You want newbie? This is newbie. Watch VHS movies.

[Mighty Melvin]

Hey. Happy to meet you.

I have a closetful of VHS movies that I might like to watch.

The only thing I have that has a screen is this computer.

What do I need to get or do, to plug the VHS deck into the computer and watch the tapes, presuming that that is possible at all?

Thank you kindly

Alan

[dullrazor]

ROTFL, that was funny.

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic372943.html

and here, read his posts..

https://forum.videohelp.com/member71824.html

[freebird73717]

Get an analog pci or usb capture card.

I would suggest something from hauppage. I've got a pvr-150 from hauppage that suites my needs just fine. Lets you watch analog signal live and also lets you capture analog signal to digital mpeg so that you can author to dvd later if you wish.

Got mine used on ebay.

Keep in mind, if these vhs tapes are commercial most capture cards will not let the signal pass through because of macrovision unless you have a tbc or other signal corrector in between. The hauppage pvr line is supposed to ignore macrovision but to be honest I've never tried to capture commercial tapes so I couldn't tell you for sure.

[rumplestiltskin]

Roxio makes the Easy VHS to DVD Converter (hardware and software) that captures to MPEG2. Plug you VCR into it, plug the device into your USB port, play the tapes and capture. You may edit out parts, send the captured footage to be burned (on the included app), or convert the footage into MP4 (for example) for use on an iPod, AppleTV, or Western Digital TV Media Player (or just your computer). I think it's about $60-$70. I've used the Mac version and it works great. I believe it ignores macrovision but you might want to double-check at the Roxio forums (or wait until someone responds to my post).

[Ai Haibara]

So, the Roxio product is okay? I know it's a cheap capture device, but I keep seeing it in passing at Sam's, so I've just been curious if it was even a worthwhile solution (not that I'm necessarily planning to get it).

[jagabo]

If you only want to watch on your monitor you don't need a capture card. A simple composite to VGA scan converter will work. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006B8EI

"5 Ways to Watch TV on the Computer"
http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-21july06.htm

[jagabo]

duplicate post

[Bjs]

Welcome Mighty Melvin

Simple and cheap is the avermedia ezymaker pci gold (cheap)... never any problems unlike some products (watch and capture).

Or you can have it all using a winfast dtv1000 t pci, again cheap but supports capture from vcr + dvb , and watch on pc screen.

Both of these devices work perfect if installed correctly unlike some products already noted by others ... check the capture card link and review items before purchase thou.

There are usb devices but be very mindful of the required ma consumed ... approach the systems maximum usb supply can and will damage the apic chipset which manages motherboard power and while newer systems will warn a reset has taken place you might as well replace the motherboard because capture by usb will be scrappy at best and reloading the os later may actually freeze during the installation routine ... I know about this from experience.

[rumplestiltskin]

The Roxio device works fine. As you are coming from VHS (which is pretty crappy, let's face it), the Roxio product will provide all you need.

[lordsmurf]

To label VHS as "pretty crappy" shows a "give up" attitude. You can do better, if you try.
- Low end VCR, low end capture card, low end quality.
- Pro VCR, pro capture card, get pro quality.

I convert hours and hours of tape almost every day, and rarely does a DVD (or H.264 stream) look worse -- or even as same as -- the source tape. The output is BETTER than what I gave it, after using hardware filtering, broadcast and professional decks, and even moderately decent consumer DVD recorders and capture cards.

If you pre-filter the signal with a good VCR, the Sony DVD recorder available at Walmart would be my suggestion. It does pretty decent. By "good VCR", I mean something with an internal TBC, not whatever you considered good at Best Buy in 1995.

I know I sound harsh in this post, maybe even rude, but I've been online for 6+ years now -- this site especially -- sharing the techniques on getting more from VHS tapes than the simpleton consumer idea of "good enough" (meaning "crap" by most any standards).

What you think is possible -- and what is possible -- is rarely the same thing, when it comes to VHS tapes, DVD conversion, and your average Best Buy / Walmart shopper.

If you only have a few tapes -- pay a service. If you have time, energy and patience, and want to do a lot of tapes yourself, then I think it's worth doing right. It's more important if these are family tapes, videos of kids, etc. If it's just a DVD dump of an old Disney tape, and you're unwilling to buy it again on DVD, fine, whatever, make crap. You can always get a DVD later. But you can't do that on the VHS videos of the kid's first swim lesson or your wedding. So do it right.

[Ai Haibara]

I've got a bunch of material on VHS that I probably need to get around to moving to DVD/video files, someday, all in EP mode (I know, I know, but at the time I had to keep space free and costs down. None of it's important, such as home movies, though I don't know if some of it will ever show up on retail DVDs.) And, I'm fairly sure the VCRs I have aren't anywhere near high-end. Would that mean the Roxio capture package would be an okay investment for me, then? Or is there still something much better for even someone using low-quality tapes (some of those blanks were still supposed to be high-quality, though... guess I'll find out.) and low-quality VCRs? (Probably.)

...and now, back to the topic.

[lordsmurf]

I'm currently running a VHS tape made in EP mode on a cheap tape in 1994 (or 1995?) in a Panasonic AG-1980P with TBC on. Another TBC keeps the signal steady for the capture process. It was made in a 1980s VCR that lasted almost forever. It's playing clean. A proc amp has corrected colors, and an audio board is cleaning the EQ levels to de-noise it. A JVC DR-M10 is capturing it, further filtering it, in FR180 mode (superbit @ 352x480, better than VHS).

The DVD is gorgeous -- the original signal probably didn't even look this good. The tape is surely improved.

The myth that VHS looks bad is just that -- a myth. If I took this DVD to Best Buy and stuck it in a 60" set, and asked if it were coming from digital satellite, most would swear it as such.

[Ai Haibara]

Yes, but you most likely have better equipment than I do.

I'm not doubting that even my likely-mediocre VHS archives could be made to look good, as you mentioned. But I'd probably have to spend a lot of money to even begin to approach that level of quality.

Heck, I still have to get around to getting a TBC.

[rumplestiltskin]

The material we've transferred from VHS through the Roxio device always ends up looking better than the original tape. It's not a huge difference; however, the point of the Roxio device is to get the job done quickly and cheaply.

Pay what you wish and invest whatever time and effort you think is worth it for the source material.

[lacywest]

Kind of similar to my post ... but I'm providing him with info about what program to use ... the ATI HDTV Wonder PCI card ... also has S-VHS inputs. And does work with PowerDirector 8 .... and the ATI HDTV Wonder PCI card works just fine with Windows 7.

Hmm ... I wonder if the ATI HDTV Wonder PCI card would have the same problem that I'm having with the ATI HDTV 650 PCI card ... with Cyberlink PowerCinema 6