A videotape to digital converter is an excellent way to preserve your old home movies. This archival process allows you to watch your old videos in crisp, high-quality resolutions.
Before you start, make sure your VCR and tapes are in working order. Particles on the tapes can mess up the transfer and dirty heads will cause blemishes in the resulting video.
Analog to Digital Converters
An analog-to-digital converter, also known as an A/D converter, changes a continuously variable analog signal (for example, a voltage or waveform) into a multilevel digital signal that can be represented by bits or binary digits. The number of bits or binary digits that represent this digital output depends on the resolution of the A/D converter.
A/D conversion consists of two main processes: sampling and quantization. Sampling involves recording the amplitude value of an analog signal every T seconds.
In quantization, the continuous set of values is mapped into a smaller set of values using a process called digital filtering. This results in a digital output that approximates the analog signal as closely as possible, though there is always some error or noise involved.
Formats
Video tape to digital converters convert VHS, S-VHS, Betamax, U-Matic, and MiniDV formats. The majority of people no longer own VHS players, so these converters give you the option to watch your tapes on any computer or DVD player that can play these formats.
Another benefit of converting video tapes to digital files is that you can declutter your home of large, bulky videos. Digital files don’t take up as much space as VHS tapes do, and they can be stored on a thumb drive or a file on your computer so you don’t need to store them in a bulky, messy way.
Video conversion is an ideal way to preserve your old video recordings for future generations. These memories should be saved as digital files and backed up locally as well as on the cloud to ensure they’re protected against any future loss.
Getting Started
If you want to convert your VHS tapes into digital files that can be shared with others, you have a few options. You can use a dedicated VHS-to-DVD converter, a combo VHS-to-DVD recorder, or a video capture card.
To get started with any of these methods, you need a few things on hand: a video tape to digital converter, a computer that has enough storage to handle the conversion process and software to process the footage. Once you’ve got all three of these things, the conversion is fairly simple.
For example, a device called the AVerMedia EZMaker 7 will let you digitize your videotapes in a few steps. Just plug the device into a USB port, install its software and start converting your old videotapes to MP4 files that you can store on your computer or upload to a cloud service.
Final Words
The old family home movie collection is no doubt a treasure trove of memories and one of the best ways to keep them alive is to digitize it all and let your children or grandchildren enjoy them on the big screen. With a little luck, patience and a fair bit of know how, you can relive those special moments with the click of a button. Fortunately, there are many products on the market to help you do just that. The best ones will not only convert your old school video tapes to the digital age but also provide you with plenty of options to choose from for viewing and archiving your precious relics. You will want to weigh your choices carefully before making a final decision but rest assured that if you take the time to shop around, you’ll be well on your way to keeping those cherished memories intact for generations to come.
Sophie writes about local history and community stories, emphasizing the people, places, and events that make towns special.
