Preserving Memories -Transfer VHS to Digital

A few months ago I decided to clean out my closet and braved pulling all the boxes down that were on the top shelf.

I enjoyed looking through old picture albums and yearbooks from high school and college. I also found many VHS tapes – school plays, graduations, my wedding, even a video of my oldest son’s first year.

Since I was trying to consolidate and downsize at least a little, I started to wonder if there were any good programs out there that would allow me to transfer VHS to digital formats (DVD) that would take up less room and would be easier to file away.

At the time, I didn’t have much luck finding anything that looked promising by being easy-to-use and available at a good price. I ended up finding a company that I was able to send my VHS tapes to and they converted them to DVDs for me.

Trouble was, having them transfer VHS to digital for me was a little pricey so I chose only to do the really important ones rather than all of them. 

Hoarder that I am and my desire to preserve memories, I wasn’t quite ready to get rid of the VHS tapes that I did not convert. I figured I could deal with that problem later. So, I put all the VHS tapes back and forgot about them.

Transfer VHS to Digital

Shortly thereafter, I was given the opportunity to try out VIDBOX Video Conversion Suite which allows you to transfer VHS to digital. I was excited to try it out. 

The VIDBOX box includes a Software Installation CD for both Mac and PC, the USB video capture device, USB cable, RCA to RCA Video/Audio Cable, and a Quick Start Guide.

The only thing you need to provide is the device that can play whatever you are converting. (In my case, a VCR, but you can also convert Beta, 8mm or camcorder tapes.) You also have the option to use a S-Video cable if you prefer (not included.)

How VIDBOX Works to transfer VHS to digital.

Set up to transfer VHS to digital was super easy and only took about 5 minutes. The instructions are very straightforward and easy-to-follow. First you need to install the software on your computer then you need to hook up the USB video capture device to your VCR and computer.

From there, you open up the program on the computer and follow the step-by-step instructions. 

If you are converting a fairly long VHS tape, make sure you allow for the time it will take to run the full tape.

The digital capturing happens in real time. You hit play on the VCR and record on the computer program and then you can see the video playing back on a tiny screen in the program.

If you know how long the video is, you are able to set the amount of time you want it to run to capture the video. It will automatically stop when it runs out of the set time so you are able to walk away and not worry about it.  

But, if you are unsure, I would recommend setting it for longer than you know it is and make sure you keep an eye on it (or turn up the volume and listen for it to end.) This ensures that the end of your digital conversion isn’t a bunch of fuzz once it goes past the actual video.

I made the mistake of starting a school play video late in the evening and because I didn’t know exactly how long the video actually was, it was a late night for me…oops!

Once the video is captured digitally, you have several options for saving. (I used a Mac so these are the options you have for a Mac. I suspect the PC is a bit different.)

You can either save it to a folder on your computer, export it to iTunes and sync with your iOS device including iPad and iPhone, or export it to iMovie where you can edit the recorded video.

VIDBOX also gives you the option to export it to iDVD to burn the recorded video on DVD. Unfortunately, if you are up-to-date on your Mac updates like I am, iDVD is no longer an option. What this means is that when you burn the digital content onto a DVD, you will not be able to view it on a DVD player but only on your computer because of the way that the disk is burned.

I did find a free downloadable application called BURN which allowed me to make a DVD format playable on a DVD player. When doing a little research, Roxio Toast was also suggested. 

While I only tested the product out on a Mac, the reviews on the PC product seem quite comparable. Most people are happy with the product and how user-friendly it is. When comparing the specs between Mac and PC, the main difference that I noticed was that Mac only has an output format of MOV, while the PC has output formats of DVD, MPEG-2 and MP4. 

Features:

• Supports both Windows PC and Mac (there are also versions available for Mac only and PC only)
• Allows you to capture old VHS, Beta, 8 mm or camcorder tapes and convert them to DVD or other digital formats
• Record audio from your cassettes and LP records to create audio CDs
• Great for novice users: Step-by-step pictorial instructions guide you through the process
• Smooth integration with iMovie allows you to easily edit the captured video (for Mac users)

Pros:

• Easy to set-up
• Easy-to-use – each window provides step-by-step instructions
• Allows you to transfer VHS to digital from many different formats – VHS, Beta, 8mm and camcorder

Cons:

• The recording process is long because you transfer in real time (hit play on the VCR and record on VIDBOX)
• iDVD no longer an option on Macs so you are unable to create a DVD that is viewable on a DVD player without a lot of extra work
• I had trouble syncing the video when I exported it to iTunes. I could watch the video in iTunes on my computer but I was unable to find it on my Apple TV and my husband could not find the file with the Family Sharing feature

VIDBOX Video Conversion Suite, allowing you to transfer VHS to digital, is available for purchase via Amazon for $79.99 plus free shipping. It is also available at the VIDBOX website for $89.99.

A Mom’s Perspective

I appreciate how user-friendly VIDBOX is. It was so easy to set up! Just make sure that you allow for the time to run an entire tape when you hit that play button.

While not being able to burn the file to a DVD format playable on a DVD player (I was thinking this would be great as a gift for my mom and in-laws), there are options out there to make this happen…you just have an extra step to deal with.

Preserving memories is important. It is fun to be able to have a night with the whole family and watch old videos – when mom and dad got married, when the kids were little, and school programs. In addition, I recently read that the very last company that has continued to produce VCRs has stopped production.

It is important to make sure that these memories are preserved before you are unable to get your hands on a workable device. With technology continuing to improve you can preserve your memories in a much smaller format, making it easier to pack it away, taking less space. 

*  I was given the VIDBOX Video Conversion Suite to transfer VHS to digital DVD’s for my honest review. All opinions are my own.