Tech

Convert Old VHS Recordings to DVD to Keep Your Family Memories Safe

The times, when we recorded all the events on camcorder cassettes went by. But we still hold dear weddings, childbirths, first steps kept in VHS format. Unfortunately, magnetic videocassette tapes crumble within several decades or their quality degrade. To extend the life of your videos from VHS tapes, you’d better convert old videocassettes to the DVD format. We will show you 3 ways to convert VHS to DVD.
Table of Contents:

How to convert VHS to DVD with a video converter
How to convert VHS to DVD with VHS DVD recorder hardware
How to convert VHS to DVD via a web service

Way 1. Convert VHS to DVD with a Video Converter on PC

VHS to DVD conversion using a analog to digital converter software isn’t the easiest way, but surely is one of the cheapest. It empowers you to rip many VHS tapes yourself without sharing it with anybody. You can capture and save all your family memories. Besides, you can later upload your content to any video sharing site or convert video to other popular video formats. However, you have to be an advanced PC user to perform such multimedia processing. If you are not sure of your tech skills, please proceed to way #3.

Please note that this method works for personal VHS without any copyright protection. Learn more about it here.

Today we will use Roxio Easy VHS to DVD converter because it comes with all necessary software and RCA-USB connector for a VCR player.

What you will need:

your old video tape
a new DVD-RW or DVD-R disk
Roxio Easy VHS to DVD set (video converter + RCA cable+USB cable)
a VCR or a TV/VCR combo
a Windows PC, laptop

How to convert VHS to DVD with a video converter on PC:

Purchase Roxio Easy VHS to DVD converter (use coupon code 10VHSTODVD).
Install Roxio software.
Turn on your VCR player and put the cassette into it.
Plug RCA cable with corresponding outputs into the videotape VCR. It’s quite simple: yellow is for video; white or red for audio (mono/stereo). Plug the other USB end into your PC.
Launch Roxio Easy VHS to DVD converter and follow the wizard. You should push the Play button on your VCR and the software will start recording the tape after it.
The process will take a lot of time. You have to play full video tape and then burn it onto DVD disk. Your PC will be occupied with task. So it’s better to devote several spare hours on weekend for digitizing your old movies.
Don’t forget to watch the ready DVD and to check the quality. If the quality doesn’t satisfy you, record VHS and burn DVD again. Thus, you’d better buy a DVD-RW disk. Lateron, you can create DVD menu for your video.

BONUS! Convert DVD to MP4 with Freemake free

Way 2. Convert VHS to DVD with VHS DVD recorder hardware

This is the simplest, but expensive solution for VHS to DVD archiving. You don’t need any tech knowledge or hours of PC torture. Just buy a VHS/DVD combo like Sony RDR-VXD655 and it will do everything. Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t make such sets anymore. So hurry up to get an old gadget at Amazon or a used recorder at eBay. Like with conversion, you have to play full movie, so DVD burning isn’t fast. For example, an average movie is about 60-90 minutes, it means that you’ll spend not less than 60-90 minutes on VHS to DVD converting. The DVD video & audio quality will be similar to the original video.

What you will need:

your old video tape
a new DVD-RW disk
a VHS to DVD recorder hardware

How to Convert VHS to DVD with VHS DVD recorder hardware:

Turn on Sony RDR-VXD655 recorder.
Put the old VHS tape into the right VHS slot.
Put a new DVD-RW disk into the left DVD slot.
Press the Video button on One-Touch Dubbing pannel in the center (see the screenshot above).
Wait till the process ends and check your DVD video. It’s all you need to do.

SEE ALSO: Transfer Video to DVD Free & Easily or Copy DVD with Free DVD Copy software

Way 3: Convert VHS to DVD via a web service

There are several VHS to DVD web services in the USA and they are happy to transfer your VHS into a digital format for you. All you need to do is to pay a fee and send them your old VHS tapes. They also can edit the output video and improve its quality. As you know, original videocassette quality isn’t HD. Watching an old VHS tape in a MP4 format on a large modern TV screen may upset you. So think about additional video enhancement. However, if you are concerned about your privacy, you’d better stick to way #1 or way #2.

What you will need: