Transfer VHS to PC

[fackamato]

Hi,

Do you know if there are any easy VHS to PC solutions out there? The ones I see are USB adapters with RCA inputs for around 50 bucks but perhaps there's something cheaper?

Or even a VHS player with a USB connector (so I don't need 2 separate devices)?

Thanks

 

[Red Squirrel]

Basically you need a video capture card. I used to mess around a lot with that stuff back in high school for video editing but been a while. Pinnacle was a pretty big name brand in that stuff.

The issue I found is most of the software that came with these devices was garbage. Froze, crashed, etc... so when looking at reviews keep that in mind as well. Even the Pinnacle software was not that great but it was one of the better ones. I'm not sure how hard it would be to find this kind of equipment now days but I'm sure it's out there. Did a quick search on NCIX and did not find much though. Ebay has more but then you don't know what you're getting and if it will come with the software. The hardware will be as useful as a rock without the software that goes with it.

On quick search this looks interesting:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-USB-2-0-...deo-DVD-VHS-/171633730002?hash=item27f62ae1d2

Very cheap but at that price I'd give it a go. It looks like it comes with software too.

 

[cholley]

it depends on how many you need to transfer, there are services that will convert, if you only have a few
or if you have a lifetime, i got this stand alone unit, and just set it up in a spare room.

once the video is digitized, it's much easier to handle
i never had much luck with the PC options, but i was trying to do this about 12 years ago

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T6K7G6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

[NAC]

I have a decent VHS player with S-Video out. I used one of those cheap USB connectors and it worked reasonably well.

A few years later I wanted to convert VHS-C tapes. The USB connector was broken, and I needed to buy a VHS-C adapter so that it would play in my VCR. Instead of making those two purchases I sent the tapes to ScanCafe. The quality was no different really.

The quality of the tapes I was converting was between ok and downright bad, so that is what I got when they were digitized.