VHS Training Tapes

[Glenn]

Way back when, I built up a decent collection of MA training tapes on VHS, mostly from George and Tsunami Video. However my VHS/DVD combo player stopped working almost two years ago and I replaced it with a Blu-Ray player, but that means I will likely never get to view the VHS training tapes again...unless I take them to a service that can copy them to DVD, but then copyright issues arise. Has anyone else also found themselves with a once prized collection of MA tapes that can no longer be viewed?

[gmattson]

I anticipated this problem many years ago and purchased the first vhs - dvd copy machine back in the early 90s. Was able to transfer all my vhs tapes to digital. Many of them are now offered on the uechi store as dvds.

[Yadu Buch]

I anticipated this problem many years ago and purchased the first vhs - dvd copy machine back in the early 90s.

[emattson]

I too have issues with old media - VHS, cassettes, LP. It would be nice to play them on my shiny new stereo system hooked up to my PC. Digitized allows AI software to clean up video and sound; they will always get better. My massive collection of cassettes were converted long ago to WAV and MP3 files. I had to first install and configure Audacity, an open source sound recorder software. I next plugged in the 3.5mm jack from my cassette player to my computer's sound input jack, and start Audacity. It is difficult figuring out how to get the sound working, but once configured, I don't need to do anything more except adjust the volume from the tape player. It can split a single long recording into multiple songs or messages if you wish.

For VHS, Amazon sells many products. One is a video capture card that has VHS and PC USB plugs, but they require software; many complained about quality issues or experience trouble figuring out the software.

ClearClick Video to Digital Converter 3.0 doesn't need software and it come equipped with a screen to see the result. It doesn't even require a computer or DVD to transfer. It records everything to a USB flash drive in MP4 format to later view from a computer. I never used it, but I heard good reviews.

Understand the reluctance of hiring conversion service as they can get very expensive--Kodak's VHS to DVD or digital service charges $35.00 for two items and $300.00 for 20 items. This is good if you have no more than 20 tapes to convert.

Before spending your money, try searching YouTube. You'll be surprised just how much materials are out there.

[emattson]

My VCR telling me that I really need to update my movie collection.