How to Transfer VCR Tapes to a PC
Videotapes can wear out and become brittle with age, increasing the risk a VCR will eat the tape and destroy valuable memories. Image and sound quality also deteriorate over time. By transferring VCR tapes to a PC, the contents can be preserved in a long-lasting digital format. Once stored on the PC, the converted recordings can also be copied to a DVD, which will free up memory space on the computer's hard drive and create portable videos on disc. An analog-to-digital converter box is needed for this recording project.
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Things You'll Need
- Composite AV cables
- Analog-to-digital converter box
- USB cable
- PC with video recording software and free USB port
Instructions
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1
Connect the VCR to the converter box using a set of composite AV cables. Plug the yellow cable into the VCR's Video OUT or Playback jack, and connect the white and red cables to the left and right Audio OUT jacks, respectively. The other ends of the cables connect to the Input jacks on the converter box, using the same color codes.
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Connect the converter box to the computer using a USB cable, typically supplied with the converter. The plug can be connected to any free USB port on the computer.
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3
Turn on all the components and open the video recording software on the computer by double-clicking the name of the program.
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4
Load a videocassette into the VCR and press "Play" if the tape does not start automatically.
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Click the "Record" button on the computer's video recording software to begin capturing the digitally converted videotape. Click "Stop" when finished.
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Click the "File" tab at the top of the recording software and select "Save," then type a name for the new digital video file and click the "Save" button.
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Tips & Warnings
Plan to reserve about 10 gigabytes of hard drive space for each hour of videotape transferred to the PC. Burning the files to a DVD is a good idea to avoid filling up the computer's hard drive quickly with digital recordings.
Do not connect the components to the electricity until the AV cables are hooked up.
