- #EQUIPMENT TO CONVERT VHS TAPES TO DIGITAL HOW TO#
- #EQUIPMENT TO CONVERT VHS TAPES TO DIGITAL SOFTWARE#
Capture cards come with their own software CD or a download link, but you can use OBS Studio if yours doesn’t. Download recording software: When the VCR video is fed into your computer, it has to be recorded in real-time by software.A capture card that supports s-video gives you the highest quality digital transfers (s-video puts out a better picture than RCA). As a side note, don’t buy a VHS converter-they’re just overpriced capture cards. Buy a capture card: This sends your VCR’s video and audio signals to your computer via USB.Your computer needs a way to receive and decode the video signal from your VCR. Now that your tapes are ready to be converted, it’s time to set up your computer with a capture card and some software. The video might look a little funny, though. If you plan to throw away the VCR and tapes after they’re digitized, you can skip cleaning. You can either clean the tapes by hand or build an automated tape cleaner. Don’t stick moldy tapes in your VCR, though, or you’ll end up with a mold-infested VCR. Yuck! Moldy tape: This is not uncommon for old VHS tapes.Tangled or broken tape: To fix this, you open up the tape with a screwdriver and repair it manually.If the whole thing’s bent, you’re probably out of luck. If it’s only a small area, gently straighten it with a microfiber cloth (paper towels leave behind fibers). You can wind the tape by turning one of the sprockets with your finger and assess the extent of the damage. Crunchy or bent tape: This isn’t usually a huge issue.
#EQUIPMENT TO CONVERT VHS TAPES TO DIGITAL HOW TO#
Here are some common problems you might encounter and how to fix them: If the tape looks crunchy, tangled, moldy, or broken, it might need some TLC. Then, open the top of your video cassettes to get a good look at the exposed tape (you might need to press a button on the side of the cassettes to open the top). Look through the “windows” of your cassette tapes for any obvious problems, like mold. So, it’s time to go through each tape and look for problems. They’re probably at least 20 years old, after all. There’s a good chance you’ll run into some problems with your tapes. Now that you’ve got your VCR set up, it’s time to get your tapes together. Instead, see if you can return it and buy a new one. If you happen to buy a VCR that doesn’t work, don’t bother trying to fix it (unless you know how). To do this, run a cheap tape head cleaner through the VCR once or twice. The 25 years of dust that’s accumulated on its tape heads can ruin the picture. Clean the VCR: Once you know the VCR is working, you’ll want to clean it.
Accidents happen, and you don’t want to risk losing your valuable footage. Test the VCR: Once you’ve got a VCR, test it on a tape that you don’t care about-even if it was tested by someone else.You could also ask to borrow a friend’s VCR or spend a little extra to buy one from Craigslist or eBay (watch out for those shipping fees). Find a VCR and buy it: Goodwill is probably your best (and cheapest) bet.Here’s the best way to buy a VCR and set it up for tape conversion: It’s not difficult to find a working VCR it’s just a bit time-consuming (you’ll have to buy one secondhand). For many people, this is the hardest part of the process. You need a working VCR to convert tapes to digital files. That option isn’t really worth it unless you only want to convert one tape to digital. Some companies, like Kodak, will convert your VHS tapes to digital for you, but they charge about $35 per tape. And it shouldn’t cost you much more than $30 to complete this project ($15 if you already own a working VCR).
Once you’ve got everything together, tape conversion is a breeze. You just need some tapes, a VCR, and a capture card. Either way, VHS tapes degrade over time, so the best time to convert your tapes to digital is right now.īut that seems a little overwhelming, right? Don’t you need some expensive hardware or a giant nerd brain to convert tapes to digital? Maybe you want to save some old family movies, or you hate the new Star Wars digital remasters. People convert their VHS tapes to digital for different reasons.
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