VHS tape to a DVD

[Doug]

I have VHS tapes that I have made over the years of family gatherings.
What do I need to copy a VHS tape to a DVD or CD? Tell me what type of card,
software, and DVD burner I would need. Nothing too expensive. I then want to
make copies of the DVD. I have a Gatway 2.6 gig prossesor, 80 gig hard drive
and 512 memory.

Thanks

 

[Jon_Hildrum]

You need a capture card - it can be a separate card or part of the video
card. Typically they come with the necessary software.

Take a look at this place for suggestions and how to
http://www.videohelp.com/

 

[Kenneth J. Harris]

Easiest and best(unless you want to do editing/menus etc) is to get a
DVD/VCR combo recorder. You put your tape in the VCR slot, put a blank
DVD in the DVD tray and press the button. Your tape is transferred to a
DVD. To do this with a computer, you need a capture device--either a
card that goes into an empty PCI slot inside your computer or an
external capture box which connects to a USB port on the computer.
Either type of capture device usually comes with the necessary software.
You will also need a DVD burner for your computer (there are internal
and external types--internal probably better). These also come with
software to record and burn. The same software will let you make copies
of your DVD. More info at this site: www.videohelp.com

Ken

 

[George S. Ellis]

Thumbs up on Kenneth's reply. I do believe some combo players/recorders are
around $200 now. You PC will be fine, but you probably will need to cleanup
after every other tape. There are some packages that contain all you need
(capture device, software, DVD authoring software). Pinnacle ships most of
those and they include Studio 9, which also will create DVDs with chapters.
With a capture device, prices start at $100 for the most basic. You will
also need a burner and they start at around $60 for the two I would
recommend (NEC and Pioneer).

Unless you plan to edit and combine videos, I would get the combo writer.

 

[Doug]

How good are capture devices that plug into the USB port?

Thanks

 

[George S. Ellis]

I prefer PCI card and Firewire devices, but some USB devices are OK.

 

[Graham Hughes]

I prefer firewire devices, and if you want quality equipment look at the
canopus or miglia units. Both have a type of time base correcter which helps
keep the audio and video in sync, which some cheaper models don't.
USB boxes often save in mpeg files, which are then hard to edit.
It's all down to whether you want to edit or not.

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com