How to Convert VHS Tapes to Digital!

[@saberboi1526]

Im very glad you made this, my grandma just found my dads graduation tape from when he was in the Air force. He died when I was really young and I never heard his voice so hopefully Ill be able to hear him. My family says I am a lot like him. So having a more permanent piece of him means so much to me.

[@tombuck]

Oh my gosh that’s incredible! I hope this works and you get to experience that! I can’t imagine what that would feel like. Best wishes 🤞

[@indiald3373]

Sending positive vibes

[@kornisonkiseli3248]

Hi Saber, did you manage to see your dad and transfer the tape to PC?

[@utubepunk]

Any updates??

[@Avm371998]

Did you try it. Did it work. How was it?

[@peggyrestivo6115]

This is so great! I hope i find it as simple as you make it look. Just turned 70 and have been investigating this procedure for months. You have given me the guts to try it. Video is straightforward and not alot of extra BS (parden me) that confuses a person. So many videos have so much technical terms that are above my understanding. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

[@nicywicy]

Out of all the videos pertaining to vhs to dvd, this one is the most well done, clean, beautiful, easy to understand and enjoyable to watch. I'm sad you don't have more comments or views. But hey, as an adult I've learned that trashy trendy garbage always out shines real hard working individuals.

[@tombuck]

Thanks for the kind words Mary, I really appreciate it!

[@pmaddox]

I know right! I was just thinking the same thing...no editing and he sounds human rather than like people talking like a robot or if you don't know D.O.S. this video is not for you...plus you can understand every word...

[@serbanvictorandrei4188]

@@tombuck it depends on where and how you want to store those personal values, videos and many more that you have For example, I chose to opt for a simple computer based on GIGABYTE X399 DESIGNARE EX, Socket TR4, DDR4 and some nice ram memory, let's say pretty decent maixim 32 gb and some dedicated ssd in storage of 4 tb or 2 tb now each at everyone's choice at least I use 6 sata ports on my motherboard and I'm happy with the storage I have butt rember i use pci express m2 ssd 480 gb for sistem operating winows and works wery good

[@IWantToMature85]

Please keep your tapes! Physical media is great.

[@amatrixa2923]

Great advice and device! I found that when re-using older tapes, always fast forward all the way to the end and then rewind back to the beginning (some machines will automatically rewind) to loosen up the tapes, this is kind of like fanning paper before printing. It's easier on the vcr and makes the playback a little smoother and less statically. Also, just like at the rentals, be kind and rewind when done. Tapes store better when rewinded evenly on their reels. Don't be discouraged if an old tape doesn't play back well, sometimes tapes track better on different machines, especially if the playback is on the vcr or camera that recorded the tape. If a tape doesn't play great, it could just need tracking. Be prepared after hours of play and searching to clean the vcr as the spinning video head easily collects dirt and tape particles. It's a good idea if you're not using a brand spanking new vcr to clean the heads of the older machine first. There are pretty good head cleaners sold in stores (or online) or if you're brave, like me you can do it yourself with something very non-abrasive, dampened (not soaked) with rubbing alcohol, personally I use (non-aloe) tissue or toilet paper, but it's something you have to be very careful doing. While the lid is off you might want to use a can of air to blow out any dust build up inside the machine as you'd be surprised what's inside the player, almost like what lives inside your keyboard. Come to think of it, that might be a good idea for a future video to show some simple cleaning and preparing of your vintage playback equipment.

[@tombuck]

Great info, thank you!!

[@amatrixa2923]

@@tombuck You're very welcome!

[@colinatx19]

Thank you

[@TheGeoDaddy]

“Be Kind - Rewind”

[@Kinggg679]

@Shawn Singh It`s part of our memories as well, so is Headbangers Ball and it`s sad.

[@PavlosKlonis]

The new generation will never understand this phrase :)

[@severtone263]

This video is exactly what I was looking for. Double like.

[@IWantToMature85]

Why not get a vcr?

[@oliwier000b]

@@IWantToMature85 you have to get a vcr to digitize tapes.

[@amitagarwal2216]

Bro, double like= not a like!😅

[@severtone263]

@@amitagarwal2216 LOL.... Let's go with TRIPLE like!!!!!😅😅😅😅

[@TechAuditTV]

Man this video was so well made. And your quality looks amazing. Would have thought this was an account with 500k+ subs. Job well done!

[@tombuck]

Thank you! It’s not an inherently interesting topic, so I tried to do a good job with the video 👍

[@rickenricomorrone8376]

DUDE. Your intro is word-for-word what I’m doing and what I’ve been dealing with for years. I’m 33. I’ve always been the “video guy” of the family and I’ve been tasked over the years to digitize hundreds of VHS tapes, Hi8’s, etc, because my dad was the camcorder guy too. The stress, the anxiety, I totally know what you’re talking about. I had Dazzle before, which worked for a while, and then it broke and I needed something for Mac and I just kept putting it on the back burner, meanwhile these tapes just kept sitting in a cabinet getting worse over time. This is just so awesome. I just ordered the Elgato, I also use the Stream deck and love it so I know I trust the brand- and I can’t wait to get started on this. THANK YOU man. And my family thanks you for preserving precious memories.

[@TacoCrisma]

Hey Tom, thanks for the vid. As a fellow millennial who was gifted his family’s VHS tapes - your video was the first one I found when I searched on an easy way to convert them. I grabbed the Elgato converter at your advice, went on a Cowboy bebop-esque search for a VCR, and was able to rip all my family videos onto thumb drives which I gave to my parents and my sister yesterday for a pretty emotional Christmas present. Wouldn’t have been possible without this video - so thanks! Have a great holiday.

[@elihollett]

My dad just passed away and I found a whole bunch of VHS-C tapes from the late 90's/early 2000's that I want to convert so this is super helpful! Also a bunch of footage from my old band in high school that I thought was gone forever. Just ordered the Elgato system and stoked to do some converting. Thanks for this video!

[@tombuck]

I'm glad it helped! I'm so sorry for your loss. My dad passed away in August, and I was so glad to have these tapes already converted. I can put old home videos on my iPad and easily share them around. It's awesome.

[@IWantToMature85]

Sorry for what happened, but please jeep the VHS tape! If you want to watch the tape, why not keep it?

[@demisemedia]

Story time: 📼I've always held on to a particular vhs cassette tape that I called "The Never Ending Tape". It contains footage from my 2nd b. day and other shenanigans with my family (some who have since passed away). After moving into my current location I must have accidentally A.) Misplaced it or B.) Threw it away in a dumpster by accident. I was SO sad when I couldn't find it. My girlfriend felt so bad for me. Then I told my mom & grandma and they remember bits & pieces of the footage. It made me even MORE sad and I'd give anything to have it back. So... I gave up searching for it and took it as a loss. Welp, about a month later my mom was going through her dresser and came across a 📼vhs tape. She sent me a picture. The cassette was labeled "The Never Ending Tape"!!! My mom & I don't know how it got there. I watched the entire thing with the biggest smile on my face! Nostalgia & memories! Thanks for the video

[@tombuck]

Oh my gosh, how great! I have a few tapes like that too and I’d be devastated if they got lost. It definitely feels better having digitized them.

[@KentuckyFriedChildren]

Did you get it digitized?

[@demisemedia]

@@KentuckyFriedChildren No.. i'm a procrastinator.

[@KentuckyFriedChildren]

@@demisemedia *Understandable have a great day*

[@demisemedia]

@@KentuckyFriedChildren Lol! Thanks for understanding

[@melissachin-parker78]

I've been using this unit for years and I'm happy to see your segment confirming that it's a good choice!

[@FallenDemon29]

Did it work well? I'm trying to find one but dont have much since I'm unable to work & on a monthly budget, dont want to keep purchasing different ones if they dont work

[@NegativeMass85]

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. This video is exactly what I was looking for. I've got boxes of old VHS and 8mm tapes, some from the early '90s, that desperately need to be digitized. A job I've been putting off for, oh, 30 years now lol. And, yeah, it is stress and worry, coupled with not knowing HOW to do it. Thanks so much for doing this video, it is just what I needed. I've now ordered this item and you have a new subscriber. Nice one!

[@tombuck]

I’m glad it was helpful! Good luck tackling your project. It definitely requires patience, but is absolutely worth it.

[@Jenstirrr]

This was so informative! My dad just passed away last month and I’ve been looking for tutorials on how to digitize all of the surviving vhs tapes we have and came across this. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@tombuck]

I'm so sorry about your dad. My dad passed away last summer and I was so glad I had digitized all these tapes. I was able to go back and watch old home movies on my iPad and easily share them with family. It's definitely worth taking the time to do, and again, I'm so sorry for your loss.

[@jimtalor7971]

The 80's!! Sure miss it! Use to have a Sony Betamax and a mechanical tuner Panasonic Vcr. I have started to convert my library of old tapes and I find this helpful so as to not waste hard drive (ssd) space. Rewind,reset counter,fwd until video ends,make note how long video played by using the counter and set the recording time on the software accordingly. You see not everyone will record the full 2,4,6 hrs on a vhs tape. " Just set it and forget it"

[@WhiteJarrah]

I have a similar device by kworld. Personally, as much as I like their HD capture cards, the deal breaker for me is that the Elgato converts everything to 640×480pixels. That's the resolution of old VGA monitors. This is fine for NTSC content, but the pixel equivalence for PAL VHS is 335×576pixels. The kworld card I have keeps the video files interlaced and converts them to 720x576 mpeg files. Alternatively, if you have a VHS DVD combo unit with HDMI, you can output VHS content at 1080p or 720p and use one of Elgato's HD gaming cards to record the upscaled VHS tape, it looks amazing.

[@marylarsen4113]

So, if you want to get a DVD of an old VHS ....you would copy from your computer to a disc? I'm sure there are programs to do that. What would you suggest? We would like to give some of our old movies to grandparents as gifts and using a DVD is the easiest way. thank you!

[@tombuck]

That’s the basic processs- I don’t know of any apps personally though. I think I used to use Handbrake way back when, but it’s been a while since I’ve made a dvd. That is a good idea though, then they just pop it I and press play. 👍

[@marciab1279]

Yes that's what I'm wondering

[@eddiesutton42]

Thank you Tom! I saw this video, followed the link, bought the El Gato, and spent every available minute of the last five days finally preserving all of our memories! It worked exactly as it should. Very easy to use!

[@Teotitaco]

Hey, do you have any issues with the movie not being able to play. I did a 2 hour video and it wont play anywhere.

[@eddiesutton42]

@@Teotitaco Only on one. I think My computer was overloaded. I offloaded a bunch of large files, restarted, and have had no problem since.

[@SuperCartoonist]

There are two way to convert VHS video and there is a right way and the wrong way to convert VHS video. How are you planning to deinterlace? Cause if you deinterlace the video wrong, you lose half the resolution and the video will end up looking bad. I've learned to make different version of deinterlace from one video because some shows and commercials are at 59.94fps with half the resolution (240 lines) and others are 29.97fps and 23.976fps with full 480 lines resolution. I know it's weird but you can get better results if you know what you're doing.

[@bevmacmillan7079]

@@SuperCartoonist did you do a video on how to do properly?

[@SuperCartoonist]

@@bevmacmillan7079 The only thing I haven't done is make a tutorial video on how a CRT works. There are videos here on KZbin explaining how a CRT works, but some of them are informative and there are videos that are misinformative.

[@IceManOregon]

I got that unit off Amazon, I have a fast desk top computer, yet it won't read the convert unit. I plug it in and nothing happens. I've moved it to other USB ports and nothing. What might be the issue?

[@nihilyst]

Hi, this video is well done and kindly reminds us to save our analog treasures into the digital world but I like to add some things: whenever possible, find yourself a top of the line late nineties S-VHS VCR from JVC or Panasonic, with a Line Time Base Corrector (TBC)! Not much older, not much newer (because the last VCRs were the cheapest and usually, they suck). Even when your sources are not SVHS they will look better by A LOT on these machines! The horizontal VHS jitter, which is almost the trade mark of this format will be gone almost completely due to the TBC. Additionally, these machines will give you s-video out (also visible in your video as possible input of your capture device) which separates luma and chroma signals, which greatly reduces color noise in your VHS footage, even - again - if your sources are plain old VHS only. The problem is, that your capture device/your capture software will try to sqeeze that noisy, grainy, jittering VHS source material into a codec which will be very vulnerable to noisy input signals and result in artifacts (blocks!) in your destination material on your computer. I bet, the VHS material will look a lot worse after digitizing it, compared to as it looked before when played from tape directly if not treated right. All the time, the people are like - "Hey, its just VHS, and VHS already sucked in terms of quality when new" - but this is just half true. Treat the sources right, and the end result will be night and day, not just subtle changes for the nitpickers, but I mean a real difference! The people over there on digitalfaq and videohelp have tons of threads and good information concerning this topic...:-)

[@MysticHermit912]

Perfect timing to see this, and to meet you ! I have hundreds of vhs tapes from my talk show, circa 1990's

[@tombuck]

Definitely need to save those!

[@MysticHermit912]

@@tombuck Yes, for sure.

[@kamakirinoko]

Update to my never-ending quest to get at least 480p videos from my VHS tapes: If you scroll down you’ll see my previous comments as I went through the Elgato converter and discarded it as useless for my purposes. Just to explain, I used to work as a video editor back when VHS was still being widely used and streaming was in its infancy, so I'm familiar with some of the more esoteric aspects of video processing than ordinary citizens might not be, so I will only be satisfied with what I consider the absolute best I could do that negates having to take my stuff to a conversion outlet that charges outrageous fees “per minute of video” to convert tapes. The last time I did that I shelled out around $900 for a few tapes, with VHS, 8mm and MiniDV tapes being in the mix submitted. I was shocked that these guys were literally charging “by the minute,” and I was wondering just what processing hardware they might be using that enabled them to be charging these high prices, and could I, as “the man on the street,” with my knowledge as a video editor, do any better? What we all have to realize first is that VHS videos were never meant to be viewed on the high-definition screen of a computer. They were definitely conceived, and did very well for, those CRT (cathode ray tube) screens that most of us had before flat screens were introduced in the 2000s. But when viewed up close on a computer monitor, these VHS tapes can look shockingly bad, with blotchy colours, blurry edges and all sorts of glitches and irregularities. So the “holy grail” of 1080p was not only unrealistic, it was simply impossible-trying to get a 1080p result out of a 480p (max!) original would be like putting lipstick on a mannequin and calling it Melania. So to those who have expectations of getting anything resembling HD out of anything except perhaps MiniDV tapes (which were “sort of” pre-HD) are going to be gravely disappointed. To cut a long story short, I spent a large amount of time trying to get a converter that wasn’t too expensive-like, less than $100-that would give me a decent result from my VHS tapes (more on other formats in another comment). I went through the Elgato, which turned out to work fine but was limited in that it would not let you choose any other format than that which the Elgato software deemed appropriate, which was not an option for me, as I wanted at least an option above “Mediocre.” What I got were videos that, while quick enough to process and small in file size, were about 144p-they looked about as quarter as good as a regular VHS tape would look and were shockingly bad when viewed on a computer screen. Next up for me was a far more expensive device called a Canopus, which at least had S-Video inputs and a primitive “digital” output option. But all these so far were limited in that they ended up going through USB, which simply can’t handle the massive amounts of data that video typically generates. The Canopus was fiddly to use, complicated and very, very strange-truly an artifact from a world just transitioning from analogue to digital-and ultimately didn’t do much better than the Elgato. It was time to call out the Big Guns, so I turned to an item most of you will never have heard of: the Dual VHS-MiniDV dubbing deck, a device that looks like a VHS on steroids (and actually is). Notwithstanding its high sticker price-when they came out they were upwards of the $2,000 range and still go for around $400 on eBay-this machine literally takes all the work of processing analogue into digital and puts it behind the scenes in the inner workings of its circuits and solenoids. Literally, you slap two tapes in-one VHS and one MiniDV-push “Dub” and however many minutes your tape runs comes out later all dubbed into 480p digital video. All that remains to be done now is to transfer that digital video to your computer via the usual 4-pin camcorder cable that many of you might be familiar with when you transferred video from that camcorder you now have stashed in your closet. Now, I realize that not many of you will have or want to disburse the $400 that I spent to do this project (not counting the $$$ spent on the Elgato and Canopus) but if your goal is to process lots of VHS video into digital then I would venture that this is the ONLY solution you should go with, as it requires very little knowledge of the technical aspects of video, like codecs and formats, and instead just produces one very high-quality end product that will look very good on-and I hasten to emphasize this- your TELEVISION screen, as it was for good old non-HD TV that these tapes were originally designed for, and you’d be nuts trying to watch on a computer and compare to the HD video that is now common everywhere. Now I don’t know if Tom will allow the linkage, but the result that I finally got is linked at kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipe3ZICNp9mCbs0. (When you watch this bear in mind that it’s a dub of a dub of a dub of a camera that was available in 1984-I don’t remember what that was but I DO remember that ordinary consumers couldn’t afford the cameras and we in fact had to rent this one from a neighbourhood rental place. So on your computer screen this video is going to look downright awful, but on an old-school TV it will look okay. Really good, in fact!) Now I wish that this saga was over, but it's not; the hour of video that I was hoping to process proved to be too much for the laptop I’ve been using and I'm just going to have to upgrade to at least a 1TB hard drive and probably a 3.0Ghz+ processor . . . but the end result, as the Klingon from Star Trek says, will be “glorious!” Thanks, Tom, for allowing this prodigious comment to be posted, and please take it down if it offends anyone.

[@tombuck]

Thank you for this- it really explains the ins and outs of the format for those looking to get the best quality possible. The elgato worked for me because I was happy with anything that was digital, but other might want higher quality.

[@kamakirinoko]

@@tombuck Yes, in my case I realized that it stops with me-if I don't do these tapes (like someone else commented here) for sure no one will, and anyone who comes after me will no doubt not go even close to the trouble I decided to put into it; so it totally depends on your level of importance on the project. I know, however that if I had done it with the Elgato no doubt all who saw it would have nonetheless been pleased as punch.

[@iainmeteorscan1555]

@Kamakiri Sassoricham: Hi fella. Thanks for all that interesting information. I am curator of several VHS tapes from the mid 80s of our watersports club’s sporting events, and I am researching means of converting those tapes to digital and your comments are very useful to me. Obviously, I am looking for a system than can produce better than run-of-the-mill and the following tutorial on You Tube might be of interest to yourself and others, as various quirks of VHS are explained, such as “interlacing” (the tutorial explains this in the first 3 minutes - take a look): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ_ChXeXbt-MZ8U Thanks also to Tom for his enthusiastic video. Your condensed intro is just what is wanted and cuts out all the usual crap and unnecessary verbal diarrhoea (diarrhea in States and Canada) normally associated with egotistical You Tube contributors. Well done both! Iain.

[@ezekiel1832]

@@tombuck I have old home movies originally recorded with hi8 tapes and transferred to vhs. I was wondering if the quality of your 8mm home movies turned out decent? I know 8mm and hi8 were both available at that time and since we're both the same age I'm kinda going with your take on this. If you were happy with the end result I'm hoping that means the quality wasn't too terrible? I appreciate any help or input you could provide.

[@cathyb-cbradioband6523]

Dude why don’t you just make a video of your own 😝

[@cherryblossom2215]

Just found the vhs tape of my son ultrasound. I’m in tears bc I thought it was lost. He graduated from college May 2024. Thank you so much

[@tombuck]

It's so great to be able to save important memories like that!

[@valtermarques6716]

5:13 now that's a smooth edit. great video!

[@tombuck]

Thanks so much!

[@GeekTherapyRadio]

Related note: To me, VHS/Hi8/etc seems MUCH more engaging and "real" than what we record with our 4K smartphones.. and tt has nothing to do with quality. It has to do with how it was recorded. I've noticed that memories recorded on VHS/Hi8 are much more deliberate. We record short clips on our phone, but our parents recorded much longer static shots with the camcorder. We record a 10 second clip of a birthday party on our phone, but our parents recorded for like 10 minutes per shot. It really helps put you "there". It seemed lame back in the 80s and 90s when my dad was constantly recording with the camcorder, but today I'm appreciative to the point of tears that he did.

[@Valgarciamusic]

In my case the length of the videos is the opposite. My mom would record small clips in order to save the most tape and be able to record more spending less money. Now she just keeps and keeps on recording making unwatchable videos because they’re just sooooo long 😂 But it is fun to watch them all

[@bcoldwell1]

I watch a bunch of 30+ yr old video over the last Christmas holiday of my kids when they were young. Both my kid's spouses watched with us. I wanted to give them all a feel for what they were like as toddlers. You're right about long videos. Sometimes I'd put it on a tripod and just let it record for an hour. Makes it kinda tedious to watch at times, but yeah, you pick up a lot of things that would otherwise be missed. I hope to edit down my digital version soon. Thanks for the video.

[@OLegendStudios]

Im like you who has wanted to do this for years. Saw your video. Bought it! Love it and agree with everything you said! Works very well

[@tombuck]

I’m so glad to hear it!

[@anotherbrickonthewall]

What operating system did you use?

[@thedeathwatchcouncil1616]

Thank you for making this video! I didn't have many memories of the VHS days because born right before the cutoff transition from VHS to digital. I still lovr analog tech and I'm planning to make a film with a VHS camera set up. And digitize it so I can upload and share to whoever.

[@tombuck]

It's great for that! I'm sure you'll have a ton of fun shooting a "retro" style film.

[@Tacha1007]

I just love your thoughtfully prepared presentation! I too have cringed every time I pass our family's massive VHS storage bins and thought I would take care of them another day. Thanks for the reality-check that these items won't last forever! I'm looking forward to "binge-watching" a lot of these videos. Thank you!

[@tombuck]

It took me a total of 6 month to get everything finished, but it’s so worth it. And rediscovering long forgotten memories was an awesome experience. 😎

[@controllineprecisionaeroba7454]

We really need a forum on this topic. Surely we could all brainstorm for a final solution. All these reviews on capture devices are hit and miss. Someone is sure making alot of money.

[@heatherjustcreate]

LOVE THE SEQUENCE YOU ARE MY HERO

[@tombuck]

😎💪😙

[@kitschannette3052]

I just bought this, perfect quarantine project.

[@tombuck]

Absolutely it is 👍

[@blubein]

How did you like it?

[@labyfan1313]

Funny I just started copying mine to DVD now too.

[@cwTheDrummist]

I NEED to do this! I also have bins of VHS, Hi8, and MiniDV tapes going back to the mid-80’s.

[@tombuck]

I’m just about to start on my 8mm tapes! Had to find an old camera on eBay just to play them back, haha.

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

I still have AND USE floppy discs in my digital keyboards to store sounds and sequences with.

[@anneofgreengables1619]

DO IT!

[@AtomicPixel]

100% need to do this. Was just thinking of options, so thanks bro!

[@tombuck]

Good luck!

[@caaande]

OHMYGOD your creativity is so cool. I had nothing but smiles throughout that montage. it would be cool if there was b roll of some of your tapes such as 2:40. Awesome Video, congrats on 4k!!

[@tombuck]

Thanks Sir! I’m hoping to find some embarrassing old clips to put into future videos.

[@shadetree1175]

what are the best VHS or 8mm players for home video transfer? This is a once in a lifetime transfer of 4 totes worth of analog memories for my family of 10 (parents & 7 siblings). Only have time to do this once so I have to get it right the first time.

[@tombuck]

I just used the old gear sitting in boxes, so I don’t have a direct recommendation, but I would just go to amazon and sort by “highest rated” and then make a choice based on reviews 👍

[@kamakirinoko]

SeaStar, depending on your budget, if you are willing to spend $400+ you can buy a deck that will do all the digitizing for you. See my other comments here to see if that's the solution you seek.

[@dazmos_65]

I'm about to do this myself. This has helped massively and encouraged me to finally get around to doing it. Thanks a lot!!

[@tombuck]

You’re welcome and good luck! It takes a bit of time, but it’s definitely worth it. 👍

[@dazmos_65]

@@tombuck Thanks! Looking forward. Appreciated \0/

[@BlueRacer2007]

thank you for this review. sadly all 4 locations that would have this product for sale are all sold out. i'm not sure if that means it's just sold out or just no longer being made. sigh.

[@tombuck]

I know it's still being made, but so many things are out of stock right now (especially elgato brand items). I'd recommend checking regularly for new stock.

[@Crlarl]

There are many other models that will work. Check this video tutorial to see how to do this properly: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ_ChXeXbt-MZ8U

[@anotherbrickonthewall]

@@Crlarl That guy really seems to cover things well. Thanks.

[@bcing75]

I have the same product and have used it for years converting old VHS, VHS-C and Video 8 home videos. It works great and I agree it’s so very much worth the cost.

[@sl4983]

Do you have to have a converter cartridge for the VHS-C and 8mm videos?

[@bcing75]

Esoteric Mystery Yes you need a. VHS-C to VHS cassette adapter for the VHS-C tapes. Will allow you to play them right in a VCR. As for 8mm, you'll need an 8mm camcorder to hook up directly to this product as 8mm tape is considerably more narrow than VHS. Hence why there's not such adapter.

[@kannanstudio5217]

Please call [phone] for converting VHS to DVD

[@geralynkamahaocamarillo1818]

DUDE!!!!! YOU ARE AH-MAZING! Mahalo nui loa for this outstanding video! EVERYTHING you shared is what I totally feel...now I feel more confident in facing the treasure chest of various video tapes Iʻve shot over the decades and converting them to digital so we can actually enjoy them. Thank you for taking the time to explain in such a simple, easy, kind and informative way. Youʻre so awesome, Tom! Super great vibes. Totally subscribing to your channel and all the things...Sending much ALOHA to you and your ʻohana!

[@tombuck]

Aloha and thank you! It means a lot to hear this! Converting all the tapes is a big job, but you don't have to do it all at once. I spent 5 or 6 months doing it off and on whenever I had time. And now I've recently inherited another old box of tapes, so the process begins again 😬

[@mrjackolanterns]

I stumbled on tons of my old VHS tapes in my parents attic and am starting this conversion process. The only thing is, there's something completely heartbreaking about throwing out all of your old VHS's you played a hundred times over as a kid after you're finished converting them. The feel of them. The child scrawl of handwriting on the face of them. The nostalgic toy commercials that played in between your recorded shows. It's sad in way to hold them over a garbage dumpster, even if you have a newer version of it now on a CD. It's like throwing out a part of your childhood in the name of technology.

[@tombuck]

I agree 100%. I still have ALL of mine, with all the messy labels. It’s just nice to know that their contents are safe. We live in the desert, so there’s a very real risk of things melting 😲

[@kamakirinoko]

Well, you don't need to edit the end result. KEEP all the commercials, the overdubs, the mistakes . . . if you want, take pics of the tapes' outsides and maybe preface your KZbin uploads of the videos you create with still photos of the tape the video came from!

[@mrjackolanterns]

@@kamakirinoko Dude, that is brilliant!

[@marylouwilliams411]

I'm so glad someone else feels this way! I was worried I was a class A hoarder . LOL

[@mrjackolanterns]

Not at all. It was soul-crushing to throw out all of my old VHS tapes. And many of them hadn't even been converted either. My minimalism lifestyle got the best of me on that one. And I'm not lying one bit when I tell you that I regret it now. Do yourself a favor and save them and avoid future heartbreak. Lol

[@TheWorldofSam]

I know how to do this. I have the kits and I have done it before, when the switch to digital became apparent. But then 15 years later, I want to convert the new home videos I just discovered, but my VHS player is totally broken, the mechanical parts are just non-functional anymore. Does anyone know how I can get VHS players, or perhaps a complete conversion kit with the player?

[@tombuck]

I think eBay is your best best. Maybe a thrift store, but you'll probably have better luck finding one that works reliably on eBay.

[@Vorticy135]

Ebay or even your local flea market

[@indiald3373]

Definitely don't trust mailing my memories. RESPECT from Philly

[@tombuck]

It makes me nervous just to think about it.

[@OLegendStudios]

Same here

[@labyfan1313]

Yep, I've seen those ads to. And that's the first thing I think of is what if it gets lost in the mail or something happens to them and they're gone forever. No way I'd ever take that chance.

[@u2mister17]

"Definitely don't trust mailing my memories. RESPECT from Philly" Chinese votes got through.

[@johnborsil5396]

Thanks for creating a simple, straight-to-the-point & most importantly, chill video; most KZbinrs now seem like they forgot to take their adderall & all their title pics look like clickbait.

[@AACLibrarian]

Awesome job ... I'm starting my project this weekend --- I've been having the stress and anxiety for a few years -- BUT now that I live on the coast and hurricane season is here I will be starting this weekend! I plan to make a backup copy and send it to my sons! THANKS :-)

[@tombuck]

Great idea! Definitely don’t want to lose that archive of memories.

[@donnadupre9533]

Tom, I am SOOOoooooooo glad that I found your video tutorial. I have been watching many & just had a headache. Yours was 100% legit & straight forward. I ordered the video transfer device & cannot wait until it arrives in 2 days to get started on this project !!! It is going to be gifts for my 3 adult sons & for their Dad (my Ex) who is terminally ill.

[@donnadupre9533]

Opps, part of my comment got cut off. I am wondering if you can tell me what I need to do/purchase in order to make 4 copies for the 4 of them to have their own copy of the digitalized family videos. Thanks so much for you reply back to me.

[@tombuck]

I'm so glad it was helpful, Donna! Once you've got the copies transferred to your computer, sharing them is super easy. You can upload them somewhere like Google Drive (or even unlisted on KZbin), save them to hard drives, or even burn them to DVD's. It's so great to have easy access to all of these old memories.

[@donnadupre9533]

@@tombuck Thanks for your reply. Just 1 more question, after the transferring is done, will I be able to edit the video at all (like take out all the loooooong parts/pauses, shorten the length of each video, etc.) ? What do I need to purchase or what do I use to do this ? Thanks so much !!

[@411sportstv]

Thanks, you are a wealth of knowledge and I wasn't even searching for this topic, KZbin just served up your videos!

[@tombuck]

Good job youtube! 👍

[@blavidson23]

Thanks for the help! btw, I seen you have some Aquabats posters on your wall.. any of those old vhs tapes have any live footage? just had to ask haha

[@tombuck]

Actually yes! A lot from 2002 👍

[@innercynic2784]

First and foremost you should never "go cheap" when it comes to your precious memories. Get the best thing possible, do the research, and buy what you need. Once you've completed your "project", and it'll be work let me tell you, you can sell off your gear if you feel the need or help your friends or other family with it. Family photos, videos... whatever, are too important to aim low. Otherwise you only show just how much you really don't value them.

[@anotherbrickonthewall]

Do you have any particular suggestions/products to do this properly?

[@BlindMango]

Have had about 15 tapes from my childhood (and even before I was born) going all the way back to 1985! Turns out I have this really great local company that does them so it's basically just a 15 minute drive to drop off the tapes, and don't even have to worry about them getting lost in the mail. I just got half of them done and they look amazing, and I've never seen any of the videos before now, it's like uncovering buried treasure! You're right about having a company do it being expensive though, for those 15 tapes it'll end up being about $500 - $600, but totally worth it for me.

[@tombuck]

That's awesome! Finding a place to do it for you without having to worry about shipping tapes through the mail is perfect. Glad you got your memories back!

[@radpopl]

Expensive. In my country, it doesn't cost more than $ 120 for 15 tapes :)

[@58allendavis]

I spent hours on KZbin trying to find out the best way to do this. Those are hours I'll never get back again. Hours I could've been using to convert all my priceless memories of my grandkids on Hi8 tape to digital. Many of those hours were of guys with really weird accents with oddball connectors/interfaces one only finds in Europe, Australia or New Zealand. And they all had PCs, never ONCE mentioning alternatives or even having it occur to them that MAYBE somebody might be using a Mac. And the one video of the guy with a Mac didn't impart any kind of useful information whatsoever. Couldn't even really see what the hell the device he was using to hook everything up with! And the links he provided gave 404 errors. You yammered longer than giving out the vital info, but you did the kind of yammering which told me I was on the same wavelength as you with preserving those precious memories. That was actually my way of complimenting you! Thanks. Now I've gotta motor over to Amazon and see if I can get next-day delivery. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

[@tombuck]

This was quite a rollercoaster of emotion to read, but I appreciate the kind words! Good luck👍

[@58allendavis]

@@tombuck Thanks, man. I yammered quite a bit myself. You're younger than my youngest kid by three years, and I wish just one of them could work up the sentimentality you projected. Their mother must've been an undercover Vulcan. It would interest me to know if you're aware of any software alternatives to what you mentioned downloading. Both my iMac and MacBook Pro run macOS Mojave, and it is very persnickety about a lot of third-party software not thoroughly approved of and blessed by Apple. It always belches forth all kinds of warnings about even the versions of Illustrator and Photoshop I have not being "optimized" for the Mac, meaning they're not 64-bit, and I plan to upgrade to macOS Catalina when it's released, and I know it won't run anything that isn't 64-bit clean. I do have Adobe Premiere CS4, and it will launch, but I know absolutely nothing about that application. Thanks once more for your video. I wish it was the first one I clicked on when I was searching KZbin. I hate it when I've wasted time like that. Every other video on this subject absolutely sucked eggs like a starved blue tick hound dog. Like, where's all this heavy-handed KZbin "censorship" I've been hearing about lately??? I'm all for the First Amendment, but I don't think it should necessarily cover stupidity, lameness, relevancy (or the lack thereof). I guess it just goes to show that bandwidth and drive capacity isn't as precious as it once was.

[@tombuck]

Oh man, an undercover Vulcan! That must’ve been tough. 🖖 I don’t know of any alternatives off the top of my head, but I’m also using Mojave, and once I go through the security warnings you mentioned, it’s been working pretty well. I like the elgato software because it hasn’t dropped any frames for me or given any issues, even when converting hours and hours of tapes.

[@midipem]

Nice, simple video, thanks. Any chance of a converter device with a 1080p result? Elgato only can do 640p. Thanks

[@tombuck]

Hmm, that's a great question. I don't know of any converters that upscale footage (although Blackmagic might have something). Once the 640 footage is on your computer you might be able to use a software program to scale it up to 1080 🤔

[@jcrossan1351]

As a kid born in the early 2000s I grew up on old tapes we had I do love tapes even if it’s an outdated format

[@scotttate1103]

Is there any update - change in tools/methods in 2023??

[@tombuck]

I still use all the same stuff! Still works great and I haven't yet found a simpler option.

[@recessionproof7744]

Hey do you know where I can buy a professional machine that converts VHS to DVD?

[@tombuck]

Other than sending your tapes to a service, I don't. I've only used this adapter.

[@kannanstudio5217]

Please call [phone] for converting VHS to DVD

[@Fermicirrus]

buy a good dvd recorder on ebay. Very reliable and easier to use than a capture card.

[@walesforaunitedkingdom2556]

You could always burn it to a dvd after it’s on your laptop?

[@reflux043]

Just wondering if you can pause half way through recording, and fast forward past useless parts, then continue the recording?

[@ARichardP]

Very helpful. Love the way the intro was edited, too.

[@tombuck]

Thanks! Glad it helped 👍

[@alanartme1]

Thanks for the video, but what I really want to know is how to get the full resolution of the video recording digitized from an interlaced source??? Can the Elgato achieve this???

[@tombuck]

It won't upscale anything, but it'll capture the standard definition video coming in through the RCA jacks.

[@vfletes1]

Im doing the opposite lol..im recording blue rays into tapes..lol i like to record horror movies to tapes..it just gives it different flavor when watching. But i also do this with my vhs tapes that i do not have back ups or that never actually got a. DVD release.

[@ghoulwhip9724]

That is fucking awesome what you're doing

[@radiozelaza]

I wonder if the captured footage plays properly with deinterlacing (60 fps as it was captured by camcorders) or if you are stuck with stuttering 30fps not deinterlaced video which looks nothing like we remember from the 90s?

[@juliekmunden]

Good stuff. I need to do this! My kids laugh at me, thinking I have memories on VHS, hi-8, vinyl, VHS-C. TFS!

[@tombuck]

Haha, it's definitely worth it!

[@barryadrianallen]

Hi. Some product reviewers mentioned that the audio drifts out of sync over time. Has anyone else had this issue? Thanks

[@tombuck]

Not sure if anyone else has had a different experience, but this hasn't been a problem for me.

[@MissJaeNYC]

I want to watch my old home movies so bad I hope I’m able to one of these days 😩

[@tombuck]

It's absolutely worth it. I can now bring up old home movies on my iPad and it's awesome.

[@IWantToMature85]

@@tombuck it’s worth keeping the tapes! Why is it so bad to not watch then on cassette? Because they’re old. Y’all still find the movies valuable so we should feel the same about the products that we first knew them from.

[@akashacharya3586]

Actually when I play the video in VCR..the video halts and again plays..then completely halts.. If I 👆 convert will the problem be solved...I mean will the video play smoothly without any halt ?????? Plz do reply

[@tombuck]

It’ll transfer over,however it plays, so that might include stops. But you could always put it in a simple video editor afterwards and cut out the pauses. It’s also worth looking up how to clean vcr heads because it makes a huge difference.

[@rivercidal]

Here's a really good tip for all who want to transfer VHS tapes to digital. Before you do your transfers, make sure you clean your VHS recorders! Here's a link to follow kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6iUhWumaNyMjqc Then always forward your tapes to the end, then rewind them & then do them a second time. The reason being is that when watching tapes from before and were stopped in the middle, for some reason when playing back you will see the tracking lines appear. When I started noticing this, I finally got into the habit of forwarding my tapes to the end then rewinding, then doing it a second time to make sure the tracking gets reset again. You'll see the difference when transferring over. Both the quality and sound are way better.

[@keithyakouboff8755]

Hey man, 'preciate that much. I have hundreds of cassettes (600-700?) with shows from the 90s. This includes great commercials and movie trailers from that era. I am slowly going through all of them, noting the time indices, and have been using my digital camcorder to convert the signal and record onto a digital cassette. But, that's wear and tear on my camera. This is the kind of solution I've been looking for. Great review, good presentation. I'm going to look at a few others to compare, but you did a great job highlighting this product's strengths. Thank you.

[@tombuck]

You’re welcome and thanks for the kind words! Good luck with the project- I love all the nostalgia that comes with those old shows and commercials. 👍

[@jimmyhimes8062]

Love the Aquabats posters in the background!

[@tombuck]

Me too 😬

[@Amichai_Korda]

Thank, good video. But, where do we find a old camera or vhs player? They died years ago

[@tombuck]

eBay is probably the simplest option, but you can sometimes have good luck at local secondhand shops.

[@mike_-hg9xl]

I'm just so scared every time I put it into the qthing it will eat up my only copy of the tape 😨

[@tombuck]

It's definitely important to make sure everything is working properly first.

[@mdj.video26]

When dubbing VHS, I record in Filmora. I have the following problem. Sometimes empty fields appear in the recorded material (they are blue in Filmora). More precisely, these are interruptions in the recording in Filmora that last less than one second. Some of them later they are not visible in the video, but the longer ones are visible. What is the cause of this and how to eliminate it, does anyone know from experience.

[@OfficialNetDevil]

I feel old now lol, I remember when my dad used to own a camcorder that took blank vhs tapes

[@BLINDTUBEMARES]

Thanks for this. I can't wait to convert my stuff. I used to be an actor and I have some old films I made with the London Film School, tapes from 'TV Technique' at drama school and a couple of adverts I haven't watched for years! Can't wait to finally re-watch these

[@tombuck]

Fantastic! I hope you have a ton of fun reliving all those memories!

[@Alex_Ochoa]

*duuuuudee I need to do this! I've been wanting to do something like this for so long ! Definitely will have fun watching all those memories again 😁😂😣😭😭😂😁😀*

[@tombuck]

Its such a blast! And, at times, hugely embarrassing.

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

4 sure!

[@kannanstudio5217]

Please call [phone] for converting VHS to DVD

[@miguelmeza6451]

Can you also share the vhs videos on computer to social media like Facebook, KZbin, Instagram, etc.

[@tombuck]

Once the videos are on your computer, you can use them/share them like any other file 👍

[@Ahmed_Abaalkhail]

OMG! One Like is not enough for you, Thank you so much this tool is exactly what I need this is Amazing I was thinking that no way I will send them to anyone especially here in Saudi Arabia we do not have a lot of these places and I have to send it nationally. Thank you again!

[@tombuck]

I'm happy that it was helpful! Good luck and thank you for the kind words!

[@pmbuyer7]

When they put videotaped TV shows (sports,news, game shows) on online sites they digitize them and the show looks like film and loses the lifelike video tape look. How do you get the video tape look back on an online show?

[@tombuck]

,y guess is they have access to a high quality master tape/file of some type.

[@tinovanderzwanphonocave544]

a tip tom, before transferring wind the tape to the end and back there's also a method of baking the tapes because old tapes tend to stick to itself, not to the point that it becomes self-destructive but it can cause drag in playback which causes distortion and lines and tracking issues. baking the tape is what it sounds like you put it in the oven at 30 to 50 degrees C for 10 minutes this unsticks the tape and makes the magnetic material stick firmly on the base material nl plastic personally I only do this to pre-1980 tapes the later ones are just fine with FF and RW. the degrading part you speak of is only partially true tape degrades sure but tapes of the 1990s should be of the same quality as they were in the 1990s the bad playback is due to the aforementioned sticking problem the drag makes for a bad image just spool the tape back and forth and the image should be up to specs unless your player is a bad piece of cr#p! with players, I tend to go for the one-offs the expensive egg in the 1990s to 2000s nest so to say for my VHS I use a machine that converted VHS to cd-rom this part was low standard in today's specs but the player is phenomenal!! and the machine costs more than $1000 in its day so quality guaranteed but the cd-rom converter is now rather obsolete and bad quality but it must have been fine in its day me converting analog stuff goes from Edison wax cylinders to VHS I even have a 1950s-60s Ampex 5-inch tape recorder in process of being restored and yes you really have to bake those tapes! without baking, they will rip apart!!! for those interested, some digital air fryers have a low setting of 25 degrees C! with the grill shielded so no radiation heat from red-hot material hits your tape so perfect! the XXL models hold the reels like a glove! and since it's shielded they can hold 2 reels at one time I found out about this because our national archive had rows of air fryers in the video tape reel room I soon found out why they used to use ovens but those are bulky and can only hold 6 reels at best the same space holds 16 air fryers! that's 32 tapes in one go!

[@tombuck]

Thanks for taking the time to share this! It's a lot of great helpful info!

[@ushalax77]

Wow. Nice. I have a bunch of hi-8 tapes but my camcorder broke. How do I play the tapes in order to digitize them? Thanks.

[@tombuck]

You'll need some kind of player. I'd recommend searching for an 8mm camcorder on ebay.

[@ushalax77]

@@tombuck Thanks.

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

I have SO many classic by a tapes (24 hrs of 3 Stooges- no commercials), HEAR'N AID, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, classic classic Hollywood, 24 hrs of 911, concerts that I worked at (audio-on vhs), so thank yew! An I subbed.

[@tombuck]

Dang, that’s quite the collection! Definitely worth saving some awesome stuff like that 🤯

[@KowankoMusic]

I got El Gato but my PC doesn't see it. (In my device manager, it says "Device Descriptor Request Failed"). I've tried uninstalling, rebooting, updating driver software, to no avail. The El Gato software does not see that USB device either. Anybody know what might be going wrong here?

[@tombuck]

I don't think this is going to be the magic solution, but it looks like theres a recently updated version of the software for Windows. Maybe try installing this one (if you haven't already): www.elgato.com/en/video-capture/support

[@RVJimD]

Ha, I got a nice chuckle from the rewind jab! I'm still watching so/but do you know how I could convert slides to digital? My dad had tons of slides and now I have them. Would love to convert them so I could share them with my siblings. Thanks for the video! Jim Edit: if the movie was a tragedy would not watching it be tragedy squared?

[@tombuck]

So much time spent waiting for tapes to rewind... For slides, I’m not 100% sure. I believe there are similar converters you can buy, but they’re pricey. I think Costco does slide conversions?

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

There is a gizmo out there that allows you to load slides into memory of computer in a file. Then you can sequence them into an ordet, making a digital copy of said movie. I know this software is out there!

[@edub9930]

Thanks! That outro song is everything! 👏😆🤘

[@saminator358]

Thanks for this video. Regarding those cheap converters: Avoid if possible! Those are mostly made by same crab company with different names. It's very difficult or even impossible to find drivers for those - especially if you have Mac. Just use well known devices like mentioned in this video and you are good to go. Now we have time to stay at home, so why not take a trip down memory lane and start converting at the same time you are watching those tapes? BTW: Your old video device might have loose / cut rubber belts inside. This might cause jam and possible destroy your videotape. Make a first test with less important tape.

[@donnieka696]

Yep, beware of anything that comes with the Honestech VHS to DVD software. It's marketed under several different names on various websites and it almost never works.

[@machotires72]

Still looking for a VCR. Mine broke not to long ago. Seems like no one sells VCR's anymore. If anyone has any place to buy them let me know. Thank you.

[@19JayBro96]

Tom! I know this is probably a big question, but does this work on Windows 10? I keep seeing mixed reviews/answers on Amazon about it not working on Windows 10. Thank you! Please get back to me

[@tombuck]

While I'm not a Windows expert, it should work fine. For the most part elgato develops their software for both platforms (and in fact I think they lean more towards Windows).

[@bofebaxx83]

Hi! I have a Panasonic NV-SJ422 video recorder and an EWENT EW3706 Grabber. The playback image of the VHS shakes horizontally, want to fall apart ... Can you recommend me a Grabber (USB) that may already have TBC (Time Base Corrector)? Thanks! :)

[@tombuck]

I wish I could help, but this is the only VHS converter I’ve ever used, so my personal experience doesn’t go much further.

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

I have tapes from 1983. Haven't degraded much at all, even though I was told 20 years ago that VHS tapes are only viable for 20 years.

[@MrChris-zb2bs]

If stored properly tape might last 100 years or more. My tapes from the 1980s still look the same, but I think the bigger problem will be finding a working VCR to play them in the future.

[@ghoulwhip9724]

Man you must really take care of your tapes

[@ZaDussault]

I realized I have a very rare french version of a documentary that aired in the early 2000s and it's not available anywhere on the internet, so I might use that trick to upload it!

[@tombuck]

Definitely worth saving something like that! 👍

[@Doct0rSeethes]

A word of caution on this Elgato capture device: if your media's audio is recorded in mono, your converted file will only have audio in the left channel! Stereo devices appear to have been a luxury item back in the day, so the vast majority of VHS machines available in my country only have a mono input and output. I wrote to Elgato's support over a year ago to address this shortcoming, and they wrote back to acknowledge it at the time, but the capture device's drivers haven't been updated in years, so I doubt mono compatibility will be introduced any time soon.

[@tambalas7104]

really good point! as it sucks listening to just one side, mono is actually also best to listen to provided coming. left and right. or set up to one speaker audo.

[@immnotaboutthatlife2086]

The content I didn’t know I needed until you made this video. 😀

[@tombuck]

That’s quite the compliment 😁

[@charloINbiz]

Hi sir, what software did you use to convert? I'm having issue with my conversions. As the video progresses, the audio and video are not in sync. I'm guessing might be from the software I'm using to record.

[@tombuck]

I just used the elgato software recommended with the product and didn’t have any issues 👍

[@mikecleary8307]

Hi. I have the same problem. Just wondering is it due to the new windows 10 update? My school and audio are way out on 5his which is a shame as I have so much to convert. Did you solve the problem or find out anything that can be done to improve the sync? Thank you for your time

[@kannanstudio5217]

Please call [phone] for converting VHS to DVD

[@laurencross3612]

Is there anything I can do if my video player doesn't have the red, white and yellow cable bit?

[@tombuck]

There's likely an adapter you can by for whatever output it does have. It just might require a bit of searching online.

[@jaydenp4975]

Now I just need to find a VCR that actually works. 🤷‍♀️

[@FallenDemon29]

Not sure where you're located, but value village & goodwill usually have alot, you can also find then on Ebay or through locals

[@IWantToMature85]

If you have a VCR then watch the tapes. No need to convert them!

[@FallenDemon29]

@@IWantToMature85 Tapes get worn out over time after watching multiple times, so it's good to convert so you still have those keepsakes

[@savanimay]

@@IWantToMature85 A lot of people convert tapes to archive and preserve media that may otherwise be lost.

[@assholecritic7466]

It's best to get the VCR with HiFi stereo.

[@velodus]

Thank you, I found this video really helpful! I can 1000% relate to the anxiety you talked about too, that feeling of OMG I have to do this or else I'm going to lose all of these precious memories forever - which is why I finally felt compelled to get this done too.

[@tombuck]

It's definitely worth the effort! I think it took about 6 months of off-and-on work to get everything done, but it's so nice to have them saved and also easily available to share with family and stuff.

[@snowball9366]

I've been using a different program than the one you are. When I plug it in, I can see the video and record it no problem, but the tracking is really bad. My VHS player has automatic tracking. I've tried the same tape and player on the TV, and it's fine. But not when it's on the computer. Does anyone have any ideas? (I'm converting VHS tapes and the program I'm using is called Kworld (the only brand my local store stocked))

[@fussanchez2716]

What device are you using? You can probably find some software solutions online (I wouldn't physically buy software if I were you--there's plenty of free stuff online). I'm not an expert by any means, but you can search forums or just google online and you'll be sure to come across a fix. Hope this helps :) !

[@shasha6221]

So I did a test, since I record but still using laptop for other stuff. Last night I set it to record and stop at 4h 15 min This morning I check it recorded 4:15

[@kannanstudio5217]

Please call [phone] for converting VHS to DVD

[@DeirdreDeans-ng9bc]

Thank you for sharing this , I've been wanting to do this for years. Today I am going to purchase mine from Amazon

[@tombuck]

It’s a time consuming but worthwhile project for sure.

[@VoyageOne1]

Video8 was based on Beta protocol, not VHS :)

[@palladin331]

I need to convert S-VHS tapes. Please advise what converter to use if the one on your video only does regular VHS tapes. Thank you!

[@tombuck]

This one has an svhs connector in addition to the rca plugs.

[@palladin331]

@@tombuck Thank you so much for the info!

[@carlosjr8642]

Extremely helpful. Thank you. I'm trying to surprise my wife by doing this for her.

[@tombuck]

What an awesome gift! Good luck 👍

[@IWantToMature85]

Why not keep the tapes? Nothing is wrong with them.

[@oliwier000b]

@@IWantToMature85 stop posting comments like that. The tapes are gonna degrade and what do you think: -you will be able to watch them -or they're broken and unwatchable?

[@VK-qf4qi]

Have you tried to do this procedure with elgato cam link 4k ; i have an hv30 dv cam with hdmi out and i have much dv and hdv tapes to transfer but what i dont know is that if i can upscale the signal during convertion from dv 720x576 interlaced to something progressive or higher resolution video file. Although i dont know what type of video files it creates and with what codec;

[@tombuck]

I haven’t tried with the cam link, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work. You could just do all the recording in an app like OBS.