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what is the cheapest way to convert vhs to dvd-r?

Discussion in 'DVDR' started by hursty, Jan 13, 2005.

  1. hursty

    hursty Active member

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    what kit is required,apart from vcr/dvd recorder(that is not an option)to transfer vhs to dvd
    with regards hursty
     
  2. DjaizDude

    DjaizDude Member

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    You will need a video capture device aka a tv tuner card. Sometimes this functionality is built into the video card. Check your video card specs to see if it supports video capture. If not, an easy solution is to add a tv tuner card. Some are internal PCI cards, other are external devices and connect via USB ports. The Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 is a good internal one. It runs anywhere from $75 - $100 and comes with bundled software. The video will be recorded in MPEG format and can then be burned to DVD.
     
  3. Jerry746

    Jerry746 Senior member

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    If you are transfering purchased VHS movies you will also need some sort of macrovision remover box in the video out line from the VCR to the capture card. The boxes can be purchased from $50. to $100. Just do a search for Macrovision removers.

    Jerry
     
  4. bklyn1028

    bklyn1028 Regular member

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    i just got a Plextor mx402U converter. i have converted about 3 vhs tapes the past week. Home movies that i have made and want to preserve on dvd. It is about as simple as it gets. It is $159 direct from Plextor, as it downloads the tape to your HD, it also converts it at the same time to burn in dvd format, no program is necessary to convert it to mpeg2, it also can convert to mpeg1, or mpeg4 or divx. Neat little unit. Was worth the money to me to save these tapes. Customer svc at Plextor told me not to worry about Macrovision with this.
     
  5. stardust

    stardust Regular member

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    Having a capture card with s-video in, put scart adapter to VCR and switch to output, install s-video and audio cables. If you transfer your own recordings, the cheapest way is to capture AVI by VirtualDub with Huffyuv codec. Then convert avi to mpeg-2 with free AVI2DVD (DVD2SVCD), you need CCE or TMPGEnc for its companion. Ready to burn video_ts folder to dvd.
     
  6. hursty

    hursty Active member

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    cheers for advice
    i will shop around on the net
    regards hursty
     
  7. Jerry746

    Jerry746 Senior member

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    I built my macrovison remover box about 10 years ago when I was doing many VHS copies for my daughter. Just to try something different a while ago, I put it in line between my dvd player line out and a VCR. The DVD movie copied great onto the VHS tape and quality was outstanding for a tape. When I was playing the tape my wife thought I had the dvd playing. Thats sort of going backwards but it does work.

    Jerry
     
  8. DogBomb

    DogBomb Regular member

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    why is DVD recorder not an option? Even the cheapest one for $150 will be better than some video cards that cost alot more. Don't just think you can get a video card and it will handle your job. You need a fast CPU processor, lots of RAM, a big and fast hard drive as well as other things depending on your setup. Believe me, I've tried your method, and it was a costly venture.
     
  9. Jerry746

    Jerry746 Senior member

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    Yes you could use a dvd recorder instead of a PC. You still need the macrovision remover in the video line to remove copy protection from the tape.

    Jerry
     
  10. hursty

    hursty Active member

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    i live in the uk......
    $150........you must be joking
    try £200 in uk......thats around $350
     
  11. Jerry746

    Jerry746 Senior member

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    Here is a link to a macro box that I hear works well. I haven't used it so this is from posts I have read.

    http://www.dimax.com.ua.

    Jerry
     

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