VHS tapes – Nasty!
DVDs – Eh, not so nasty.
Want to learn how to take those nasty old VHS tapes and convert them to a not-so-nasty DVD format? Well, you’ve come to the right place! (Note: If you don’t like reading, click HERE to go to my video tutorial.)
Step 1: Gather the Materials.
For this project, you’ll need the VHS tapes (max 2 hours each), some DVDs (one DVD per tape), the Roxio Easy VHStoDVD Capture Device & Included Software, a VCR player (if you don’t own one anymore, just pick one up at a thrift store or similar), iMovie, and iDVD.
Step 2: Hook it up.
Connect the Roxio VHS to DVD capture to the VCR player and the computer, using the included cables.
Step 3: Put in the VHS Tape.
Now go ahead and put a VHS tape into the VCR player, and rewind it all the way. Then launch the “Easy VHS to DVD” app on your Mac.
Step 4: Capture.
Now comes the bulk of this project; capturing the tape. After you launch the app, choose the name, duration, and quality. I usually just use the Standard definition. I mean, come on, it’s a VHS tape! How high-quality can you get? After this, press “Continue” and then begin playing the tape on your VCR. If the video and audio are coming through, keep continuing through the steps and then “Start Recording.” If you want, you can check the box to automatically stop recording after a set amount of time; if not, come back to the computer and manually stop the recording when it’s done.
Step 5: iMovie.
Once the tape is finished capturing, it will give you two options: to play in QuickTime or to send to iMovie. The easiest way to go along here is to go through iMovie. So, go ahead and click that option. After it’s finished processing, iMovie will launch and will have created a new event, matching the name of the captured tape. Create a new project and drag this footage in. Make sure the project is set to a 4:3 aspect ratio when you create it, with no theme and no automatic transitions.
Step 6: iDVD.
Now that you have captured and set up an iMovie project, we are ready to go to iDVD and burn it to a disc! Start off by going to Share > iDVD.
Now wait for iDVD to load up. It will look similar to this first picture, but I usually rearrange the buttons to look like the second picture; changing the ‘iMovie’ title to match the tape title, and the white tape title to say ‘Play.’
Now you can change the theme if you want, or go ahead and burn the DVD! You may get a warning about the project being too long; if so, go to Project > Project Info and change the Encoding to “Professional Quality.”
If the project is still too long, you’ll need to go back to iMovie and trim the video down to below 2 hours. If you’re good, go ahead and hit Burn!
Step 7: Um… Reader’s Pick!
Well, there really isn’t a step 7. Just eject your disc after it finished burning, and do with it as you please! Watch it on your computer or TV, give it to a friend, or whatever!
I hope this article helped someone with converting their old VHS tapes to DVD. If it did, please let me know in the comments below!
Adam Bowker 