hi i'm totally new to transferring vhs(pal) 2 dvd. i know that for dvd there are plenty of free software progs for ripping dvd's there appears to be none for vhs 2 dvd. can anyone help me out on this please? the other issue is i'm not sure what all progs i need to transfer there is so much jargon that i cant get my head round is there some simple softwrae progs that i couls use? and would this compress and do away with copyright etc etc? this is a nightmare for me. and being retired i cant go into the hundreds of pounds (UK£) to get mega progs hope someone can help me out? Not sure whther this is even the correct place to ask these questions. but hopefully someone might pick it up thanks grawick (newbie)
One of the first things you need to understand is that vhs is an anolog source whereas dvd is digital. That's why software only solutions work when one has a source of dvd he wants to transfer to another dvd. Vhs on the other hand needs a conversion to digital BEFORE a computer knows what to do with it. Thus the need for some form of computer hardware/software to handle the conversion and use. One can't simply plug his vcr into a computer without passing that signal thru a Anolog to Digital (A/D) conversion. If that clears things up for you then your search begins on what device to use. Here is a good starting point-http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/110821
You are going to have to purchase some sort of A-D device (Hardware). Once you have decided which one, there's probably free software to deal with it. Being a true cheapskate myself, the cheapest method is a "soft" capture card. Look here: http://www.pricewatch.dealtime.co.uk/xPP-Input_Adapters-capture-price_range_10_40 Read the fine print on each carefully, as you DO need a fairly fast computer to use these types of devices. If you choose something like the Asus TV/FM card (only £25), there are at least 5 different capturing apps that I know of to work with that card, and are free. It also comes with a fairly decent bit of software that will do what you want. This method is extremely time consuming, but cheap. If you want faster, with the same quality, (and your computer isn't up to the task of the previous bunch), then you should buy a hardware mpeg-2encoder card. These can run £100 and up, but save you between 10 and 40 hours of work, for each 2 hour video. If you want the best quality, then purchase a TBC. These run about the same as a hardware card, but have no TV tuner, and require a Firewire port on your computer. These also will take the same amount of time as the first bunch, because each captured video must be encoded to mpeg-2 before you can author it to dvd. There's a very long discussion of the methods and terminology involved here: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/163609 Hope this helps
hello all you geniuses - less than genius here needs your help. i bought a liteon dvd recorder to copy over all my old purchased vhs movies, but still can't record. when i try, the recording stops after just a few seconds and the message "content protected" appears. i've tried placing the play on pause and then hitting record but it didn't work. i've read all the posts here and am a bit ashamed to say that they are over my head! although i'm sure they seem quite simple to all of you guys. most seem to talk about copying onto a computer, which i'm not. and something about some card, which i don't understand and something about some software, which i don't have or understand exactly what the heck to run on since i'm not using a computer... see what i mean? i just want to go down to my local san francisco fry's electronics store and buy the darn equipment that i need to get this darn thing done once and for all. can you please tell me exactly what to buy? what is it called? a black box or a clarifier or cleaner or whatever other words i've seen on these boards is not helpful to me. i need a name, a model, a type, any accessories listed. i'm really great at painting but apparently ridiculously challenged when it comes to technology - so i'm hoping some of you are phenomenal coaches and can compensate for my inadequacies by precise instructions ! also - will this set up work on ALL kinds of protections? or are they all pretty much the same? i ask because some of these movies are very, very old kids fairy tale movies - not sure macrovision even existed back then. will love you guys forever if you can help me do this! blessings, angel
