How to Transfer Old
Video Tapes to DVD
By
J.P. Regalado
courtesy B&H PhotoVideo
When Jenny's 1st birthday party has been
attacked by dust bunnies, and the
wood-paneled VCR eats your Grand Canyon
vacation, it's time to resurrect your dusty
stacks of VHS tapes and convert them into a
few, sleek DVD's.
Fortunately, high prices and intimidating
learning curves have been replaced by
cost-effective, user-friendly editing
solutions. Features previously available to
professional editors only are now in the
hands of the everyday consumer. Even with
the most basic video-editing software and
hardware, you can convert analog tapes to a
variety of digital formats easily, including
DVD.
There are two basic methods to capture VHS
to DVD:
1. with a stand-alone DVD recorder/player;
2. Capture, edit, export, and author to DVD
with a computer and video-editing software.
For either method, you'll need a solid VHS
Player for playback and output. If your VCR
is of the wood-paneled variety, consider an
upgrade to a VCR that supports composite
outputs (yellow, red, and white connectors),
or better yet, S-Video (one multi-pinned
connector).
Method 1 – VHS to DVD, Quick and Simple
The fastest, easiest
way to transfer VHS to DVD is with a
standalone DVD recorder, like
Sony's DVDirect MC5
Multi-Function DVD Recorder.
With this option, you don't need a computer.
Just hook up your VCR deck directly to the
DVD recorder, pop in a VHS tape and press
record on the DVD recorder. A built-in LCD
monitor allows you to preview the videos as
they record. Direct VHS-to-DVD recording,
however, doesn't allow you to edit the
video. If you want to edit your video before
burning to DVD, read on.
Method 2 – Flexible Video-Editing Option
Have Aunt Suzy and Uncle Gary's exhaustive
slide shows made you see ZZZZ's behind your
drooping eyelids?
Edit out the ZZZZ's and flubs, and focus
instead on the highlights of your vacation.
Although video editing is more labor
intensive and requires a little more
technical know-how, its flexible options
allow you to engage your audience with
dynamic transitions, pyrotechnic special
effects, and a killer soundtrack to keep the
snoozers alert and engaged.
A computer loaded with
basic non-linear editing software, DVD
authoring software, and a DVD burner is
essential. Entry-level editing software such
as Apple iMovie,
Adobe Premiere
Elements,
or
Pinnacle Studio
will do just fine. We'll use iMovie and iDVD
to demonstrate, but the same concepts can be
used on PC-based video editing and
DVD-authoring programs.
Essential Equipment
 |
|
RCA Composite Cables
|
•VCR and cables: use the best VCR and cables
you can get your hands on. Comprehensive
manufactures a slew of high-quality cables
to ensure high-quality video image transfer
and better-sounding audio.
•Analog to DV converter box: This box
converts the VHS analog signal to a digital
signal that your computer will be able to
recognize and convert to a digital file.
Alternatively, some Mini DV cameras can be
used as a digital/analog converter, by
routing your VCR through a camcorder. Make
sure the camera is set to "Pass Through"
mode.
•An external/internal hard drive dedicated
solely to video files: Keep your software
applications separate from your video and
media files. Using the same hard drive for
both software applications and media files
can slow down or confuse your computer.
Your old VCR is hungry and dirty
Old VCR's like to eat tapes, so here are a
few precautionary measures to take to ensure
that your memories aren't digested by tape
heads.
•Pop a dummy tape into the VCR first to make
certain your VCR doesn't eat an
irreplaceable tape.
•If your tapes have been in a humid attic or
dungeon, let them sit at room temperature to
acclimate.
•Fast-forward the VHS tape all the way, then
rewind it all the way. The tape might have
loosened up over the years. Doing this first
ensures that the tape is taut, preventing
your hungry VCR from snacking on it.
•Clean the tape heads.
Regardless of what software package you
choose, 4 basic steps are involved:
1. Capturing (digitizing) footage into the
computer
2. Editing your video clips
3. Exporting video for delivery
4. Authoring the DVD
1. Capturing
(digitizing) or importing your footage
A video editing program is similar to a
video recorder. You're basically recording
analog VHS footage into a digital file that
the editing program can use. For this
article, we will be using Apple iMovie.
• Connect your VCR with cables according to
the following schemes:
VCR → Digital/Analog Converter → Computer
VCR → Digital Camcorder → Computer
Test your hardware-software connection. Your
video-editing program should be "online" and
recognize the VCR or camera connection. Cue
the VHS tape up to start point.
Now you are ready to import your footage
into the computer.
Open the "Import From" window by clicking on
the video camera icon and choose the
analog-to-DV converter or camera from the
drop-down menu in the bottom left corner.
Click "Capture" to start capture.
iMovie will prompt you to save your video
clips to a specific hard drive. Make sure
your disk has enough available storage
space. Create a new Event, (for example
"Jenny's 1st b-day") in the "Create new
Event" field. Click "OK" to begin capture.
Leave a couple of minutes of buffer before
hitting play on your VCR. When you're
finished recording a clip, click "Stop." The
clip is automatically added to the iMovie
library. When you're finished all recording,
click "Done."
Alternatively, you can dub your VHS tape
directly to a mini-DV camcorder. Then import
from the mini-DV tape directly to the
"Import From" window.
iMovie has a 9-minute capture limit. If you
let your tape run longer than 9 minutes,
iMovie will automatically create a new clip.
Be mindful of this for continuity. An
interview or scene, for example, might get
cut prematurely.
2. Edit your
video clips.
Here's where you can let your creativity
shine. Build your movie from the ground up
with drag-and-drop simplicity. iMovie '08
significantly revamped its interface for
easy access to video clips, audio, and
photos.
Move captured clips from the Event Library
to the timeline. Skim quickly through your
video clips frame by frame, and cut out the
fat by trimming your clips. Add a soundtrack
from your iTunes music collection, still
photos from iPhoto, sound effects,
transitions, and titles.
3. Export your
video clips to a compact format for DVD
authoring.
Exporting video will incorporate transitions
into a compact file facilitating DVD
authoring, at the appropriate resolution.
• Click "Share" > Export Movie
• Give your movie a name in the "Export As"
window
• Choose an export size. "Medium" resolution
(640x360) should suffice.
• Click "Export."
4. Author DVD –
Bring into iDVD
Authoring a DVD is another opportunity to
let your imagination run wild. Choose from
10 new widescreen animated themes, or design
your own. Go to the "Movies" tab to access
your finished movie, then simply drag and
drop it into a "drop zone."
Build your DVD further by adding media from
Audio, Photos, and Movies tab in the top
right corner. Under the file menu, click
"Burn DVD", pop in a DVD and your project's
done!
An even easier option is to use iDVD's Magic
iDVD. Simply choose a theme, drop movies
into the wells underneath "Drop Movies Here"
and iDVD will make the DVD menu for you.
Click "Burn" and you're done.
Conclusion
In just a few hours, you've finally shaken
the dust off of those VHS tapes, converted
them to compact DVD's, and taken a walk down
memory lane. Your home movies will no longer
be relegated to that cardboard box in the
attic. Jenny's first birthday can be saved
for posterity, and easily shared with
Grandma and Grandpa across the country. Now
you can focus on memories instead of fishing
footage out of your tape-eating VCR.
