# how do you convert a VCR tape into a DVD



## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

what do i need my computer can burn DVDs
I need to know what to purchase and any tips on the process( step by step)
I have the computer and the VCR I just need to know how to get the tape on to my hard drive so I can burn the dvd

speak plain english I'm not a computer tecky person

thanks


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Bob, I am no computer expert. I have heard good things about an external drive that can be hooked up to your computer that is called Dazzle.....I would think you caould search that on the web. I also know that sony makes a completely self contained unit that can do the same thing without the computer hook up. I had seen it at the local best buy here. I opted to go with a computer, I needed anew one anyway, That I could hook up an analog camera to. now I just need to sit and work with the damn thing and see if I can figure it out. I have done some rudimentary dvd's of my daughters gymnastics program and haven't even spent that much time on it yet. Good luck, It is fun but frustrating!!!!!


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## ND_RC (Jan 6, 2005)

I don't do much video editing with my PC.

If your vcr has an s-video out and your video card in your pc has the s-video in, I don't think you would need any other piece of hardware.

Your camcorder may also have a s-video out. My Sony Digital Handycam does.

You will still need video capturing software.

I also have Dazzle.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Hi Bob

There are many different ways to accomplish this. I'll give you an example of one way I know of that is not too difficult. I might breeze over portions of this. If there is something in here that you need explained further, let me know. I gathered much of this information from several different website sources, and tried to piece it all together with steps and pictures.....

Ok...first you will need to find/rent/obtain a digital camcorder. Ensure that is has analog inputs. If yours does, it's a snap to transfer the video. Just pop an analog tape into your VCR and connect its outputs to the digital camcorder's analog inputs. Next, plug the camcorder into the PC's firewire port.

When you're ready to capture, set the camcorder to playback mode and press the Play button on the VCR. The video will go from the VCR to the camcorder, where it'll pass through the IEEE 1394 cable into the PC. If you start your video capture software and begin recording, you can capture the entire tape in digital format on your PC's hard disk.

*Checklist for connecting your Camcorder to your PC *

To connect your Camcorder to your Windows PC, you must have the following things:

1. A FireWire Port on your PC

2. Latest version of Microsoft © DirectX

3. Appropriate connecting cables (usually bundled with the Camcorder package)

*FireWire Port *

A Fire Wire Port (also known as IEEE 1394) is a slot which allows users to connect Digital Video Camcorders and other peripheral devices to their PCs, and transfer videos or other data at high speeds. The performance of FireWire ports is much better than USB 2.0. Most Digital Camcorders also have a USB 2.0 connection, but the USB connection cannot be used to capture the video. It is used to capture the photo snaps taken by the Camcorder.

To add a FireWire port to your desktop PC, you need to purchase a PCI FireWire card, while for laptops you would need a PCMCIA FireWire card. These cards can be bought at your neighborhood computer hardware store and are inexpensive.

The FireWire cards need to be inserted into your PC's PCI slots. Once the card is inserted into a PCI slot, Windows XP automatically detects it using DirectX and then installs it. For older Windows Operating Systems, you might have to use the installation disk that is usually bundled with the FireWire card.

*Microsoft © DirectX ©*

DirectX is a Windows technology that enables higher performance in graphics and sound when watching video on your PC. You should have Direct X installed on your Windows PC for the FireWire Port to function properly with your Digital Camcorder.

To learn more about the latest version of Direct X and to download it, you may visit the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx

*Connecting Cables*










FireWire cables are of two types - 4 pin and 6 pin.

The FireWire port on the PC usually has 6 pins. Two pins are for providing power to FireWire compliant devices like printers, scanners, external memory etc. A Digital Camcorder' FireWire port (usually called DV out, i.Link) has 4 pins usually as it is powered separately. This means that in most cases you would need a FireWire Connecting cable with 4 pins (for DV out of Camcorder see image above) on one end and 6 pins at the other end for your PC.

*Connecting your Camcorder to your PC *

Physically connecting your Camcorder to your Windows PC having a FireWire port is easy. Plug in the IEEE 1394 connecting cable to the PC and the Camcorder. It is a recommended practice to turn on the camcorder only after making the connections. Power on the Camcorder, it should be detected by Windows XP automatically.










*TROUBLE SHOOTING *
Many Camcorder users have faced problems while connecting their camcorder to their PC. One of the most common problems is "no activity" after connecting the camcorder to the PC. The found new hardware wizard does not run and fails to detect the camcorder. This can mean two things. Either the DV port on the Camcorder is not working or the FireWire cable is faulty. Try using a different FireWire cable. If the camera is still not detected by the PC, try connecting it to a different PC. If the Camcorder is still not detected, then your camcorders DV port is most likely at fault.

*Confirming that the FireWire Port on you PC is working fine *

You can check the status of the FireWire port from under Device Manager. To access the Device Manager, Right Click on My Computer and then click on Properties. Select the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager. If you cannot see the FireWire port in the list, then it is not inserted properly into the motherboard. If you see a Yellow exclamation mark, then you need to install the drivers, which are usually bundled with a Floppy or CD with the FireWire card.

Its important to note that video processing in general uses lots of a computer's CPU power and moves tons of data on and off the hard disk. There are two different places where you will most feel the benefits of a fast machine and the sluggishness of a slow one:

When you render a movie that you have created or write it out to hard disk, you will definitely feel the speed of the machine. On a fast machine, rendering and writing can take minutes. On a slow machine it can take hours. You will learn more about rendering later in this article.

A more important issue comes when you are reading data from or writing data to the camera. When the video data stream is coming in from the camera through the FireWire cable, the computer and hard disk must be able to keep up with the camera or the computer will lose frames. When sending a completed movie back to the camera, the processor must be able to stream the data quickly enough or the camera will lose frames.

I have one Pentium 3 machine running at 500 MHz, with 512 MB of RAM and a decent 20-GB hard drive. It is right on the edge of being able to handle the data stream from the FireWire connection. It can not handle it if any other applications (like an e-mail program) are running. A Pentium 4 machine or a late-model Mac with 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM and a big hard disk is a nice machine to have when you are rendering and writing files.

Finally, now that the video is on your PC, all you need is some DVD production software to finish the job. DVD software can help you break the video into chapters, add menus at the beginning of the disc, and write the whole video to a recordable DVD using your PC's DVD-R drive.

Dazzle as mentioned earlier is one of many different products that you can use to edit the video.

You can also look at Adobe's software and try a free trial version to work with some of the best software made.

http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/ ... product=98

Good Luck!

Ryan

.


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Or you could just get a DVD recorder and plug the output of your VCR into the input of the recorder.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

thanks I will try to digest this and let you know if I have more questions

I have tons of tapes of my kids when the were little that I want to update to the dvd format.

Sorry I didn't thank you guys right away I forgot to look at this forum after I posted the question.

If I want to do a lot of tapes without modifying them would it be easier to just but a dvd recorder as DAK suggested.

What are the pros an cons of each method? Keep it simple I'm a computer dunce 

thanks


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Bob,

I was in the same boat you are...wanting to convert a lot of VHS tapes to DVD. The VCR to recorder method really worked out well for me. I could do other things while the process was going on...including work on my computer...or just watch the videos. I could even set up the timer function so the process would stop when I wanted it to. It also let me edit out commercials or things that I didn't want transferred to the DVD. The nicest thing for me was I didn't end up buying any new computer goodies that I would probably never use again. Once my transfer work was done, I still have a DVD recorder that I can use to "tape" TV shows or just play DVDs. It also let me upgrade from an older DVD player that I had gotten several years ago. Have fun...the storage space saved is unbelievable.


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## faithsdave (Jan 8, 2004)

Bob, I too was in the same boat. I purchased a LG brand vcr/dvd recorder combo. I can record vcr to dvd, record to just vcr, or record direct to dvd. Have done several of the home movies and some tv shows to dvd. Plus, only one machine is a big space saver. I can also connect a digital camera, movie cameras, and it even has a card reader for sd and compact flash cards. I saved $150 by getting from Ebay vs Best Buy here in Fargo.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

thanks guys is LG short for a brand or is it a type?

I have a follow up question
If I want to edit recordings or do voice overs. I've been thinking about doing some training tapes ( I have a sony digital camcorder, my wife and kids use it ) for some of my salesmen and customers

Does this have to be done on the computer??


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## faithsdave (Jan 8, 2004)

LG is a name brand. They make top of the line electronics: DVD players/recorders, cell phones, televisions, ect.


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Bob,

I've never worked with a camcorder so I'm just not sure.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Bobm said:


> I have a follow up question
> If I want to edit recordings or do voice overs. I've been thinking about doing some training tapes ( I have a sony digital camcorder, my wife and kids use it ) for some of my salesmen and customers
> 
> Does this have to be done on the computer??


Hi Bob

Just saw your followup question. Do you not want to do it from the computer? The easiest way for me is to use a microphone that's connected to the computer, and when editing the dvd using the above mentioned software, to voice over the video.

Do you not want to do this while it is in the computer? Are you trying to accomplish that while hooked into the DVR?

Ryan


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## ReKooH (Jan 10, 2006)

Alright The easyest way to do this is go and By the Dazzle Capture card Package Youl get a captur card that yyou can hook your VCR right too it then install the "Instant DVD Recorder" then load the program and put you DVD in your Drive and PLay it back ANd you have your movie transpered... (You can buy this Package at Best Buy)

Second Question: You Wanna Edit the movie right? like take sections out and things like that? Well if so Just hook every ting up like before and Open up Windows Movie Maker. They have a easy Step by Step Showing you how to get the video on your computer (Capturing) and how to edit and add Sound and music and EVen pictures this is Very Dumbed down ad is good for a Newbie To Video Editing


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## jezebelus (Apr 11, 2007)

I used to do this with audio input on my sound card. Just connect two chinches to VCR (if you wanna stereo output) joining in one cable which go to audio in hole on the sound card. Then choose Stereo mix as your recording device and play your VCR while using sound forge or some similar software to record. Sound quality is great, believe me I do this all the time.


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

Good info guys thanks for sharing. I am just starting this process myself it is a real learning process.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

I wanted to post a follow up here. I purchased a Pinnacle program a few months back and have been working with it for about a month now. I actually made my first DVD off of it. I made a DVD with some music and it really turned out pretty cool for a first timer. If you have a media center computer and want to do this with either analog or digital media, pinnacle is a really cool program for that. If I can figure it out, anyone can!!!


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

spam for creating websites deleted.


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