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Why not make the OP aware of the possibility before she spends money for poor quality someplace that might not refund her money? I'll take thecoalmans advice.
Because this is a topic I'm very familiar with, good VCR decks are expensive. Mid range ones in the $400+ range is where you'd want to start for a service like this. Even when they were available it is not what the big services used and the issue arises now they are no longer available even if they wanted to use them. If you're looking for deck now you have tweo choices, cheap combo unit or one the costs thousands. Same thing applies to the recorder which mostly revolves around the quality of the encoding chip.
Good quality conversions are hard to achieve, although it doesn't apply here it's particularly true when dealing with home video because it's rarely shot from a tripod. Even under ideal circumstances with good equipment VHS is inherently noisy and if it's home video you can throw in all that movement. Going directly to MPEG plays havoc with the encoding.
And you are ass-u-ming that I know nothing about this topic?
My advice to the OP stands as I said it since I know it will work.
My advice to the OP stands as I said it since I know it will work.
??? Besides the quality issues If they are commercial tapes there is a 99% chance they will have copy protection on them. Even if they would copy them with the exception of a few specific and very limited pieces of equipment it won't work. For most recording devices you need additional hardware that is only going to be available from services provided by a pro who will be charging $$$ for their services. A TBC can be used but that's not it's primary function, removal of copy protection is just a side effect. They start around $500.
If these are commercial tapes they will be copy protected and without the right equipment you will be unable to make copies.
Thank you, I thought so. My friend is an old movie buff. I'll bet he made VCR copies of old movies from Turner Classics & transferred those to DVD.
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Having said that do you own a mini-DV camcorder or other digital camcorder? If you do some have what is called passthrough, it's one of the better ways to convert analog VCR tapes to digital. If you have one check your manual or post the model and I'll look it up.
Thank you for your offer to help. No camcorder. I'm a ludite when it comes to technology. I bought my first & only 12" b/w TV/VCR combo 30-yrs ago. With no cable, I used it to watch tapes occasionally. It usually just resided in the back of a closet with my kitty sleeping on it. It broke while moving one time... froze in the back of my car & went out in a puff of smoke when thawed out & plugged in. That's my 1st & only TV... can't see the need for another... especially since I no longer have a kitty to make use of it.
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As far as playing DVD's dual monitors is another option if your video card supports it.
I don't own an extra monitor & since I use my laptop portably in my home, I'd have to lug around a monitor to watch movies, too.
So, I'll just hang onto the VCR tapes for now & forget about transferring them... maybe I'll just sell them online. So, thank you. You helped me scratch that idea of needing a converter/recorder or whatever they're called.
If I buy one of the cheaper laptops to use mainly for DVD playing, are my chances of burning it out greater because it's running hours/day? I don't mind having 2, for backup purposes & I like to leave one stationary & drag the other with me outdoors.
I watch a lot of foreign film & need the subtitles, so a portable DVD player with screen never works for me unless I hold it as close as reading a book. Geesh... the cheapest solution is probably to buy a TV/DVD combo so at least I can see movies. The Coby I bought my mum is nice & light, too, with a flat screen.
Thanks so much, Coal... I do appreciate your input (no pun intended)!
??? Besides the quality issues If they are commercial tapes there is a 99% chance they will have copy protection on them. Even if they would copy them with the exception of a few specific and very limited pieces of equipment it won't work. For most recording devices you need additional hardware that is only going to be available from services provided by a pro who will be charging $$$ for their services. A TBC can be used but that's not it's primary function, removal of copy protection is just a side effect. They start around $500.
Yes, you & Tek are correct on this, Coal... I checked into tape transfer maybe 10-yrs ago. I don't recall costs but several labs did say they'd "try" to copy protected tapes & if it didn't work, I'd still have to pay for time. Others said they'd check to see if they were protected (saying if they were commercially purchased, they no doubt were) & they wouldn't touch them.
I did search around online after that to find workarounds for copyright protection... I don't recall if the instructions were deleting numbers, overwriting or erasing them... I'm not tech savvy enough to begin with & just don't recall. I didn't want to take the chance of screwing up my original tape... I'm just smart enough to know don't try to fix something you know nothing about.
No worries & no matter, they are wanted on Ebay for more than I paid for them & I could just buy a VCR if I wanted... but, then I'd need to buy a TV, too. I think I'll just sit on the tapes for awhile. As for the other question, either a small portable DVD player with a 7" screen will have to suffice or I'll spring for a TV/DVD player.
You've been very helpful, Coal. I appreciate it!
By the way, Tek, thanks for the Costco info. I'm sure there's one around here & maybe I could just have them take a look at my tapes to give me a few ideas. I'm not a member, but I'm sure they'd tell me if something can be done. Still, it's not a big issue... watching current DVDs is my quandry at the moment. Thanks!
thanks for the Costco info. I'm sure there's one around here & maybe I could just have them take a look at my tapes to give me a few ideas. I'm not a member, but I'm sure they'd tell me if something can be done.
The WalMart photo lab offers this service, too. I have had DVDs created from camcorder tapes at both Costco and WalMart. The end products and pricing were similar, but Costco provides 2 finished DVDs, while WalMart provides just 1.
Neither does the service on-site. They both send your tapes off somewhere, possibly out of the country, and everything returns to the store in about a month. Since you mentioned going to the store for detailed advice, I thought you should be aware that the folks you talk to won't be doing the work.
The WalMart photo lab offers this service, too. I have had DVDs created from camcorder tapes at both Costco and WalMart. The end products and pricing were similar, but Costco provides 2 finished DVDs, while WalMart provides just 1.
Okay, thank you. Something else to check into because I do know where a WalMart is in this area. I may encounter the CR protection problem still... as they are commercial DVDs & also from the UK... however, they play fine on an American VCR player, if I'm saying that the correct way.
If you don't mind my asking, how much did your DVDs conversion cost?
I did search around online after that to find workarounds for copyright protection... I don't recall if the instructions were deleting numbers, overwriting or erasing them... I'm not tech savvy enough to begin with & just don't recall. I didn't want to take the chance of screwing up my original tape... I'm just smart enough to know don't try to fix something you know nothing about.
The copy protection on commercial tapes is just an error inserted into the video stream that originally took advantage of the limitations of the recording feature or early VCR's. The VCR manufactureres left this in place, I beleive it was mandated into in law. Most computer capture cards that this would not effect in any way will detect this error and make the recording unusable. Any deck is going to adhere to this, you either need a device that will ignore it or need to place a TBC or other device that will strip this out before it gets to the recording device. In the case of a VCR/DVD combo unit they are completely useless for this task.
There is nothing you can do yourself without the correct hardware.
also from the UK... however, they play fine on an American VCR player, if I'm saying that the correct way.
If they are from the UK they are PAL and the US system is NTSC, this opens up whole other can of worms. If the VCR you have now works you got lucky, most are not compatible with PAL and even some that are still require a PAL TV.
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