How do I record VHS to computer, then burn a DVD?

[alfaniner]

I thought I had all the software (DVD editing, burner, etc). but I don't see any way to get the VHS signal copied to my hard disk.

Do I need special software, cables, connections? I have an IEEE 1394 port that I thought had something to do with it.

[a_unique_person]

You need something that can capture analog video. It can be a USB attachment or a PCI card. I have tried a few of these devices, and the quality was pretty poor, and so gave up on it. I have heard the quality of these devices has improved a lot over the last couple of years, however.

[epepke]

Originally posted by alfaniner
I thought I had all the software (DVD editing, burner, etc). but I don't see any way to get the VHS signal copied to my hard disk.

Do I need special software, cables, connections? I have an IEEE 1394 port that I thought had something to do with it.

The 1394 port will go to a digital camcorder. If you have a digital camcorder that can accept an analog video signal, that will do it without having to buy a separate card.

I struggled with digitizing cards and scan converters and genlock and videodisc recorders and all that crap for 20 years. You can go that route if you like. However, I've found that the circuitry of late in digital camcorders produces wonderful quality, and it just comes as a bonus from buying the camcorder, so I don't bother to do it any other way.

[Chris Haynes]

One of our computers does have the board to convert analog to digital... including a dongle with S-video, RCA video/audio inputs (the video, right and left stereo plugs), and 6-pin firewire --- it also turns the system into a TV-set (except that the last time it was used there was a lag between video and audio).

BUT... I found it a bit easier (especially with that annoying video/audio disconnect) to just hook the digital camera to the output of the VCR, record onto a digital tape... and then download through the firewire to the computer (I had to buy a firewire cable with 4-pin connection on each end... since the laptop had a 4-pin connection in the IEEE 1394 port).

Then I played around with Ulead VideoStudio (which had come with the TV-capable computer). I did manage to archive the video to DVD-R's as MPEG-2 data files (so that I can edit them later with a better video edittor like Pinnacle Studio). Unfortunately the DVD writing software on my laptop was flaky... but the software that came with Adobe's Photoshop Album 2.0 worked perfectly to burn the DVD's.

So to summerize:

Hardware: A digital camcorder will work

Cable: IEEE 1394 firewire cable... 4-pin to 6-pin, or 4-pin to 4-pin (the camcorder will be 4-pin, the computer will have one or the other... the desktops typically have 6-pin connections, while laptops have 4-pin).

NOTE: The digital camcorder will come with a cable to connect to a VCR's RCA video/audio cable... also to S-video (which only caries video.. so you will have to use the RCA cable for sound).

Software: Any of a bunch of video editting programs that are available. I think (but have not used) that Windows media has one -- there is a list here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1001

This is what I used to get the MPEG-2 files archived onto DVD-R's, and it worked:
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopalbum/main.html

I later bought Sonic RecordNow to write DVD's ... that company has some products:
http://www.sonic.com/products/

I also learned lots on _Digital Video for Dummies_ (which has a CD with demo software for both Mac and PC). It also explains all the hardware, software and cables.

Oh... and in the future, we do plan to buy a hardware TV recorder that will save to a DVD, a personal DVR... this way we can convert some of our laserdiscs to DVD, not all... just some. The DVD movies are much higher quality on the HDTV... but we do want to have a copy of the original Star Wars trilogy before it was re-editted (we have the special edition laserdisk). There are some on the market now:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat03021&type=category ... but we are waiting (for cheaper prices, for more money in the bank, and one that does not require a connection to TIVO).

[epepke]

Originally posted by Hydrogen Cyanide
BUT... I found it a bit easier (especially with that annoying video/audio disconnect) to just hook the digital camera to the output of the VCR, record onto a digital tape... and then download through the firewire to the computer (I had to buy a firewire cable with 4-pin connection on each end... since the laptop had a 4-pin connection in the IEEE 1394 port).

Depending on your camcorder, you may be able to use it as a pass-through. Put it on record but don't make it go and take the output from Firewire.

[Chris Haynes]

I looked at that... but I did not feel like hauling the VCR up from the basement. I just set the camera up down there and had it record the tapes while I editted and/or archived the stuff I had already upstairs.

The transfer is all real time... and I now have all the 16 years of video tape transfered and archived into MPEG-2 data files.

[Skep]

Originally posted by alfaniner
I thought I had all the software (DVD editing, burner, etc). but I don't see any way to get the VHS signal copied to my hard disk.

Do I need special software, cables, connections? I have an IEEE 1394 port that I thought had something to do with it.

The responses you have had will all work. In every case, you need a way to get the analog video on the VHS converted to the digital input of your computer. Hooking up your VHS to a camcorder with a digital output and using as a pass through is usually an easy way to do this, with the caveat that their is a minute quality loss as the video is converted into a standard digital video format called DV. You will then have to use software to convert the DV format video to the format of digital video used in DVDs, called MPEG-2. This is all pretty easy on a Mac, which comes with iMovie and iDVD.

There are other converters you can buy, as well for under $200. But, if this is a onetime deal, you should be able to borrow a friends DV format camcorder for a day or two.

However, if you have a lot of VHS you want to convert, you may wish to consider buying a simple consumer VHS/DVD combo that will let you copy VHS tapes to recordable DVD in real time. These units have gotten cheap enough and common enough that they are even carried at Costco. The advantage is that they are fast and easy. The disadvantage is that you don't have the ability to edit with finesse or have encoding quality you can get with the slower method of importing the video into your computer first.