this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023
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Hiya, pretty much the title. I have a dozen tapes I want to backup before age takes its toll. My basic idea after watching some videos online is to buy a hardware based upscaler that can interface with my vcr then throw that signal to a video capture card and record on my computer. I'll go with name brands to avoid problems but is that really the best method? I want to avoid sending them to a service since it will cost more than just buying the hardware in the first place and I got time to kill.

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[โ€“] bestusername@aussie.zone 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

I did this last year for a bunch of family videos.

I bought an used VHS/HDD/DVD combo, recorded the VHS to HDD to DVD, then used my PC to rip those DVD to MKV and chucked them on my NAS for access/backup.

Quality is fine compared to the originals.

[โ€“] davefischer@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Are there any VHS decks that will allow digital transfer without writing a DVD?

Edit: Found it! There are MiniDV / SVHS combo decks with digital out via firewire. Pricey though.

[โ€“] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

Yes. Just get an RCA to USB adapter and use software to capture the video as it's playing on the VCR.

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