Recommended Posts

Started digitizing my old VHS tapes, recording them to the computer via a Elgato video capture device. Once recorded, I'll edit unwated bits like trailers and FBI warning, then burn them to DVD, just hope many of the VHS tapes are still playable.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't bet, if they've got damp or dusty

Link to post
Share on other sites

All my tapes have been kept dry and out of dust.

The Cowboy's is the one recording now, from the window, it looks in fine condition.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Resolution of vhs is so low by today's standards it looks awful fuzzy on a flat screen tv.

Broxtowelad. How do you plan to do the transfer? I projected mine on a small screen to get them nice and bright. Zoomed in with the video camera, then edited the recorded footage in a video editing progam. You can even add background music if you want. Results were not too bad. If the projector speed is adjustable you might have to speed it up or slow it down just a bit to get rid of any flicker.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have dozens of them and still play them from time to time as I have kept the old Video Recorder.......I will never throw any of them away..........

Link to post
Share on other sites

Resolution of vhs is so low by today's standards it looks awful fuzzy on a flat screen tv.

Broxtowelad. How do you plan to do the transfer? I projected mine on a small screen to get them nice and bright. Zoomed in with the video camera, then edited the recorded footage in a video editing progam. You can even add background music if you want. Results were not too bad. If the projector speed is adjustable you might have to speed it up or slow it down just a bit to get rid of any flicker.

That's how I was thinking of doing the job. I know that you can send the films away to be transferred professionally,but the costs are a bit steep and so I thought that I would give it a go.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Blondie, they won't last forever, same with your VCR, parts are getting hard to come by and there are less companies making VHS machines now. That's the reason I'm digitising them to burn onto DVD's.

Yes Dave, by todays standards they are poor at side of hi def recordings. But "The Cowboys" looks pretty good on the big TV, I checked it a couple hours back. Now recording Prime Suspect3. Tape 2.

Link to post
Share on other sites

#10, you can get film transfer "projectors" that don't cost a fortune, well worth the cost if you are transferring a lot of film to digital. You could also make it pay for itself by digitizing other peoples films for them at a reasonable cost??

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

A few years ago we got a recording machine that will record onto an internal hard drive (HDD), a DVD or a VHS tape. It also has the facilities for copying things you have recorded from one medium to another. We have a collection of VHS tapes collected over the years with recordings of TV programmes and some of the tapes have been recorded over and over. I am in the process of going through them, binning a lot and putting some aside to copy onto DVD for personal use. There are films I had forgotten I recorded: Far from the madding crowd, Braveheart and Gandi. I had one very sad moment when I found an old recording of a 1987 episode of Prisoner Cell Block H. Back then I discovered that my mum was sitting up to watch this programme when it was broadcast at 3.00 in the morning. This was happening 3 times a week! I started to record them and she would come over and spend an afternoon watching 3 hours of Cell Block H. Mum said it was better as she could fast forward through the adverts. There is now a new version of this called Wentworth. I cannot watch it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have dozens of them and still play them from time to time as I have kept the old Video Recorder.......I will never throw any of them away..........

Ditto....I have two TVs with integral tape players which means I always have something to watch whenever Virgins cable goes down for any reason.

Link to post
Share on other sites

#7

When I said I "got rid" of all my stuff on tape I did not throw them away I gave them to a charity shop & I have no regrets.

P.S. I now have no means of playing anything on tape.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Somewhere I have some Philips Video 2000 tapes from 1985. One has a young mick2me featured in a TV program.

It would be worth seeing what is on these if I could get my hands on a working player?

Link to post
Share on other sites

bilboroughshirley #13, my mum loved to watch Shaka Zulu, watched every episode then i had to get recording on old tape machine, i found it difficult to watch it after she passed on, now i sit down, every couple of months, put her facourite cushion at side of me and when a good part comes on i chat to the cushion, as if she was sitting on it, weird at first but after a time was very good for me.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

You can still get VHS players Mick, but your best bet locating one is the internet off companies like Amazon, chances of seeing one in a "brick and mortar" store are extremely rare now.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I still have a (180 blank) tape bought from Eddys on Alfreton Road in the early days...still got the label on £7.50 I reckon thats about 20 odd quid in todays money...they certainly dropped a hell of a lot in later years. Typical rip off when something is new.

And Mick....I have a recorder that worked fine when last used if you can be bothered to come pick it up.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Never heard of those Mick, you could be "up the creek without a paddle" on that one then.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm quite surprised at how high the quality is of the tapes I've so far transferred to my computer, I set the settings to hi res, I know it's impossible to get hi res from a VHS tape as there isn't enough data. But the videos are near top quality on my large screen TV.

I did have one problem, I loaded a copy of the recording of "The Cowboys" onto a memory card, as for some odd reason, my computer won't read any of my external hard drives.

On playing that movie on the TV, it went totally out of sync, video/soundtrack....Looked odd seeing a lady speaking Lee J Roscoes lines......

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...