How To Digitize VHS Tapes

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Don't jeopardize your memories. Learn how to preserve your old home movies by digitizing your VHS tapes.

To complete this How-To you will need:

A capture card
A computer with movie-making software
A VCR
RCA cables
An external hard drive

Step 1: Purchase an external or internal capture card

Purchase a capture card. Internal capture cards are installed into the hardware of the computer; external cards plug into the computer via the FireWire or USB ports.

Step 2: Install the capture card

Install or attach the capture card to your computer.

Step 3: Attach the VCR

Connect the VCR to the capture card with the RCA cables.

Step 4: Insert tape

Insert the VHS tape into the VCR.

Step 5: Open movie-making program

Open the movie-making program on your computer.

Step 6: Capture video

Open the capture feature of the video-making program, and capture the footage by pressing play on the VCR and record in the capture window.

Tip: Capture the best footage by capturing only what you will use later.

Step 7: Store footage

Store your footage to your computer, or to an external drive, since video files take up a lot of computer space.

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Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• HotHowTos
• digitizing
• vhs
• tapes
• video
• cassettes
• videocassettes
• transfering
• computer
• files

[TheElectricDreamer93]

Man, I miss VHS tapes

[gaveintothedarkness]

howcast finally made something useful!

now i can preserve all my por...er home movies!

[TheQedqubit]

i did this years ago but the vhs copy-protection caused a black bar

across the captured footage.

special hardware required.

can this be software-circumvented nowadays ???

[Ramirezofficial1]

Can You Do This On Windows Movie Maker?

[JamieTateJamieTate]

@Adelbert1309 They're using Final Cut Pro. It's a $1,000 program for Macs. It's not necessary to use such hi end software especially with such a poor quality capture device like they had.

iMovie (or what ever the PC equivalent is) will do fine.

[noemistephanie93]

wow I can't believe its been 3 years since we had vhs tapes!

[Adelbert1309]

what movie making software did they used?

[OdeToNecrophilia]

Are you kidding? I just threw out a box of VHS

[Shippingshit]

Can't I just do this with my DVD+R / VHS player?

[GeekNerdDweeb]

That'd be awesome. lol.

[strilight]

next is how to blurayerize your dvds