VHS to digital format

[BriGy86]

I've seen a few topics here when searching but I wasn't sure exactly what to search for when trying to find an exact product.

My goal is to simply convert my parents VHS tapes to something that can play in a DVD player. No menus needed, no editing needs to be done.

From what I've seen it sounds like the simplest solution is to get an all in one VHS to DVD duplicator? What name would i search for when trying to find one on line?

and what about hooking up a VCR to my computer. Is that another viable option?

 

[sivart]

Something like one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb...0&sprefix=dvd+recorder

DVD recorder VHS combo is what I searched for.

Of course you can't duplicate copy protected tapes (I.e. movies). If it is just programs recorded off of TV and home movies, you should be good to go.

 

[BriGy86]

OK. this helps. I assume this is the simplest way to do this?

What about size needs? What type of disk is usually needed for a full VHS tape? DVD, dual layer DVD?

Thanks.

 

[NaOH]

YOu should be able to fit it on a regular DVD

 

[Dirigible]

I got one of the Pinnacle Dazzle devices for $35 from woot.com a while back. The Dazzle connected to my laptop's USB port. The VCR connected to the Dazzle. It was quite easy to burn directly to DVD using the device and my laptop's DVD burner. Cheap + easy = good in my book.

I also tried to turn the VHS video into mpeg2 on my HDD without burning directly to DVD. The Pinnacle software was buggy and crappy for this but in the end I managed it. Now I've got the family videos I care about available on NAS, and also backed up on DVD.

I imagine you could get a Dazzle-type thingy used for cheap since I bet a lot of people do what I did and convert the VHS tapes they care about and then have no further use for the device. I lost mine or gave it away or something or I'd sell it to you for cheap.

 

[DaveSimmons]

A DVD recorder is the way to go unless you want to spend a lot of time on edits, adding custom menus, etc. instead of doing an easy 1-button-press transfer.

 

[sivart]

2 hours per 4.7GB DVD will give quality equal to that of VHS. Sure you can squeeze 8 hours onto a DVD, but at less than 50 cents each, why. 1 hour per DVD with a VHS source gains you nothing.