Things You'll Need:
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Step 1
I don’t know about you, but I have TONS of home videos of my kids and other important family events on good ol’ VHS tape. Just a few short years ago, this was the preferred medium for these irreplaceable treasures. But today, one is hard pressed to find a VCR that still works! So what’s a person to do to preserve these electronic memories?
Put them on DVD.
Easier said than done, right? Not necessarily. Many people think that they have to somehow get their videos into their computer to be able to transfer them to DVD. This isn’t true. In fact, skipping the computer transfer makes the job MUCH easier and less time consuming. To transfer your old videotaped home movies to DVD, you will need four things: a VCR that works, a tabletop DVD recorder, cables to connect them together, and a TV to check them on.
The DVD recorder is probably the only thing you’ll have to purchase. Chances are that you have all of other items already. DVD recorders have come down significantly in price over the past couple of years. I just did a quick search on the ‘net and found quite a few between $100 and $200 brand new. Not bad, especially considering you can also use it to record your favorite TV shows and movies and you can use it as a DVD player.
There are also many VHS-DVD combo units out there. Sounds like a good idea (no wires, no connections to make, one piece unit, etc) but in my opinion they’re not worth it. I have worked in media and television for many years and I still have a difficulty figuring out the combo units sometimes. Sometimes too much convenience can be a bad thing. You can give it a try if you want but I don’t recommend it.
On to doing it my way.
Once you have your DVD recorder, a VCR, and a TV, you’ll need to get your cables together. This is where most folks throw up their hands and say “forget it!” Really, it’s pretty simple. Most consumer level equipment uses RCA connectors (see image).
Typically the red and white cables carry audio and the yellow carries video. You can actually use whichever color you like for each of them but the description above is pretty standard now. You’ll need a set like these to make it simple. If you have to buy them, fear not….they’re cheap. -
Step 2
Now the hookup. Remember this: ‘Outs’ ALWAYS go to ‘Ins’ and vice versa. You’ll see what I mean.
Place the VCR and the DVD recorder side-by-side on a table and plug them into an outlet. Put the TV next to (or close to) the DVD recorder and plug it in as well (ok, you may need a power strip here). Look at the back of the VCR and DVD recorder with your RCA cables in hand. On the VCR you will see a bunch of female RCA connectors. They will be labeled. Find the one labeled Video Out and put one end of the yellow RCA cable into it. Then find the Audio Out connectors. There will be two of them…one labeled Left and the other labeled Right. Connect your red and white RCA cables to those. (Usually we put the red one on the ‘right’ connector but you don’t have to if you’re the rebellious type.)
{NOTE: If there’s only one audio out (some VCR’s are like that), go to an electronics store and get a “Y’ connector. They’re cheap. You need one that has one male and two female connectors (see image) . If you ask the person there for it, they will know what you mean. Print this section out and take it to them if you need to. -
Step 3
Just plug in the male end into the Audio Out on the VCR and then plug your red and white RCA cables onto the other end of the Y splitter and you’re back on track.}
Now, on the back of the DVD recorder, find Video In and connect the other end of your yellow cable on it. Do the same with your red and white cables by connecting them to the Audio In jacks.
Last connection step: Use a standard coax cable (see image) to connect the RF Out (sometimes labeled “Out To TV”) on the DVD recorder to the TV. It’s a screw-on connection unlike the push-on RCA’s. You’ll see it. -
Step 4
Connections done! Now to test it!
Turn on the VCR, DVD recorder, and TV. Make sure the TV is on channel 3. Put a tape into the VCR and hit Play (make sure you’re using a tape that has something on it!). If you’re REALLY lucky, you’ll get picture and sound on the TV immediately but chances are you’re going to have to ‘fiddle with it’ a bit. Leave the VCR playing and find out how to change inputs on the DVD recorder. Sometimes there’s an input selector on the machine itself and sometimes it’s on the remote. Unfortunately they’re all different so I can’t tell you exactly what to do there. You’re going to have to look it up in the manual or just play with it until you get it. If you look on the back of the DVD recorder where you made the connections you may see an additional label that tells you the name of the input (usually something like AUX1, INPUT 3, L2, or something like that). Choose the right one on your input selector. Once you get picture and sound from the VCR to show up on the TV you know you have it set up correctly. -
Step 5
Now to transfer your precious home movies to DVD.
Put the videotape into the VCR but don’t hit Play yet. Make sure it’s rewound completely. Put a DVD-R into the DVD recorder. You can get these most anywhere. Give it a few seconds to get ready (it has to try to read it, figure out what it is, etc). Typically a DVD will hold about 1.5-2hrs of video on SP speed. Some have settings like LP, XP and EP (like a VCR) that will allow you to put more on it at a reduced quality. Again you’ll have to consult your manual on this. Now…the moment you’ve been waiting for…..press RECORD on the DVD recorder and then press PLAY on the VCR. You should see picture and hear sound on the TV. That means it’s passing through the DVD recorder and is being recorded! Now kick back, relax and enjoy the show!
Almost done…..
When the show is over, hit STOP on the DVD recorder and the VCR. The DVD recorder will tell you to wait a minute (I guess it needs to catch its breath or something). Once the on-screen display goes away, you will need to ‘finalize’ the disc. This makes it ready to play in other machines. Again, this function is in a different place on all machines so you’ll have to look it up in the manual. Do what the manual says and you will be fine.
That’s it! Take your newly transferred digital memories to another DVD player and make sure all is well. Be sure to label the disc. Nothing worse than going to all that trouble and then misplacing the disc. It happens. Still looking for my wedding video…….
Enjoy.
