How To Convert VHS to DVD

This post is in response to a reader question about converting old home movies from VHS tape to DVD format. The reader had lots of memories encapsulated in tape and wanted to know how to convert VHS to DVD so she could preserve them forever and still watch them when she wanted to. TechJunkie is always happy to help, so here is how to convert VHS to DVD.

As DVD is now also legacy tech, I will also cover how to convert media to MP4 digital format.

VHS (Video Home System) video was introduced in the early 1970s but didn’t arrive in the States until 1977. The format used a large tape cassette with Mylar tape inside. The tape could record around four hours of content (E-180 tape). It could also overwrite recordings so tapes could be used multiple times. VHS was gradually replaced with DVD during the late 1990s.

As VHS uses tape, the recordings will degrade over time so converting convert VHS to DVD makes perfect sense. Not only are VCRs, (Video Cassette Recorders, the machines that play VHS tapes) no longer manufactured, DVDs do not degrade so will store media for much longer as long as they don’t get scratched.

Convert VHS to DVD

If you need to convert VHS to DVD, you have three options. There are professional services that will do it, you can connect a VCR to a DVD recorder or you can connect a VCR to your computer.

Professional VHS conversion

Much like companies would develop 35mm camera film and send you an envelope with the pictures, you can have a professional convert VHS to DVD for you. The services cost money and take a few days but you send the VHS tape or take it to a store, the conversion is done for you and you receive the tape and a DVD copy of its contents.

The downside is that if you don’t have such a service in your city, you have to trust your tape to the post or courier and to a service provider you never see.

Connecting a VCR to DVD

Later model VCRs had composite connectors that allowed it to integrate into a home cinema or connect to professional video editing equipment. If you have access to a VCR and a DVD recorder, you can connect the two using this composite connection.

You will need to use the yellow composite connector and the red and white audio connectors. Connect the three between the VCR and DVD recorder, set composite as the source if necessary on your DVD recorder and set it to record. Play the VHS tape and it should be transferred to disk. Different DVD recorders work slightly differently but that is roughly how you go about getting it to work.

Connecting a VCR to PC

My suggestion would be to record the VHS tape digitally on your computer first. You will need a video capture card with composite connections which cost around $49. There are also analog to digital converter boxes if you don’t want to use a PCI card. They achieve the same goal.

This is a bit of an investment, but if you have multiple VHS tapes or precious memories, it is an investment well worth making. Most cards come with drivers and the software necessary to use the composite feed. The software will usually encode the analog signal into digital and then you can convert it to MP4 or burn it to DVD depending on your needs.

The advantage of converting VHS on a computer is that you have flexibility in the format you use and can make multiple copies of the tape. The disadvantage is the initial investment and the fact that it takes a long time.

Whether you connect VCR to DVD recorder or to PC, analog to digital conversion is done in real time. That means if you have a full E180 tape, that’s four hours of waiting around for the conversion to complete. Plus, all of your computer resources will be required for the conversion so you will need to go and do something else for a while.

Most recording software will do the heavy lifting for you. It will configure the VHS feed, offer multiple format options and manage the conversion and/or recording. Some will also offer to burn the media to DVD while you can use other DVD authoring software should you wish.

It is quite straightforward to convert VHS to DVD but it does take investment in time and a bit of money. It is a worthwhile process if you have home movies or treasured memories caught on tape as that tape will not last forever!