converting old vhs-c tapes to computer files (avi etc) need help

[MelodicMizery]

hi i need some help here, ah so many questions! alright through the years ive done music since 2005 and before then since 2001 ive been recording misc parts of my life. as time has come and gone my camcorders have broke down and ive bought newer technology so i have tapes on different formats. the problem is i cant watch any of those tapes because the camcorders have broke. i have the little fat tapes that look like mini vcr tapes (i think those are vhs-c tapes?) and then i have the real thin tapes which i think are called minidv maybe? my current camcorder is just all digital and runs on sd cards. now what i need is something mainly to watch or convert those old vhsc tapes.

before in around 2001 i had the pinnacle program where i could use the wire that had rca plugs that plugged into the pinnacle program that plugged into the computer. so i have some of the footage but back then i had to cut down clips to like 3 minutes do to file size etc. also that old pinnacle program wont install on newer windows.

ok so heres really my question i dont know the best way to go about converting those tapes to something like a avi file. i dont really need a dvd i can do that later after i get it converted into a file.

should i try to find a old camcorder thats used on ebay and then just use a old computer to run pinnacle and transfer them?

or is there a certain device i can just buy (like those vcr tapes that you can put the mini vcr tape in and play it on tv) and then point my new sd camcorder at the tv screen and record. although im afraid the quality may suffer form this

or is there a device i can pop the tape in and just watch the playback on my computer and turn it into a file?

im not looking to spend boatloads of money on this. if there is some sort of device that i can put a vhs-c tape and those mini tapes in to convert to avi files that would be awesome.

i just really dont know what to do, or if theres any place that sell new vhsc camcorders. im just so lost. also again im very lost at this stuff so when you reply if you can give specific names of a product i should look at that will help me greatly. sometimes when people try to help they say "well they make so and so and you can buy so and so, then i spend 5 hours researching and trying to find what they are talking about when they could just shoot me a link to a specific product lol.

thanks in advance. also the quality of this doesnt have to be spot on perfection. this is just for myself and maybe to post a few concerts on youtube etc. im almost thinking maybe just buying a used camcorder might be the easiest

besides pinnacle i also have ulead studio on my windows xp computer, on this laptop computer i have windows 7. the xp computer runs the old programs but is slower and less ram then the windows7 laptop

[didikai]

I have the same situation. I think the easiest way is to take the tapes to a shop that does video conversions. They will have all the makes of camcorder you will need. Get them to burn the transferred files to DVD and you can edit them yourself.

[MelodicMizery]

i still have this question, figured id revive the post.

does anyone know a place that sells NEW vhsc camcorder for CHEAP. like under 50 bucks? a company could make a killing if they did, considering nobody does it and there has to be tons of people out there with old tapes.

or would my best bet being finding a used camcorder and using that?

is there a program that i can just put my tape in a cassette and play it on my computer just like they use to have the cassettes that played in a vcr?

[hello_hello]

My understanding is the VHS-C tapes can be played in a standard VCR with an adaptor. I've no idea how hard it'd be to find one. I assume they'd have been supplied as a standard camcorder accessory, but maybe not. eBay? I actually have a friend with an old camcorder who's been asking me to transfer some tapes for her. I think she said she has an adaptor. I hope so, the power supply for the camcorder seems to be missing. Anyway.....

With an adaptor you'd need a standard VCR and a capture card for your PC. I've got an earlier version of this card, but there's lots out there. They also come in USB flavours rather than a PCI card. You can connect a VCR and play a tape while capturing it to your PC. Mine captures to standard DVD video format but it'll also capture to other formats (AVI/MP4 etc). If you want a cheap card or USB thingy, maybe have a look on eBay. I can't vouch for anything in particular but there's no doubt lots of cheap capture cards without built in TV tuners as mine has.

[MelodicMizery]

the problem with using a vcr for any of this is the quality gets cuts down, tons. also by using the vcr tape adapter the quality gets cut down, and lastly just transfering it to computer cuts quality down. around 2005 i use to transfer vids straight from my camcorder into a program called pinnacle that runs on my computer but they didnt come out very good. often sound would be fuzzy or quality crappy. also running a vhs tape adapter you risk the chance of it eating your tape.

i guess i was more or less wondering if any new technology came out to be able to convert this stuff. i was hoping they would make a program where you just pop the old vhs-c into a piece of hardware and then plug the hardware into a usb and it would transfer it automatically into a avi or mp4. ideally thats what they should make im sure it wouldnt be hard to do and i dont know why they havent yet. i find it silly that i have to buy a old used camera thats 20 years old and hook old cables into a old computer just to transfer my video.

i appreciate the help and reply but it sounds like my original way of doing things (hooking the camcorder into the pinnacle program that connects into the pc) might be a bit easier then your route

[Cornucopia]

No. I have used TONS of VHS-C tapes in adapters (both manual-wind & electronic), and there is NO difference between a tape played in a VHS-C specific player vs. a VHS-C tape in an adapter played in a standard full VHS (or SVHS, etc) player. This does not count the given improvement (or more accurately, lack of loss) when a tape is played back in the same camera/recorder that it was recorded in. That's not an option for you anymore, anyway.

If something wasn't very good for your last try, it could be one or more of the below:
1. You did something wrong
2. If you hired someone, they did something wrong
3. Bad equipment
4. A bad tape/recording

Your best bet is a well-run & knowledgeable transfer service.

Scott

[hello_hello]

As Cornucopia said, in theory there's no reason why using an adaptor to play the video in a VCR should lose you quality. It's the same tape as VHS.

around 2005 i use to transfer vids straight from my camcorder into a program called pinnacle that runs on my computer but they didnt come out very good. often sound would be fuzzy or quality crappy. also running a vhs tape adapter you risk the chance of it eating your tape.

The VHS tapes I've captured have come out fine, but you've got to adjust your expectations if you're used to "digital" video. VHS isn't all that great quality and viewing it on a CRT TV tends to hide a lot of the nastiness. View the same video on a computer monitor and it can look a lot different (and remember you're probably sitting much closer), but that's not necessarily the transfer quality. I've still got some really old Xvid/AVIs which looked fine when viewed on my old CRT TV, but on a PC monitor or HD TV they're almost unwatchable. Most DVD video tends to be much higher quality than VHS (which I think also has a lower resolution).

i guess i was more or less wondering if any new technology came out to be able to convert this stuff. i was hoping they would make a program where you just pop the old vhs-c into a piece of hardware and then plug the hardware into a usb and it would transfer it automatically into a avi or mp4.

Something along these lines? You'd still need an adaptor and I'm not sure if anyone makes USB VCRs any more. Try "USB VCR" with Google.
http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/vcr-2-pc
Even ION no longer produce a USB VCR player, although they still have a USB capture device, which comes with capture/editing/burning software.
http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/video-2-pc-mkii

I guess it's a supply and demand thing. If it's possible to hook the camcorder up to a capture card then there probably wouldn't be a huge demand for a dedicated VHS-C capture device.

i appreciate the help and reply but it sounds like my original way of doing things (hooking the camcorder into the pinnacle program that connects into the pc) might be a bit easier then your route

Are you referring to the camcorder you no longer have and the program which resulted in crappy quality last time?

Sticking a PCI card in a PC is pretty easy. Or you can buy a USB version so you don't need to open up the PC case. You'll need to install software no matter what you use. Mine came with decent capture software. I just pick the output format/codec etc and start recording. It didn't come with any editing/conversion software though. I can't vouch for the really cheap capture devices you might find on eBay or the supplied software.

Of course you could always try a combination VCR/DVD player, if anyone still makes them, or you can find one second-hand. That way you could record directly to DVD without a PC, but I don't know what the quality would be like, and there's still a need for an VHS-C tape adaptor.

[Brad]

The ION devices were/are pretty much universally regarded as crap, by the way.

[hello_hello]

Are they? I've never used one. I just found it via a Google search. Are there any other USB VCR options or is a USB capture card and a standard VCR a better idea?

[MelodicMizery]

i ended up finding a brand new 1995 vhsc camcorder on ebay for 50$ so i bought it, i was looking for a used one but figure this should last me a while.

i basically want nothing to do with vcr's at all. all i want is to get the data from the camcorder and put it on my computer and make it playable and saveable as data files.

the pinnacle program i used was similar to the "video 2 pc mk11" i guess thats the route ill have to go again. i was hoping after 20 years they would of came out with a better transfer idea lol but i guess really theres no need to change the way its already done
(camcorder==to video2pcmk11 device===to pc)

im pretty sure my pinnacle program wont work on newer windows in my newer computer unfortunately (thats how they gank more money from everyone, forcing you to upgrade your windows and then forcing you to buy all your programs all over again grrr!!) so i'll either have to buy a newer pinnacle or maybe try that video2pcmk11 program or something cheap from the local best buy. i think now that computers are better i should be able to get some better quality videos, my old computer only had like 2 gig hd and 400mhz. so i can prob rip some better footage now im hoping!

or maybe ill just play the camcorder back on my tv, point my digital hd camera at the tv, and then record it lol