Convert VHS to DVD? It Is Not As Hard As You Think
Feb 4th, 2008 by guitarnews
A great way to preserve and share those old home videos is to convert them to DVD. Almost everyone has video tapes that may be aging not too gracefully, and these days the “do it yourself” process to covert VHS to DVD is both easy and affordable.
If you want to know how to convert VHS to DVD, there are several options. If done properly, the resulting DVD’s can look even better than the original VHS tapes.
Lee Harper has some more information in this interesting article:
How to Convert VHS Tape to DVD
Use hardware capture devices to convert your vhs to mpeg-2 format on your computer. A capture device could be a Video Capture Card, which is normally installed in your computer, or there are some that you can plug into an open USB slot, which will save you from having to open your computer. It could also be an External Capture Device, which is a box that sits outside your computer and is connected to both your VHS player and your computer. This is a fairly fast way to convert your vhs tape to dvd, but your editing options are limited to basic cuts, since you’re not using video editing software. You will, however, be able to make customized dvd menus.
You should have the following minimum requirements to start converting vhs to dvd:
* 512 mb of ram
* 50-100 gb of storage. You’ll need about 12 gb of space for every hour of footage that you import. It’s recommended to have a 200gb hard drive, if possible.
* A 2.8 ghz CPU
Hardware needed:
* Camcorder or VCR.
* Computer with at least 512 mb of ram, 12 gb of space for every hour of footage you wish to convert, and a CPU of at least 2.8 ghz.
* Video Capture device. Video capture cards usually come with a CD that tells you how to transfer video from your VCR to computer, and some even come with video editing software.
* Video editing software. This allows you to extensively edit home movies and add music, narration, menus, etc.
* DVD Burner.
1. Connect the cords on your camcorder or vcr to your video capture device.
2. Open your video software and select the option to ‘import’ or ‘capture’. The software will provide the steps to recording from vcr or camcorder to computer. If you don’t have a lot of hard drive space (remember, 12gb for every hour of footage), then burn small sections of video to your DVD at a time, and delete the video that you have imported so that you can free up space for more.
3. Use your video editing software to edit your tapes, such as adding transitions, titles, music, and whatever functions the software will allow.
4. Transfer to DVD, and make back-up copies for particularly valuable tapes, especially if you’re lacking space and deleting video from your hard drive.
If you’re in need of some great software that will make high-quality dvd video from your captures, then check out EasyDVDX.com. With this device, you will then only require a video capture card and a dvd burner (besides the minimum computer requirements, of course).
About The Author: Leigh Harper is the proud owner of several dvd home movies
Leigh’s article certainly gives an insight into the type of hardware, software and other equipment you will need to convert VHS tapes to DVD. Once you are certain you have the basic equipment covered, the process itself is quite simple.
Good luck with your next VHS to DVD conversion!
