proper gear, such as old players and camcorders, video capture devices, and software, among other auxiliary equipment. On the other hand, professional services save you from technical mistakes , buying old players and camcorders. After you save your converted videos to digital files, make sure they’re a part of your computer’s regular backup or put a copy of them in a cloud service like Dropbox or OneDrive.

What to Do When Your PC Doesn’t Have the Right Connections

Read more about miniDV to usb here.

The data of MiniDV is a videotape format which was the most popular format for home video cameras at a time. MiniDV Record time is about 60 minutes or 90 minutes (extended/long play). To view the recorded data, you have to play it with the Camcorder itself and view it through the integrated LCD. You can connect the Camcorder to a TV while playing it back to view it on a larger screen. Legacy Box regularly has sales, so if you catch one at the right time you can get up to 50 percent off your order, making this one of the most cost-effective options.

I’d have to say this format is the second most popular format I am given to convert onto DVD. Confirm that the Import from the beginning of the tape radio button is checked, then click Import. Make sure the tape or disc is at the beginning of the footage that you want to transfer.

Now, I’ve created this “Wise Photographer” site to share my knowledge and experience with the people looking for a guideline for purchasing cameras. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. You do not pay anything extra and your purchase helps support our work so we can provide you with more reviews and comparison guides. You don’t need to waste time solving unknown problems with old equipment. AV to RCA cable, or if the AV to RCA is female, then you need another RCA cable with a male connector on both ends .