Start by plugging everything in: the USB side of the analog converter goes into the computer, and the three plugs go into the VHS player. If you're planning on digitizing a lot of footage, you should also consider transferring it to an external hard drive so as not to max out the built-in storage on your computer.

If you're on a newer laptop you may need to purchase either a separate DVD attachment or a converter that offers an online download option for the software. You'll need a Mac or PC with a DVD drive to install the software. For the purpose of this article, we used the Diamond VC500. There are multiple of options to chose from at different price ranges online or at most electronic stores. Next, you'll need an analog converter for your Mac or PC. If you got rid of it, you can purchase one from your local consignment store or online (a used one on eBay goes for about $30). The first thing you'll need to do is get that old VHS player out of storage. If you'd rather have more control over the process, you still have to spend money - not to mention a lot more time - to do it yourself. You may have gotten rid of those tapes, but then you have to figure out what to do about the pile of DVD's you got back, or how to download the digital content from the cloud-based services. This is the most painless method of doing this, but it's not perfect.Īside from the price, the downside of using this method is that you don't have as much control over the format and storage options. Or you can use an online service like YesVideo and Legacy Box and store them on their cloud.

Costco, Walgreens and Walmart are just a few retail stores that offer this service at their locations or online for about $20 to $35 per tape transferred to DVD.

Vcr to dvd conversion hardware