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View Full Version : VHS to DVD



namvet
11-29-2009, 12:14 PM
anyone have or use this software??? these old tapes deteriorate over time. I found a few that were priceless. one had video of my family, both sides, including my dad and uncle when they were still alive. priceless.

I also found a documentary tape on the ship my dad served on during the war. including some video ive never seen. so now you can save these priceless tapes by converting them to DVD. these 2 tapes had started to deteriorate but now i have them on DVD's.

http://i46.tinypic.com/2hegg11.jpg

the must have here is a capture device. center in the pic above. I borrowed this one from a neighbor and found a decent freeware software that does a really good job. the caputure device i think can be had in most stores. if you need any help let me know. I wasted a few DVD's. its a learn as you go process

here's the download for the software:
http://www.nchsoftware.com/goldenvideos/index.html

jimnyc
11-29-2009, 12:49 PM
Quite frankly, if it's priceless to you, get it done professionally. I'm sure you can find a shop locally that works with video conversions. The wife and I were married in St. Lucia and the ceremony was taped, but given to us on cassette in PAL format. Hell, we couldn't even watch it on the VHS player when we got back! I brought it and had it converted to American format, and also later had it converted from VHS to DVD. I believe the original format conversion was only like $30, and about $50 to have it converted to DVD.

Now, with a little more advanced answer. Oops, nevermind, was gonna go on and on about a video card with capture capability from the TV, but then scrolled down to read your post again! Yes, I am an idiot.

Glad to see you did it yourself!

BTW - look around NCH's website, they have other great software in addition to the conversion tool. Noticed a few I have used before.

namvet
11-29-2009, 01:01 PM
Quite frankly, if it's priceless to you, get it done professionally. I'm sure you can find a shop locally that works with video conversions. The wife and I were married in St. Lucia and the ceremony was taped, but given to us on cassette in PAL format. Hell, we couldn't even watch it on the VHS player when we got back! I brought it and had it converted to American format, and also later had it converted from VHS to DVD. I believe the original format conversion was only like $30, and about $50 to have it converted to DVD.

Now, with a little more advanced answer. Oops, nevermind, was gonna go on and on about a video card with capture capability from the TV, but then scrolled down to read your post again! Yes, I am an idiot.

Glad to see you did it yourself!

BTW - look around NCH's website, they have other great software in addition to the conversion tool. Noticed a few I have used before.

yeah there's a lot on there. this program is bundled with many other software programs IF you want to install them. during the install just tick on what you want. my cost here was about one buck for the blank DVD. and pretty good quality. I use TDK DVD's which have proven to me to have the best reporduction. and ive tried them all. yesterday i got a 100 pack on sale for 19 bucks. a bargin.
I only had a few VHS to convert. if you have a lot there is fee based.

gabosaurus
11-30-2009, 01:05 PM
nammie, if you have a large number of VHS tapes, you might want to invest in a stand alone VHS-DVD recorder.
Various members of my family has a lot of old VHS, so we got a Toshiba unit that is simple to use. You put the VHS tape on one side and the DVD-R on the other side.
One of the big problems I have with computer programs is that they don't allow you to adjust the quality of the VHS tape. Many old VHS tapes, especially those recorded at higher speeds, have tracking problems. If you get a good stand alone, you can adjust the tracking on the VHS tape.
There are a lot of guides on the web that recommend various units.

namvet
11-30-2009, 08:52 PM
great idea I guess. if you have a lot of tapes. but I never considered the recorder. I only had 3. and their now on DVD. so this was the best way for me. this software did have video adjustments on it. and i saved it if i ever need it in the furture