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14 May 09 - 09:54 AM (#2631628) Subject: Tech - video to digital transfer From: glueman The loft has been insulated which means Mrs Glue is pressing for those stacks of music documentaries videos I've been meaning to do something with to go to the tip - soon, as they're cluttering the landing! Can anyone suggest an efficient way of copying vid to digital, as most will never be broadcast again. P.S. our old video player may just about make one more round before it goes to VHS heaven. |
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14 May 09 - 11:34 AM (#2631713) Subject: RE: Tech - video to digital transfer From: M.Ted I bought a Samsung DVD VR375 - DVD recorder/ VCR combo, which will record from dvd to videocassette or from or from videocassette to dvd--to be honest, I haven't done either, I've just recorded broadcasts, but the quality has been good, and the unit was $85 from TigerDirect(I didn't bother to link, because as of last week, they don't carry them anymore), but you can find them other places. The standard line is that all-in-one units are lower quality than components, and yes, you could probably get better recording quality by wiring components together, but it is easy to pop a cassette and a blank dvd into a dvd/vcr unit and push the record button, and the easier it is, the more likely you are to do it. Incidentally, a fair amount of broadcast programming is "protected" so you can't copy it with one of these units. You can, however, copy it by simply running a firewire/IEE1394 cable from the cable box to you computer, and recording using one of a number of video recorder programs. This sounds easy, and, in principle, it is, but in practice, it's a PITA. |
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14 May 09 - 11:54 AM (#2631735) Subject: RE: Tech - video to digital transfer From: Bru I've been doing the self same thing for two or three years. I've spent years collecting nostalgic TV. Three years ago I bought a Phillips DVD recorder from ASDA. Just link a Scart lead from the DVD to the Video player/recorder and off you go. The editing facilities are a bit crude, but you do get the hang of stopping and pausing the video in the right places (adverts and stuff). Once it's on DVD, you can work wonders on a computer with the right software and a bit of determination. If you're copying commercially made videos, you might have a problem with electronic protection. Hope this helps. |
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14 May 09 - 12:02 PM (#2631748) Subject: RE: Tech - video to digital transfer From: VirginiaTam I am in the UK with VHS homes videos of my girls that I need to convert. We tested playing the VHS in separate machine and recording with the DVD hard drive recorder. It worked. So I need now to get some Gold archive quality DVDs. |
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14 May 09 - 12:04 PM (#2631750) Subject: RE: Tech - video to digital transfer From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Be cautious, a DVD is not permanent. While VHS tapes are outmoded, they might last longer than a DVD-R. A hard drive backup is a good idea. |
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14 May 09 - 01:19 PM (#2631821) Subject: RE: Tech - video to digital transfer From: glueman Thanks everyone. As with all such material, every passing year makes you re-evaluate its worth. The scores of films will be available on newer formats so I'm happy(ish!) to dump them, but interviews and documentaries never come round again. I do seem to have a real problem getting rid of stuff. |
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14 May 09 - 01:53 PM (#2631847) Subject: RE: Tech - video to digital transfer From: Bru You'no no worse than the rest of us, Glueman. They might be transferred to DVD, but my videos are back in photocopying boxes up in the loft. |