Current:Home > ScamsHow to convert VHS to digital: Bring your old tapes into the modern tech age -FundGuru
How to convert VHS to digital: Bring your old tapes into the modern tech age
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-06 20:00:43
I cleaned out a cabinet a few years ago and found a stack of old Super 8 tapes. I’ll never forget the way Mom’s face lit up after I digitized videos of her late brother Harold Jr.’s wedding. Tragically, he died in a car accident a week after his wedding day.
Win a new iPhone 16 (up to $1,500 value)!Enter now and good luck!
Memories like those are precious, but when was the last time you watched your old family videos? If they’re on VHS, it can be a pain. Even worse, every year that goes by, those tapes degrade just a little more.
Satish from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, called my national radio show for help digitizing old tapes, and I figured he wasn’t the only one.
Go the DIY route
To convert your VHS tapes to digital, you'll need a VCR or VHS camcorder. If you don’t have one, try eBay, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, or another local sales platform. You’ll also need to transfer your VHS recordings in real time, so set aside a few hours, if you can.
After that, you’ve really got two options:
Option 1: Get a converter like this option from Elgato that digitizes video onto a computer. Plug it into your USB port, then connect your analog video source (VCR, DVD player, DVR, or camcorder) using the included cables. The software bundled with your converter will guide you through the process.
Option 2: Try a handheld video-to-digital converter. You don’t need to use a computer or any software. Connect it to your video source, and insert a USB drive or SD card into the converter. Hit the “Record” button and watch your movies get digitized in real time on the LCD screen. Sweet!
Have someone do it for you
Costco, Walgreens and Walmart all convert tapes, with prices starting around $20 a pop. Not bad. They’ll take VHS footage and put it on a DVD for you, and they’ll give you a digital copy, too.
You can also try a service that specializes in this stuff. They’re more expensive for sure.
◾ iMemories: Starts at $29.99 per VHS tape.
◾ Legacybox: Starts at $60; the starter pack includes up to two tapes or 50 photos. (Score, I just spotted a 50% off sale on their website!)
◾ Capture: Starts at $29.99 per tape.
Getting this all done takes time
It helps to do it in baby steps. Gather your tapes, get the gear you need, or figure out the service you want to use. I put old digitized videos up on YouTube with a private link. This way, I can share that link with family and friends.
Bonus: Don’t forget old photos
I’ve scanned a lot of pics in my day, but I love this quick and easy method when you want to digitize a print that’s hung in someone’s house.
Google’s PhotoScan is a free app for iOS and Android that scans your photos multiple times, and then stitches all the images together to remove glare and improve the final quality. The app works on matte and gloss prints and photos inside or outside albums.
Here’s how it works: Snap one image, then take four additional shots according to the app’s instructions. PhotoScan uses an algorithm to detect and crop the photo, automatically detect the edge, correct the rotation, and correct the perspective to show a frontal view.
◾ Open the PhotoScan app and hold your phone above a photo.
◾ Tap the capture button to take pictures, which will save to your device.
◾ Move your phone around to get the circle over each of the four dots.
◾ After the photo is processed, tap the photo thumbnail.
◾ Select a photo to rotate, adjust the corners, or delete.
You can then use Google Photos to store and organize your scans. From there, you can edit your images and share them with others. So simple!
The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY. Learn about all the latest technology on the Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Mississippi residents are preparing for possible river flooding
- Go Inside the Love Lives of Stranger Things Stars
- Coachella 2023: See Shawn Mendes, Ariana Madix and More Stars Take Over the Music Festival
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- The U.K. breaks its record for highest temperature as the heat builds
- The Arctic is heating up nearly four times faster than the whole planet, study finds
- It Cosmetics Flash Deal: Get $156 Worth of Products for Just $69
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- With record-breaking heat, zoos are finding ways to keep their animals cool
Ranking
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- It's Texas' hottest summer ever. Can the electric grid handle people turning up AC?
- Netflix Apologizes After Love Is Blind Live Reunion Is Delayed
- North West Makes Surprise Appearance Onstage at Katy Perry Concert in Las Vegas
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- The spending bill will cut emissions, but marginalized groups feel they were sold out
- The U.S. Forest Service is taking emergency action to save sequoias from wildfires
- It Cosmetics Flash Deal: Get $156 Worth of Products for Just $69
Recommendation
Intellectuals vs. The Internet
The spending bill will cut emissions, but marginalized groups feel they were sold out
Amazon Shoppers Say These Best-Selling Cleaning Products Saved Them Time & Money
Gisele Bündchen Shares Message About Growth After Tom Brady Divorce
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
California wildfires prompt evacuations as a heat wave bakes the West
A cataclysmic flood is coming for California. Climate change makes it more likely.
Opinion: Life hacks from India on how to stay cool (without an air conditioner)