VHS video to computer

[The_Hunter]

How do i copy VHS video to my computer so i can burn to dvd. Does it show up anywhere that a video player is connected to the computer. What do i need think i know what cable mainly need to know what program to do it. thanks for any help you maybe able to give me.

[yevgeny]

u need a dvd recorder and attach your vhs player to that i think. interesting question and i look forward to hearing other responses ... mm

[h1pp0]

Need to get a DVR that can burn DVDs to do it for you or the old school way of capture > convert > burn all on your PC.

[lynx]

There are 2 options, both partly mentioned already.

First is to connect your player to a video capture card, and simply treat it as another video input. The capture software should come with the card. If you don't already have a capture card there are some fairly cheap USB options around, some with DVD authoring software included. This is probably the cheapest option, and potentially gives you the best options for producing a professional finish. But it's also the option with the biggest learning curve and as such will involve more of your time.

The alternative is to use a PVR with DVD or network output. Simply play the video into your PVR and create a DVD or stream/copy it to your PC. This is an expensive way of doing things if you don't already possess a PVR with the necessary capabilities (and don't want one for normal use). My PVR allows me to edit the video stream before recording to DVD so I can trim off any leading and trailing garbage. I've used this method several times with excellent results.

You can perform the second option with a stand-alone DVD recorder, but getting the timing right for start/stop is difficult so you end up with garbage at the beginning and end if you aren't careful. Of course, you can then take the DVD to your PC and edit it again, but that adds another area for potential loss of quality.

[devilsadvocate]

If the original has Macovision vhs copy protection you may find that linking the vhs player to a standalone dvd recorder will result in the same color changing picture distorting mess as linking two vhs recorders together used to achieve.
I've never dealt with vhs to pc but I assume any copy protection would need to be overcome.

Don't know if this article would be helpful but it's an interesting read.

http://www.pcmag.co.uk/computeractive/features/2184750/vhs-rip

It appears you may need some special equiptment so depending on how many tapes you have it might be cheaper to get a camera shop to do it for you.