The VHS tape was the standard for watching movies or videos that we recorded with camcorders half. Preserve your childhood memories by converting old tapes to digital format to save them on your PC using these methods.
We know how important it is to preserve memories, and how difficult old media of reproduction, such as VHS tapes, make it for us. The easiest and cheapest way to convert old tapes to digital format is to have a working VHS tape player. However, we will also provide solutions for those who do not have one.
Convert VHS with player
This is the cheapest method, but it will require us to have a VHS player that works perfectly. The idea is the following:
- We will play the tape and the video output will be our PC.
- We will record what is broadcast through a program with output to a video format.
You will find many VHS to PC converters on Amazon, and I must tell you that it is good to trust the reviews, but they all work the same way. First of all, I want to say that these converters are very useful for videotapes with different formats (check it in the datasheet):
- VCR.
- VHS.
- DV60.
- V8 (old camcorders).
- Hi8 (Sony format for older camcorders).
Also, it is important to mention that you take a look at the different USB video capturers because some are not compatible with macOS or recent versions of Windows.
The conversion procedure is simple and you can always look at the instructions of the converter you buy. In the same way, we explain it graphically.
- We go to the VHS player and locate these 3 "jacks", which are the ones that output video and audio. Each cable must be connected to the port of the same color, but in case you have a player like the one in the image (without colors), look at the descriptions or follow the order (from left to right): yellow, white, and red.
- Once connected, we will have to connect the other end of the cable to the converter, which has the same ports: yellow, white, and red. In some models, you will have the 4-pin S-Video (black) connector which is a recording format.
- Now we only have to connect the USB to the PC and install the recording software on our computer.
The youngest of you will not be familiar with VHS tapes, so I remind you that they are played wherever they left off. That is, it may be that when you click play, the tape does not start from the beginning, but has already started. Simply, you have to rewind it and start recording from that point, if that is what you are looking for.
Another detail that may interest you is that this is not only useful for converting VHS to a digital format on your PC. It is important to know that you served as capture video, what does this mean? Well, you can make use of a scart, connect it to a console and record your games on your computer.
Of course, for these purposes, a good video recorder is recommended because the latest consoles make use of HDMI. However, it is super useful for retro or vintage consoles.
Finally, we recommend that you use the program that the manufacturer recommends, why? For a matter of drivers, only, since there will be manufacturers that use programs of "questionable" quality.
Using a VHS-C adapter
Personally, I have used this method to recover family videos and movies that I have not found in a format other than VH S. It is very easy to carry out, and the steps are as follows:
- Buy a VHS-C tape converter
- Put the battery to work.
- Put it in the player.
It is a method that works for VHS-C tapes, which were recorded by many older camcorders. Say it is not compatible with classic miniDV, Hi8 or 8mm tapes. Here, we will still need the previous converter to be able to capture everything on the PC.
What is the difference? Well, it helps us for VHS-C tapes, not conventional VHS.
Convert 8mm, miniDV or Hi8 tapes
Finally, we wanted to create a small section that contemplated the conversion of old 8mm, miniDV or Hi8 tapes. These tapes were recorded on camcorders from the 80s and 90s, a time when brands like Sanyo, Sony or JVC, among others, were recording entire family lives. To do this, they used 8mm, miniDV or Hi8 tapes.
The first bad news is that we will need a camcorder that works and is compatible with these tapes. This will be the most complicated, but there are portals that sell antiques, or we can go directly to eBay.
Tell you that the same converters that we saw at the beginning of the tutorial will serve us. You should make sure that the camcorders of the time have the output ports that we have seen in VHS players. The procedure is the same, only instead of using a VHS player, you put the tape in the camcorder.
Go to a specialized store
There are still many photography studios where we can request the conversion service for our tapes. The problem with this is that it is usually quite an expensive service because it implies having a certain team, as well as being a work of hours.
Normally, stores give you a price per converted tape, and there we will have to do calculations. Also, you will find websites that do these services, but we will have to send our tapes to the address they ask for. Say that the shipping price can be high, especially if the package has many tapes and is heavy.
It is simply for you to take it into account in case the previous solutions do not work for you.
We hope this article has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, comment below and we will answer you shortly.
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