How to Put VHS Home Movies Onto Your Computer

VCRs are almost impossible to find in stores these days, and when they are found, it is usually attached with a DVD player. Instead of just letting your home videos collect dust or paying hundreds of dollars to have them all converted to DVD, there are simple steps you can take to put your VHS collection on your computer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Working VCR
• Television monitor (optional)
• Up-to-date computer

1. Assemble the equipment you need--the VCR, TV monitor and newer computer. Older computers may not run great and the video could have sound or video delays that could end up ruining the videos.
2. Install a Dazzle DCF150 to your computer by plugging it into a USB port and following the instructions. The best program to use in association with the Dazzle 150 is Movie Star 5. This is a free program that can be found on Dazzle’s website or just by doing a web search.
3. Hook up the VCR and the TV as close to the computer as possible. Make sure you have plenty of outlets and try to use a surge protector.
4. With the Dazzle 150 already plugged into an outlet and USB port, connect the RCA cables to your VCR. You are going to plug in the red, white, and yellow cables into the Input Panel on the Dazzle. On the VCR you are going to plug those three cords into the Video Out or Output panel.
5. Power up your VCR and you should see a blue screen on the TV that it is connected to.
6. Open Movie Star 5, and when the program has fully loaded, click the "Capture" tab in the upper left hand corner. After a few moments of initializing the software, the Movie Star 5 preview screen should be showing the same thing as the TV.
7. If you cannot see the preview on the screen, select the tab that says “Select Device” and choose “DAZZLE150.” Now you should be able to see the preview.
8. Movie Star 5 automatically defaults all of the videos under capture_***, with the * representing which number of clip. If you are planning to upload a lot of different videos, then you can change that title to remain more organized.
9. Click the "Browse" button to the right of the filename listed and a window will pop up. Type the filename you desire and press "OK."
10. Now you are ready to record footage onto your computer. Make sure the tape is set at the point that you want, and try to go back a couple of seconds further if you are not at the beginning of the tape. You can always edit out bad stuff after.
11. Instead of capturing a bunch of different clips all from tape, try capturing it as one clip and then editing later. Setting up the timing and constantly recording and stopping can make your computer run slower and put wear and tear onto the VCR.
12. If your tape is long or if you have other things to do, you can set a time for as long as you would like and the capture will automatically stop. This is very convenient and will help you save hard drive space.
13. Press the "Record" button in the program, wait for the time to start, and then press "Play" on your VCR. Your capture has now begun and if you do not have a time set, then you can just simply press "Stop" on the panel at any time.