Vhs To Dvd - - Diy Transfers - - How To Do It Yourself

Some people really like to do things all by themselves

. If you are one of those people and you have a lot of old home videos, you may just have a new DIY (Do-It-Yourself) project on your hands. Here is an overview of Do-It-Yourself digital transfers to get you started.

Video transfer is the conversion of analog video such as VHS to a digital format such as DVD. VHS is recorded on magnetic tape, which has a limited life span and needs to be transferred to digital before too long in order to preserve the video data. Preservation is the very first reason home videos are transferred to digital. Other reasons are that DVD is much more convenient to store, view, and duplicate.

First, do your research. Before buying any new electronic or computer equipment read as much information as you can. Look at any user manuals you can get your hands on - both for the equipment you already own and the equipment you plan to buy. If you are going to use your current computer as a component of your transfer studio, then you will need to make sure that computer is up to snuff. Does it have enough speed, memory, and disk space to do the job? You might want to purchase an external hard drive or extra RAM, etc. Figure out your pipeline and calculate the cost of each piece. It can get expensive and it is easy to overlook a component you may need.

There are many DIY transfer methods. One method utilizes a video capture card, video capture device, or a graphic card with video capture capability to capture the analog signal and translate it into a digital file format that your computer can understand.

If you have a Mini DV camera, you may be able to bypass the video capture devices mentioned above and use the built-in FireWire (also known as ieee 1394) to connect directly to your computer. A variation of this method is to connect your VHS tape player via cable to your Mini DV camera, and then record the material from the VHS tape onto a miniDV tape. Then connect the Mini DV camera and the tape you just made to your computer to record the same material to the computer.

This is just one example of a creative solution. There are many ways to transfer video. You need to understand the capabilities of your existing equipment, devise a scenario for that equipment, purchase any additional equipment you may need, and then set up the pipeline for your digital transfer studio.

If you want to completely bypass your computer, you can purchase a device that can record directly to DVD. The one big drawback is that you won't be able to edit your DVD afterward. An example of such a device is the VHS/DVD Combo Recorder. It plays VHS and records to DVD all on one machine. There are also DVD Recorders that can connect to your tape source and record to DVD as well. You'll just need to purchase the appropriate cable to connect the two machines.

I hope this article has helped whet your appetite for more and gets you into action on preserving your family history in a safe and convenient digital format. Good luck!

by: Marty Holthaus

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