Tech Question

[Greg Hadley]

Can anyone tell me a cheap, easy way to get my VHS tapes onto my computer? Apparently it is much more involved than I initially thought. I went into Radio Shack tonight and the lad working there gave me a few options, both of which ran over $120 for hardware/software. Is there another method of capturing VHS onto your computer with minimal hardware/software?

Thanks

[Alex Klotz]

You could film the VHS with a digital camera, although that would really degrade quality.

[Joshua Davis]

If you don't have a capture device, it won't happen.

But on the bright side, if you get a capture device you can also plug it into your cable box and record your favorite episodes of World's Strongest Man for your personal viewing.

[Paul Rogers]

This is about as cheap as its gonna get, and if your memories are worth it, 90.00$ is nothing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815144025

The key is to retain as much quality as possible, and if you haven't watched these tapes in a while you might be surprised at how much they have degraded over the years.

That product is the easiest and cheapest (as far as I know) out there and it also lets you do what Josh suggested with your 'personal viewing' :P

And the how to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NGm2aeYsBA&feature=related

Have fun!

[Kevin Jones]

depending on what you are trying to do - if you just want to make DVD's out of your old VHS stuff buy a DVD player/recorder for $100 and simply record direct from a vcr - and avoid the computer altogether
If you want to edit, you could then take the DVD and rip it onto the computer using Handbrake or some other free software
Either way - $100 or so is probably unavoidable