Converting VHS to DVD..how to?

Just yesterday I was perusing the Crutchfield catalog http://www.crutchfield.com/S-GuX7Kr4qbbl/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?g=88000
where they have VHS/DVD combo players/recorders. Makes copying a snap.

For your computer, you'll need a video card that has inputs on it (mine does). Connect your vcr output to the video card's inputs, start up your recording software and save it to disk. Then use your buring software to make a DVD. Here's a site with some tips: http://www.signvideo.com/conv-v-to-d.htm

I'm sure others will post different ways of doing with your computer.

Hope these ideas help!
Gary

2 points too keep in mind if you plan to use your PC for converting VHS tapes to DVDs:

Digitizing video takes LOTS of hard drive space. At 5.6GB per DVD, you will chew up hard drive space fast even if you delete the conversion files after each disk is recorded.
You will need even more HDD space if you wish to edit the video prior to recording to DVD.

Next, especially if you wish to edit your video, you want at least a 2GHz P4 with as much RAM as you can afford.

If you desire the highest quality transfers, you should look at video capture cards rather than a video card with capture built in.

Pay close attention to the system requirements of the capture method you decide to use.
As needed, upgrade your system to meet or exceed the recommended specifications, not just the minimum.

Depending on what you plan to do, you might end up digitizing 2 or 3 tapes before recording to DVD.

Also, I recommend that you make at least 3 copies of any tapes you consider to be important or of sentimental value.
That way, you can have 2 backup copies to create a new disk from should the disk you use to view the video becomes damaged.

Chas

My brother-in-law (technophobe) uses DVD Express and to do his conversion and it works (I have been sent numerous old home videos). I haven't seen the conversion process in action but if he can do it...
You can find it at this link
http://www.usb-ware.com/ads-dvd-xpress.htm

I have an "old" DV500+ from Pinnacle which captures VHS tapes to the harddrive with ease, and doesn't have problems with video/audio synch. As the others state, you need HEAPS of harddisk space, and to avoid dropped frames a good speed HHD (mine are 7200 rpm and I've never had any problem). When authoring your captured video, the task is greatly sped up with a fast processor and lots of ram.

I have tried using the capture inputs on my AGP video card, but this did not perform as well as the DV500.

I have heard good things about the Pinnacle Liquid Edition Pro from a friend, but it's not cheap. You can check out their many products at http://www.pinnaclesys.com.

http://www.aboutvideoediting.com has a basic howto, and has links to other video capture card products.

You might want to consider cards with firewire connections so you can connect digital devices in the future (your motherboard may already have it built in).

Good luck.

You need a video capture device. I tried both the Pinnacle Movie Box http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=1885&Langue_ID=7 and Plextor ConvertX http://www.plextor.com/english/products/TV402U.htm (this one has a TV tuner also). I was disappointed with the quality of both. I also tried my friends standalone DVD recorder and again was not pleased with the quality. I did some research on http://www.videohelp.com/ and found that to get high quality you need to capture in what they call DV or raw digital video format and then use a good encoder to convert to MPEG2 or DVD format. The whole process seemed to time consuming and expensive for me, but mabye it will appeal to you. I ended up having my movies professionally converted from http://www.convertmymovies.com . I finally got the quality I was looking for. Hope this helps.
Regards.

First you have to capture the video and audio.

This requires a hardware and software solution.
http://tinyurl.com/crbwu

Please note that video takes a lot of room on you hard drive. 1 hour is gonna use around 13gig for initial capture.

Lee

or visit VHS to DVD and transfer your home video tapes to dvd. You can get a pretty good conversion at a reasonable price from a lot of places. But what are most of these companies lacking? Care and attention to detail! Other ways you get totally amateurish product done with domestic equipment.
link: http://www.vhs-to-dvd.com/