RCA (from a VCR) to usb?

[celchlepp]

Hey all, please don't rail me, though deserved here I expect, for asking about converting old VHS tapes to digital format of any usable format on a computer. My sister asked me last night if I knew how to do this, and having done it myself years ago, of course I said I did. But the way I did it before was to use an old Intel USB webcam I have that has a yellow video RCA port on it. I just hooked up a cable I have from the VHS player unit to that port on the webcam and run a basic RCA to 3mm (1/8") audio jack for the stereo sound stream and it's a done deal. I'd run Windows Movie Maker to record the input, easily edit out stuff like when the original camcorder may have been pointing down at the ground or something, then save all that as a .wmv file. I'd then use the "Free Video Converter" from Koyotesoft.com, which works really great for an incredibly basic user like me, which would allow me to produce a DVD to play on any DVD set-top player. Pretty darn slick.

BUT, I’m not that willing to send her my old Intel webcam for this purpose, and was just looking at ebay for something similar. Here is what I quickly came up with and have an obvious question about it: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-USB-Male-A-to-3-RCA-AV-A-V-TV-Adapter-Cord-Cable_W0QQitemZ2904...item439e745e51 . If you read the description on this, it states: “Note: PC Computer Laptop can't use the cable directly.” Why not? Wouldn’t that be the same as what my Intel USB webcam is doing? If not, what else is needed? I haven’t emailed the seller to ask this as I have usually received incomprehensible replies from the Hong Kong sellers I’ve bought from in the past.

Thank you enormously in advance for any usable feedback on this for me as she really needs to preserve all the tapes of her daughter’s childhood to digital format soon.

Thanks again,
Chuck

[oldfart13]

I just use a DVD recorder as do most people. Otherwise, does your or your sister's computer have a video input on the video card? You can just use that with the appropriate software. Even my old ATI cards can do video input and those were on computers now 7+ years old. Just something to check into...

[jman98]

This is a good post, but I am going to be very blunt. I'm not trying to offend you, but I'm not gonna candy coat what I have to say either.

You've been a member for over 2 years now and you post from time to time. Have you ever noticed many women EVER posting here? Sure, we get the occasional odd post from someone who seems, as best we can tell via the written word, to be a woman. But the truth is that unless your sister is a rather extraordinary woman, she is just not going to be interested at all in doing this herself. Not gonna happen. I'm just finding it hard to believe that she is going to be interested in capturing, editing (optional), converting and burning. Crap dude, I'm pretty technically proficient and I work in IT for a living and I don't personally know ANY other man, not woman but man, who has any interest in recording videos and making DVDs or whatever out of them. I know some people on the internet who do this, but in real life? Just me. My friends and co-workers think they are hot stuff just because they can use AutoGK or Handbrake or some similar hand holding tool to convert DVD rips to some other format. Just the act of being able to use a ripping program at all seems to have been some kind major life achievement for almost everyone I know. You'd think they had mastered brain surgery the way they act just because they know how to use a DVD ripper.

If you want to make life easy for your sister and find a way that she will REALLY want to do this, get her a DVD recorder via Amazon.com. Philips used to make some good ones. Magnavox sells a rebranded Philips model that many like a lot. Heck, the biggest technophobe friend I have (seriously, if he has to click on more than 2 or 3 buttons in a computer program, his brain turns off) uses a DVD recorder to do this kind of thing himself. So there is no need to worry about the gizmo in your link. Dude, do you REALLY think your sister is going to do all that crap on a PC to record those tapes? I'm thinking "no".

[usually_quiet]

The webcam was acting as a capture device. The cable you are asking about is merely an accessory for a capture device of some sort.

A DVD recorder makes things easier. Once recorded, editing can be done on a computer if necessary. It would undoubtedly do a better job than a webcam plus Windows Movie Maker. There may be problems with tapes that would require additional equipment to correct, and in that case maybe it would be better to find a professional to convert those.

If your sister likes fiddling with computers, there are good capture devices and software available, but going that route can involve a lot of work and a substantial learning curve for what may be a small improvement to the untrained eye.

I would bet $5 that there are at least one or two female regulars here, maybe more.

[jman98]

I would bet $5 that there are at least one or two female regulars here, maybe more.

I didn't say there weren't ANY. I said there weren't MANY. One or two does not meet my definition of "many". Anyway, the point is - the odds are rather high that his proposed solution will be one that she will not do.

[usually_quiet]

I would bet $5 that there are at least one or two female regulars here, maybe more.

I didn't say there weren't ANY. I said there weren't MANY. One or two does not meet my definition of "many". Anyway, the point is - the odds are rather high that his proposed solution will be one that she will not do.

First, there are not that many members who qualify as regulars. Second, screen names may not reflect actual gender.

The fact that she has expressed an interest in doing this using a computer is meaningful. I would not presume to say what a woman I don't know is or isn't willing to do to save her family videos. That is why I presented choices.

[classfour]

Get a capture device: The ebay thing looks to be a video output device, not a capture device.

[16mmJunkie]

This is a good post, but I am going to be very blunt. I'm not trying to offend you, but I'm not gonna candy coat what I have to say either.
Crap dude, I'm pretty technically proficient and I work in IT for a living and I don't personally know ANY other man, not woman but man, who has any interest in recording videos and making DVDs or whatever out of them. I know some people on the internet who do this, but in real life? Just me. My friends and co-workers think .....

I understand fully with this statement. I'm the only one in the area who does this as well, most of My friends and co-workers think I'm nuts spending all my free time doing the stuff. Most think it's neat to surf or email on a computer, much less do ANY type of work on them. That's why I frequent this site (althought the date says 2008 I've been around under a past account since 2004), to join with those who know more and less then I. But have a common ground.


As to what is a "Regular" would that be one who posts 1800 plus to be in that category. Or would that be one who maintains or attends the board on a daily basis without posting.


As to the OP I would not have taken on the task and committed to something I wasn't able to do first off. Yeah, I know it's nice to help friends and family out, but biting off more than you can chew is rather defeating the original purpose. Knowing what your doing and pretending to are different animals. It would have been much easier to inform them that you didn't have the resources you once did and help them more that way.

Anyway, having stated that I would as expressed get a DVD recorder for her. It seems She doesn't know much about this method as she "asked" you for help.

[classfour]

DVD recorder is the easy out. Check the length on the original, set the recording time on the DVD recorder. If you want to get fancy, rip the vob files out, cut off the ends and put in a menu (TDA will do all that). Or- you can finalize it and live with it, unless you have a HDD recorder - in which case you can do more than with a -r or +r one (I've made do with -RAM recorders - finding a drive that'll read them is much easier these days, finding the media is getting tougher. Thank heavens I stockpiled 25 or so)

[usually_quiet]

I understand fully with this statement. I'm the only one in the area who does this as well, most of My friends and co-workers think I'm nuts spending all my free time doing the stuff. Most think it's neat to surf or email on a computer, much less do ANY type of work on them. That's why I frequent this site (althought the date says 2008 I've been around under a past account since 2004), to join with those who know more and less then I. But have a common ground.


As to what is a "Regular" would that be one who posts 1800 plus to be in that category. Or would that be one who maintains or attends the board on a daily basis without posting.


As to the OP I would not have taken on the task and committed to something I wasn't able to do first off. Yeah, I know it's nice to help friends and family out, but biting off more than you can chew is rather defeating the original purpose. Knowing what your doing and pretending to are different animals. It would have been much easier to inform them that you didn't have the resources you once did and help them more that way.

Anyway, having stated that I would as expressed get a DVD recorder for her. It seems She doesn't know much about this method as she "asked" you for help.

This is getting off topic, but if you really want to know, I think of someone who posts (questions or answers) a few time a week in any of the video-related categories for the past year or more as a regular. I'd be happy to count members who lurk just as often too, but it is more difficult to be aware of them being here.

There are always more people who share the same interests than is apparent from day-to-day encounters. I've had different hobbies at different times in my life, and there have only been two times I can remember when I ever met anyone who shared any of them by chance. However I did meet plenty more on line at hobbyist websites, at organization meetings, specialty stores, classes, and exhibits.

[Edit] The woman did ask for help from her brother, so she has an interest in this subject. Everyone has to start somewhere. If either of them ends up here as a "regular" as a result, that would be great.