If you are looking to copy your old VHS video tapes to DVD, there are a lot of very simple methods available for you to choose from. Depending upon the method that you choose, however, you will need to know up-front that you need to either invest your time, your money or have a lot of patience.Most people who wish to copy VHS to DVD will use an Analog to Digital or A/D converter device. You can find an A/D converter built-in to some combination DVD/VHS devices, but there are other options available as well, including USB computer devices. If all this sounds a little too high-tech to you, you can simply hire a service that will handle the entire copying process for you.
The quickest and easiest solution for copying home movies from VHS to DVD, however, is that combination DVD/VHS box that was mentioned earlier. These devices pretty much take the guesswork out of transferring your movies, allowing you to start playing a VHS movie and record it directly to the DVD - it really is that simple. Unfortunately, if you need to do any editing or want to customize the finished DVD, this method is not the best choice.
If your home movies have all those static and white noise segments between video footage on your VHS tape, you will see the same result on your DVD, because there is no way to edit it out. If the DVD/VHS player is a commercial machine, it is also very likely that you will not be able to copy any old feature VHS movies to DVD.
The USB type of computer converters allow you to hook up with a connector that has the Composite Video jack that you will see on the back of your VCR and a USB connector on the other end. All you need to do then is to plug the USB into your computer and the other end into your VCR.
A software program is included that will allow you to record the VHS video onto your computer hard drive. Then you use the software editor to edit or enhance the video recording, enabling you to create a cleaner finished product. Once you complete all of your edits and revisions to your video, you can then copy it over to a DVD.
Depending upon the product that you purchase, some of these devices come with some very advanced editing software which will allow you to add titles, special effects, voice overs and even remove unwanted sections of video from the finished product. Unlike paying for a service to do these tasks for you, the cost in this method is measured in the amount of time you invest in editing and copying.
Voice overs, titles and other special effects are really cool, but if you are trying to just copy your VHS video to DVD quickly, you'll probably want to skip this step. The more effects you want to do, the more resources and power you'll want to have on your computer so you can keep the video and audio in sync, yielding a much better quality video than you probably had on the original VHS tape. Another benefit to using these types of programs is that they usually have the ability to copy feature movie VHS tapes because of the way they record the audio and video channels.
If you just don't want to mess with copying these tapes or don't want to purchase a new device or software program, you can elect to take your tapes to a VHS to DVD service, which can be found pretty much anywhere you process regular photo film. Services for copying VHS tapes to DVD can cost between $10-25 per video tape, of course with additional charges added for any extra services or for extra long tapes. In the long run, hiring a service will cost you the most per tape, but you won't need to invest any time into copying or spend any money on copying devices.
Before you think about taking your feature or commercial VHS tapes to these services, know ahead of time that most of them will refuse to copy these types of tapes.Source
