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copy old VHS movies to DVD

Choptop posted 2009 Nov 05 21:37

My old VHS machine died and when I went to find a new one I found they were getting scarce. I have a bunch of store bought movies on VHS. Can these be put to DVD or is it not worth the effort? I looked through the guides but nothing jumped out at me for converting them, any sugestions?

guns1inger posted 2009 Nov 05 21:49

You would have to get a TBC or intermediate devise to remove the likely copy protection on the tapes. Unless you cannot get them on DVD, I wouldn't bother for commercial tapes. Personal tapes are a different matter, as these are unique, but most VHS material is now available on DVD if you look for it.

aedipuss posted 2009 Nov 05 21:51

if it were me and i already owned a vhs copy of the movie i might be tempted to rent it on dvd and make a digital copy from that. it may stretch "fair use" to the limit but no one would know.

Webster posted 2009 Nov 05 21:55

Choptop : My old VHS machine died and when I went to find a new one I found they were getting scarce. I have a bunch of store bought movies on VHS. Can these be put to DVD or is it not worth the effort? I looked through the guides but nothing jumped out at me for converting them, any sugestions? If you have lot of free time on your hand, you may try this guide: http://vhs-to-dvd.janvesely.com/ Personally, I wouldn't even bother. You could always pick up a used VHS machine on Ebay cheap....

lordsmurf posted 2009 Nov 05 22:11

Webster : http://vhs-to-dvd.janvesely.com/. That guide HAS MAJOR ISSUES and you'll make awful crap DVDs by using it. Double deinterlace for best quality? WTF? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEVER DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :evil: I can make DVDs look better than the tapes did, most people settle for making a DVD look the same or slightly worse, but that guide makes DVDs that look way worse. Yuck!!!!!!!!!

sambat posted 2009 Nov 06 04:54

I found that the majority of my commercial tapes didn't have any protection on them - the ones that did were Disney and a few others; an el cheapo, 1980's vintage 'Stabilizer' took care of them. The quality was the same as the source, ie it looked like VHS - but a movie that you could watch then, you could still watch now. It's no different from a piece of music recorded on vinyl in the Thirties;if it's great music it will still tear your heart out.

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