Confused about VHS to DVD transfer, info please

[nathanaa]

I would like to back up a bunch of VHS video tapes I have made (stuff off TV, the old wedding video tapes, stuff like that), but I am not sure about what to look for.

I just want to transfer the VHS stuff to DVD right now, maybe later when I am more proficient at this stuff I can add menu's, chapters, stuff like that using my computer & burner. Right now I just want to be able to do the transfers.

I used the DVD Writer tag to the left, and chose the Desktop, but got 0 results. Maybe I used the wrong search criteria, but all I keep getting is 0 results.

I thought there were machines that I could put a VHS tape into and it would record it right to a DVD? Am I not looking in the right place?

Thanks for any advice or help.

[Tommyknocker]

You want a DVD recorder. It will convert tapes into DVDs, some even provide a primitve menu. Check DVD writers at left again, but look for recorders when you get there.

[nathanaa]

Ok, I looked at the dozen or so that came up (thanks for the help).

I'm still wondering though. Would I be better off

I have a RAGE 128 Pro video card (at least, that is what I'm told), a P3 800mHz processor, and 768MB RAM on my desktop. My laptop has a gig processor and a gig of RAM, with onboard video. Both run XPPro. Would I be better off hooking up a VCR to my computer and using some kind of software to record the VHS tapes to my HDD, then using some other software to burn the HDD file to a DVD with my burner? I kind of thought that was the point of the DVD recorders/writers, avoiding all that, but I'm new to all this.

Also, am I allowed to back up my VHS tapes that are copyrighted? I've got some OLD tapes that are never going to come out on DVD, and the last coupld of years I've been getting nervous about playing them. One of them, the tape snapped, and a buddy of mine who used to work at a video store fixed it for me (can't even tell where the break was when watching it). Can I put those onto my HDD so I don't have to endanger the original VHS tapes anymore? Or backed up to DVD in case of the worst?

Hope I'm not going on too long, thanks for any help folks.

[201flyer]

For what it's worth....

I think you will be far happier with a dedicated video recorder compared to trying to transfer to computer, encode, write. Using a computer to do this is quite slow in comparison and filled with pitfalls (just read the posts in this forum!).

I would suggest that you try to find a multi format DVD writer that has a good size hard drive. Transfer your VHS copies to the HD, then when all is correct, write to DVD. Of course you can skip this step, but you might later decide you want to use a different bit rate, or that the bit rate you picked is just a bit too big to fit on one DVD, etc. There is a learning curve even with these recorders, but nothing like what you will experience with your PC.

IMHO, I would not worry much about transfering those old vids...just don't sell them or trade them!

[nathanaa]

"Transfer your VHS copies to the HD, then when all is correct, write to DVD."

By all is correct, you mean like cutting out the commercials and stuff? Getting rid of the several-minutes worth of junk at the beginning and end of some of my tapes would be nice, as I suppose that would just eat up space on the DVD that I could use for a higher bitrate for the rest of it (if I am understanding this new hobby/terminology of mine).

"Of course you can skip this step, but you might later decide you want to use a different bit rate, or that the bit rate you picked is just a bit too big to fit on one DVD, etc"

So with some of the desktop recorders, I can set the bitrate I want to record at? Or are they all just built in default settings? I seem to recall having read in one of the other threads about how there are default settings (1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hour, 4 hour, etc.), and if I had a 2:10 tape the machine would use the 3 hour setting.

Or do I avoid all that by getting a recorder with a big HDD, transfering the VHS shows to the HDD and then authoring it onto a DVD-R?

[gshelley61]

You can also use a DVD recorder without a built-in hard drive, as long as it uses VBR encoding and has an FR mode (which allows you to select numerous increments of time to be recorded). You also should look for one that can record in DVD-Video format to -RW's and/or +RW's (not just VR format). You can then load the re-writable recorded DVD into your computer, edit and re-author the content, and burn a "final" DVD-R.

This method is so much easier and faster than capturing to the computer HDD and then going through the time-consuming process of converting to DVD. The results are very good, too.

Visit the DVD Recorder forum for more info:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=28

[joe704]

Copy "protection" on VHS tapes can be a problem. If you don't want to invest in a stand-alone machine yet, I have an alternative that has worked well for me. I transfer old (and a few Commercial) tapes to my computer for burning through an ATI AIW Radeon card. With an update file named "DisableATIMacrovisionDetection", it works quite well.

[thecoalman]

. I transfer old (and a few Commercial) tapes to my computer for burning through an ATI AIW Radeon card. With an update file named "DisableATIMacrovisionDetection", it works quite well.

The hack works for that card (not from personal experience but from posts I have read) but will not for the newer cards. Not only does it not work but hte newer AIW's experience trouble capturing home videos due to false MV detection.

http://www.nepadigital.com/mv

[snafu099]

Everyone seems to have thier own faverote method.

A standalone recorder may be the easist method, but if you are trying to achieve a collection of commerical vhs and or backup dvd's then you will have problems with macro vision protection.

Many capture devices bypass macro protection.
Depending on the capture device and software, IMHO, a computer solution will give the greatest versitility long term.

The ADS USB InstantDvd-2 with the latest software provides a true DTD (direct to disc) that is extremely easy and fast.

The Compro USB VideoMate Live is also great and has tv tuner/pvr capabilty in the same price range

Both of these devices are hardware encoders providing excellent qualtiy and do not require a powerhouse of pc

As mpg software editing programs improves, it would seem to be the choice for consumer hobbyist

[gshelley61]

The original poster mentioned only tapes recorded from TV and wedding videos, etc. Copy protection signals only become an issue if he plans on transferring commercial VHS (movies) to DVD.

The computer software method of capturing, editing, filtering, frameserving, encoding, authoring and burning is certainly more versatile and provides powerful tools to the user, but has a steep learning curve and is very time consuming.

DVD recorders generally provide very good results in a fast and efficient manner. This becomes especially important if there are lots of tapes to be converted.

Backing up DVD's should always be done on the computer with DVDShrink or some other backup software. It doesn't make much sense to record from a DVD player to a DVD recorder when you can create a flawless DVD copy by ripping and burning on the computer.

[thecoalman]

The original poster mentioned only tapes recorded from TV and wedding videos, etc. Copy protection signals only become an issue if he plans on transferring commercial VHS (movies) to DVD.

That's the way it should be but isn't necessarily always so. See the link I posted.

[gshelley61]

Right, you're referring to tapes that have time synch problems that are treated by some capturing devices as if they have MV or some other copy protection signal. You're right, of course that certainly is a possibility; especially with old, poorly recorded, or 2nd and 3rd generation copies. The Line TBC's in most DVD recorders may be adequate for those situations, however for complete time correction a full frame standalone TBC might be necessary in order to avoid dropped frames or other video errors.

Your point is well taken... analog videotape capture can be a tricky business sometimes.

[nathanaa]

Wow, it's going to take me a couple days to look up and understand all the terminology you guys just shot out there.

I did originally post about my wedding vids and stuff I got off TV back in the 80's and 90's, but when I started looking at the desktop DVD Recorders, I wondered about backing up (archiving seems to be the proper term) some of my old VHS tapes.

I only own about 20 commercial tapes (if that many even), but I doubt most of them will ever see DVD production, and I've watched some of them so much the tape itself is getting bad. I got to thinking about backing them up like my DVD's, using a computer set up.

A friend offered to build me a simple set up to do it, but the more I learn, the more I am leaning toward just getting a desktop unit and worrying about my commercial tapes later. Anyway, thanks all for the help, greatly appreciated.

[Byronleehk]

Or if you can affort the price, send your VHS to pro shops that converts any format / any region onto DVDs. I had done that a few times because I wanted to transfer some old PAL tapes (I'm located in the U.S.) onto DVDs. Worked fine.

Do an online search if you're interested in this method.

[madvideos]

. I transfer old (and a few Commercial) tapes to my computer for burning through an ATI AIW Radeon card. With an update file named "DisableATIMacrovisionDetection", it works quite well.

The hack works for that card (not from personal experience but from posts I have read) but will not for the newer cards. Not only does it not work but hte newer AIW's experience trouble capturing home videos due to false MV detection.

http://www.nepadigital.com/mv

that hack does NOT work, in fact it will cause damage to your system in some cases, I had such a case. It does not stop macrovision !!