| When preserving your favorite movies or | | | | that allows input from another source. You |
| memories, the standard used to be VHS video | | | | simply connect your VCR by cable to the DVD |
| tapes. But with the advancement of DVD | | | | recorder. Then while the video plays, it is |
| technology, the advantages of DVDs proved to | | | | also recording. If you choose this option, |
| outweigh those of VCR tapes. Video tapes can | | | | consider purchasing a video processor called |
| wear out over time, becoming bent, damaged or | | | | a proc amp or a time base corrector. These |
| dirty. The cassette casings are vulnerable to | | | | devices stabilize and improve the quality of |
| damage as well, rendering the tape inside | | | | the analog video as it is fed to the DVD |
| useless. Storage is easier with DVDs since | | | | recorder and can greatly improve the |
| they take up less space than videos. Not to | | | | resulting images that you get on the DVD. |
| mention the quality of picture and sound is | | | | |
| higher on DVDs. | | | | * The second option is to purchase a |
| | | | combination DVD/VCR recorder. It does the |
| So the question becomes, how do I convert my | | | | same thing as the previous option without |
| video tapes to DVDs in order to preserve them | | | | needing to connect any cables. If you are |
| for my future enjoyment? There are several | | | | planning to copy a lot of videos, it is worth |
| options. First, you could use a VHS to DVD | | | | your time and effort to find out what kind of |
| conversion service that will do the transfer | | | | processing the machine does to the analog |
| for you. However, if you have a great deal of | | | | signal from the video tape before it converts |
| videos to convert, over time you'll save | | | | it to the digital signal that gets recorded |
| money by doing the conversions yourself in | | | | in DVD format. You want the best possible |
| the convenience of your home. | | | | result that you can get. |
| | | | |
| The computer savvy among us will use their | | | | If you do the conversion yourself, always |
| computer to transfer their videos to DVD. It | | | | follow the manufacturer's instructions to |
| requires copying the video to a digital file | | | | ensure you capture the video appropriately. |
| on the computer using an analog converter. | | | | Make sure that you have cleaned the heads of |
| The file gets compressed into MPEG-2 format | | | | the VCR between copying videos. Old tapes |
| before being burned onto a DVD. This method | | | | carry a lot of dust or other particles that |
| takes some time, but it does allow you to | | | | can clog up your VCR. And since you are |
| make changes to the video, like special | | | | copying directly from the video to the DVD, |
| effects or music, before you burn it to the | | | | whatever picture quality issues you have with |
| DVD. Depending on the burning software that | | | | the video will appear on the DVD. Understand |
| you use, you might be able to add a menu or | | | | that if you have videos which are recorded at |
| other special features. However, the process | | | | SLP (6 hours of video on a tape) you will not |
| can be quite slow because you have to | | | | get the same quality of recording onto a DVD |
| transfer the file twice: first from the video | | | | as if the video was recorded at SP (2 hours |
| to the computer and then again from the | | | | of video on a tape). If you find the quality |
| computer to the DVD. | | | | is not acceptable for you, consider changing |
| | | | your method of converting videos to DVD. |
| So in order to save time and effort, you can | | | | However, for many people, the time and energy |
| copy the tapes to a DVD without the use of a | | | | saved in converting the videos on their own |
| computer. There are two ways to do this: | | | | will outweigh any concerns over video |
| | | | quality. |
| * The first involves buying a DVD recorder | | | | |