# tech help? VHS tapes to memory stick?



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

I know i can go google this subject, but I've found i can get some good advice from some knowledgable tech people here in the forum.
Ok ..I'd like to transfer all my old VHS home movies onto memory sticks, or flash drive...whatever you call them...?
I have a vhs-to-dvd recorder machine, which i've used in the past, but my kids say even DVDs are old school now! im thinking i might have to transfer the tapes to dvds first, then use my computer to rip the dvds to flashdrives??
can anyone advise me if there is an easier no-cost way put the VHS tapes onto memory sticks?
what are the steps? hopefully id like to avoid buying any equipment or paying somewhere to do it.
thanks in advance?


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

You’d need the software, cables and interface card to hook up the AV output to your computer. You don’t need to burn to DVD first, you’d save the video to the hard disk and then transfer it to any storage device you’d want. 

I believe there are AV to USB cables, as to the software, there are several out there. 

It will be slow since you need to play the entire video to import it. 

Personally, I’d just take them to costco and have it done, they aren’t expensive.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

FWIW....I called costco. they only do transfers from vhs to Dvd, not to USBK....I can do that myself with my machine...
but here's the kicker....when i asked why they dont do it to usbs, which is more " up to date" the girl said yes, they get asked that alot.
the reason is USBs apparently only have a shelf life of about 10 years, before the corrupt or wharever...
never heard of that before?
also, they charge $28 per each 2-hour VHS tape!!! yikes!


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

The direct path you're looking for is a "TV tuner" card. Probably available as a USB gadget as well (I haven't kept up recently). Ideally one with composite video input (typically yellow RCA cable/plug) which should be slightly better than RF input where the video is encoded on a TV channel. Then you can hook up your VHS directly to your computer, play on the tape and record digitally. Assuming no funky analog "copy protection" scheme (IIRC some tapes had bogus signal outside the screen to mess with the automatic gain control of recorders further down the line).

Given you already have the vhs to dvd machine, that seems like a more reasonable option. And then you can rip the movies you really want to watch to flash drives if you must.

With that said, I don't think it's worth it unless you have movies which can no longer be bought. You'll end up with video of crappy quality for a lot of work. Many old movies can be found on DVD really cheap. But hey, it's your time to spend.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

thankd..BTW... as mentioned, these are old "home movies" - the kids' birtday parties, concerts, christmastime etc etc etc.
Not "hollywood movie" movies &#55357;&#56898;


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm also concerned with home movies on VHS. Trying to look ahead a few years, what's the best format to put them into?

This is an archival problem. What's a good, robust long term storage method for these. Our old VHS machine is broken and doesn't even work, but we have a pile of home movies on VHS. I think the Costco option is pretty good, but wondering what other service might exist out there.

I think it's the same question as jargey and I also haven't found a good solution.


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## off.by.10 (Mar 16, 2014)

jargey3000 said:


> thankd..BTW... as mentioned, these are old "home movies" - the kids' birtday parties, concerts, christmastime etc etc etc.
> Not "hollywood movie" movies ��


Ahhh sorry, for some reason I equated home movies with the stuff we used to rent at the video store.

In that case, I'd go for DVD as a starting point as you already have the machine. DVDs will last a good while if stored properly (in that same cool, dry place with no sunlight everything wants to be stored). If you're worried, you can duplicate them every 5-10 years with far less effort than the initial VHS transfer.

For long term archival, I would suggest two copies on external USB hard drives (the cheaper spinning kind). Not because they're the best medium (though they're not bad at all) but because they make it trivial to create a new copy every 5-10 years. And to keep one in a safe location which is not your home.


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

I bought one of these...

https://www.siig.com/it-products/multimedia/video-capture/usb-2-0-video-capture-device.html

a long time ago. I converted lots of VHS family videos that my dad had made. I stored the result on a network assessable hard drive ( NAS ) that is backed up on a regular basis. The NAS has a feature to stream media to any device that supports the DLNA standard, so we can view the videos on smart TVs, tablets, etc. If a relative wants a copy, I burn a DVD for them.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

yes, User...i stumbled across these things when googling...now, if I only knew what DLNA was...:tongue:


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

jargey3000 said:


> ...now, if I only knew what DLNA was...:tongue:



Sometimes the inner geek sneaks past the editor.

Well, at least I spelled out what a "NAS" was - saved you some google time there.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

:smiley_simmons::smiley_simmons:

(BTW ..."NAS", when googled , turned up "Network Attached Storage" mostly....same thing?)


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

jargey3000 said:


> :smiley_simmons::smiley_simmons:
> 
> (BTW ..."NAS", when googled , turned up "Network Attached Storage" mostly....same thing?)


Same thing; I've seen it said both ways. To say "attached" makes me think of directly wired, whereas "accessible" extends that meaning to a wider area network like the Internet in which case it's not really "attached" to the internet, per se, but is accessible from it.

In any case it's storage that is typically not contained inside a specific computer - (although one could create a 'share' on a computer and refer to that as a NAS) - and is accessable to any device on the network. They're generally sold as stand-alone boxes with or without a HD ( add your own ), and usually have more functions than just simply storage... like media servers ( mine serves Apple iTunes and DLNA protocols ).

But back to your original question... I don't know if there's a free way to do the conversion, unless you just happen to have a graphics card with a composite video input. These small USB devices are cheap because they don't handle high definition sources like component video (RGB) or HDMI. Still, if you're only ever going to use it one time, then maybe not worth the cost to purchase. For me, in addition to digitizing VHS tapes, I've used mine to take over 100 old vinyl LPs and make MP3 digital music files from them. Once you have any media source converted to digital, you can move the file between Hard Disks, USB, and CD/DVD with no loss of quality. Unlike the old days when each copy was less quality than the original.

Hey, here's an idea... play the VHS tape to a TV, then use a smartphone to record the video; just try to hold the phone really still for a couple hours and keep the dog quiet. :cocksure:


Back in H.S. in the 60's, my cousin used to record music for our rock band to learn by putting a microphone in front of the radio with a reel-to-reel tape recorder. I remember on one such tape the doorbell rang , his dog started barking, and he swore a blue streak. When we practiced that song, someone would go "ding dong", another would bark, the third start swearing, and everyone laughed. See what fun we miss these days because of technology - that could never happen today.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

hahaha.....there's a bob dylan song out there somewhere - with a dog barking- dog just wandered in , during the recording...bob decided to just leave it in....(mighta been neil young.? ....no, i think it was bob...)
must go google it...


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

jargey3000 said:


> ... but here's the kicker....when i asked why they dont do it to usbs, which is more " up to date" the girl said yes, they get asked that alot.
> 
> the reason is USBs apparently only have a shelf life of about 10 years, before the corrupt or wharever...
> never heard of that before?


YMMV ... I had one cheap one corrupt in less than two years. Articles on the subject say the amount of reading/writing will shorten the life span.

Bottom line is that if it is irreplaceable and/or not easily duplicated, multiple copies and possibly media are probably a good idea.

https://www.ricksdailytips.com/how-long-will-flash-drive-retain-data/
https://www.integralmemory.com/faq/how-long-will-data-stay-valid-usb-drive
https://askbobrankin.com/how_long_do_flash_drives_last.html


I can remember back in the day when there were some who felt mislead that CDs would last forever when they don't.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cds-truth-cddvd-longevity-mold-rot/


Cheers


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