Video tape to digital format

Is there a way to convert video tape into an mpeg type format and if so what are the best and what are the cheapest methods?

 

Most digital camcorders have rca inputs. Put the tape in your vcr and play it to the digital camcorder while recording with it. Then, transfer to your PC via firewire or USB if you have software that supports it.

Alternativly, I know Pinnacle makes a device you can hook rca inputs to and go into a usb to your computer. Their software records the input and you can put it in any format you wish and edit it if need be.

 

That sounds like some fantastic advice mdvaldosta and the fact that it can be done makes me very happy lol

I'll probably get back to you soon with more questions if thats alright?

 

Or you could just use a service...

VHS to DVD

 

There are a bunch of products out there to bring video into your PC. I have a matrox RTX-100 and it's a lot of fun whenever I have the time to play with it.

There are products accross all price ranges - from $40 to about $2000 depending on quality, bundled software, and features.

videoguys.com has a lot of good info on there if you poke around a little bit. Not the most navigable site, but they know their stuff and have decent pricing to boot.

As long as you have a decent amount of memory on your PC you should be OK. I've pulled in video's via firewire onto an old pentium laptop with 1gb of ram and edited it.

If it's just a one tape, one time thing - use a service. It might cost more than a cheapo video adapter, but the quality will make a difference. It'll also save you a lot of time and headache. Editing on a PC isn't like those Mac commercials where you can roll out your laptop, listen to your iPod, and by the end of your flight have a kick-ass video. On windows, the commercial would involve a 7 day cruise instead of a flight, there would be a lot of kicking and swearing, the guy would be a little more bald at the end of the cruise, and there would be a cute little blue animated character named BSOD playing a prominent role reminiscent of the Whammy characters on Press Your Luck.

 

I've just did one 3 weeks ago, plug in the firewire from video cam to my laptop and use the built in windows movie maker to copy the video to my laptop hdd before burning it to dvd

The output from WMM is in avi, if you need to convert the format try going to vcdhelp.com and find the tutorial.

 

Thanks for the wealth of info guys. This really helps!