VHS to Digital: How to Convert Your VHS Tapes
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- Опубликовано: 25 янв 2025
- Looking to convert your VHS tapes to digital? This video will show you exactly how to transfer VHS to digital using the Elgato video capture. This method works for both PC/Windows and Mac and it's easier than you think!
▶ Elgato Video Capture (Amazon): geni.us/frNBB
▶ Elgato Video Capture (Official Site): bit.ly/3qzXORI
▶ VCR Players (Amazon): geni.us/ridYt2n
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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. But don't worry, it doesn't cost you anything extra!
I've been deep diving on converters for about 6 months. Elgato has been touted. But you sold me with your brief but important intro on how you wasted time on garbage. Sometimes in life, technology costs a bit more, but it is worth it. Got my friend's grandmother VHS player yesterday and am ordering Elgato as I write. Good post.
I also bought Elgato and was surprised by the solarisation effects, i.e. in bad shots it was too white and started to turn blue, as you can also see in this video. A cheap 5 bucks converter solved the issue.
I was shocked when the video ended, you didn’t fill it with fluff to make it 10 minutes long, or have a 2 minute intro with flashy graphics and music where you talk about what you are about to talk about. Thanks.
i know i was disappointed too 😂😂
A model of a How To...clear, short and to the point....well done Brandon.
where do you get the software from, does it come with the device?
Let's go Brandon!
I wanted to convert my tapes for years. I watched this last Friday and ordered the converter from Amazon. Had it 5 hours later and have spent a week now easily converting the tapes. For about $90 I get a cubic yard of my home back. Works great.
Take your cell phone and record it. 😮
@@MostBeautifullest how can I recorder with cell phone?
Amazon delivered it in 5 hours?? Wtf how is that possible
How many tapes did u have
I took your suggestion and tried the elgato and it's a world of difference from the cheap crap I tried converting with. This is the first time I actually bought something that someone was plugging and I don't regret it. Thanks.
Thanks!
Thank you so much. I got divorced many years ago. I packed all the VHS home movies. My life was in turmoil for years. Remarried and moved many times. The box of VHS-s was with me, but never opened. I finally unpacked the box and found all the home movies. I want to put them on DVD and your youtube idea is totally helpful! Thank you so much.
This is the BEST video I have found for VHS conversion! Thank you very much for sharing your hard work with the rest of us!
@@scottpyper9102 it is not the best. There are much better out there. Starting with the fact that he is using RCA to capture video instead of the S-video output. The difference in quality between those two outputs is very noticeable.
2:02 Why would you use RCA when you have an S-Video output which has a lot more quality? Does not make any sense.
Exactly!
true - big mistake that author dont use svideo!!!
Because this guy is a shill who is trying to cash out on ignorance. A random $10 capture device will work just fine. All his BS is made up and intended to drive you to click his Amazon affiliate link. The real problem is he lies and says he isn't sponsored - but he has an Amazon link. He's actually toe'ing the line of an FTC complaint because he's lying about his sponsorship.
I see tons of these videos saying "buy this" but none go into what is actually captured. What framerates are supported, what does it do with interlacing? Does it capture a temp file at first and then reencode the in/out bit you set up for the final output? Is there a way to up the bitrate if needed? Can I adjust the video signal while actually watching the image?
I get that this thing is aimed at the fire and forget crowd who wants to just get a capture to their family as easily as possible. But for a more pixelpeeper like me... I am left with so many questions.
And notice the creator did not answer you because he has no clue..
Thanks for bumping this up Tom! Excuse Tom's ignorance, but I get hundreds of comments a day so I only see a handful of alerts to respond. It's tough to stay on top of them. Luckily this happens to be one of them!
You are 100% right, this totally a "I just wanna digital way of viewing VHS tapes" crowd. Someone who is trying to preserve every frame and pixel would be better off with more expensive and professional equipment. The exported frame rate is locked at 29.97fps interlaced. I'm not sure if that is a hardware cap or software. I believe it's hardware. I have seen others bypass the Elgato software and port into Adobe capture products and others, but I don't believe that will bypass the fps. So you will lose frames there!
For the sake of the target audience of this video, I didn't go super deep because for the intended audience, they are looking for an easy solution to digitize tapes whether for family or for their own RUclips channels.
To my eye, I don't see a difference from my tapes to the digital version, but to a pixel enthusiast, I'm sure you could notice!
"Does it capture a temp file at first and then reencode the in/out bit". YES it does. And it seems that it is here that for many, myself included, that audio drift is a problem. With other software this does not occur (OBS, DaVinci)
@@TechAuditTV any recommendations on higher quality transfer products?
@@TechAuditTV Tell Tom to go "take a hike!"
I watched this video and laughed as I made the very same mistakes (buying cheap converters). I ordered this one last week, it arrived today, and so far it's excellent. Zero latency issues. Easy to navigate. Love it. Thanks so much for posting this.
How much hard drive space does an average recording of an hour or so take up? Also can you pick where what drive you want your video to be recorded to?
@@dheller777 An hour of digital tape is around 1 Gig. yes, I believe you can pick where it goes. Mine go to "video" folder but i move them after.
@@dheller777 it depends. If you do a raw capture, 1 hour can take 30+ GIGABYTES of storage. Assuming the included software compresses the signal as it’s decoding, it would probably be about 1-2 gigs per hour of footage if you used that route. Personally recommend raw capture as you can record 60 frames and get a better picture quality. It just requires a lot of free disk space since the files are absolutely gargantuan before compressing them to whatever file container best suits your needs
@@markus3355wdym by compressing them to a file container? How do you do that?
I use DVR recorders.. The best because they are designed to do just that.. i have 3 DVD recorders and 2 with Internal hard drives... To each their own.
All the best Dude 😁👍
What Format/codec does the elgato card convert the video into? And how much is it compressed? Can I also record uncompressed video with it to be able to edit it later reasonably?
I recently found some old family VHS holiday tapes and wasn't sure how to convert them and to what media.
The YT playlist URL share is genius!
Awesome guide - thanks so much for making it.
This simple step by step explanation is just what I was looking for! Thanks so much!
Me too! Thanks!
Thanks for making this and putting me at ease. I’ve just ordered the Elgato on your recommendation, although it’s to digitise some old Thunderbirds recordings my Dad made back in 1991, not your standard family footage. Still, VHS preservation is essential for nostalgia and your video helped light the fire under my backside to get this done, so thanks for helping me place the order, I look forward to the peace of mind once it is done
You mean to tell me this man went through all this trouble just to have to upload each video to RUclips?!?! Your poor internet, just wait till this man finds out what you can do with a 2TB external hard drive, Monaco video convert, an old laptop top, and a Plex server 😉
Movavi* not Monaco d***n auto correct
I have TONS of tapes that I would love to convert. Things I recorded when my boys were little. I am going to try this. I hope it works. Thank you for sharing this!!!
Updates? I’m debating if I should purchase
Perfect... been putting this off for far too long. Inspired to finally do it now, thanks!
The Elgato device is amazingly easy to use. I purchased a “like new” used one and saved a few bucks. The You Tube option for sharing is welcome advice. Thank you!!
Best video I've seen on this subject. One thing concerns me- how much space would a typical 180min cassette video take up on a pc/laptop? I've about a dozen to convert and I'm thinking that's going to take up quite a bit of hard drive.
Super helpful, Brandon - just what I needed in simple terms. Thanks very much.
FINALLY!!!!! A video that goes right to the point and that I understand!!! THANK YOU!
I'm really excited to try this next week at my dad's! Very simple to follow, thank you!
dude, I got one of those $15 capture cards 3 years ago. It still works perfectly. I never used any software that came with it though. Create a scene in OBS with the capture card as a source and record man... lol
I don't think this does proper deinterlacing, at 5:23 you can see lots of jagged lines in the resulting video, it also looks heavily compressed, 2GB for 3 hours of video is too little, is it 640x480 at 30fps? The youtube playlist it's a pretty good idea
I have an old tv/vcr combo that only has a red and yellow input. Do you think that will work with the elgato, or should I search for a vcr? Thanks in advance for suggestions!
i just want to turn like 4-5 vhs so buying a 90euro thingie not gonna cut it. if i use just a use to scart with a analog to digital converter and use a screen capture like obs it wont work? yea i wont be able to do anything else with my pc at the time but still
How do I do this when I have a vcr integrated into a TV unit? Like one of those old Tv with vcr as part of it
Thank you for the video! My grandma just passed away and I got all of her old family videos and I’ve been trying to figure out the easiest way to convert them all and make them viewable for the whole family and I really like the RUclips idea since that’ll be cheaper than making copies for everyone and will be easier for older not tech savvy family members that might have a hard time figuring out how to view them on a cloud service.
Hey, I have a question. I watched your video and went to buy the Elgato device. The thing is, when I pressed recorded I had a flickering on the sound/image that ended up on the final file. I updated my windows and that stopped, but now after a few weeks it appeared again. Any tips on this?
The Elgato is a crap, you should have watched VWestlife’s video about it before you buy. I’ve used this card before so I know the experience is terrible. With that expensive price is really not worth it so I recommend you some devices or cards such as Canopus ADVC-100, BMD Intensity Shuttle (but you need a TBC for VHS), Sony DVD recorder or Pinnacle Liquid Edition Pro 6.
You KILLED this!! You gave us EXACTLY what we needed. Much appreciation. Subscribed
After watching this video, i decided to take a risk and spend the money on this product. It's been one of my best investments recently. The download process went quite smoothly and everything he described in the video turned out to be true! They even send the right cable so you don't have to buy it separately which would add to the price. All in all a great buy and super easy like explained above. Thank you for the tip! You explained it quite well.
Does the device sync the video and the audio correctly? Because with a lot of cheaper VHS converters, the video and audio always came out unmatched.
This is the best video I’ve ever seen on how to convert these tapes. Now to find a good VHS player. Can I send you questions once I start the process?
Hi Brandon. Thank you for putting this video together. Great job man! Saved me a lot of time and aggravation....the type of stuff that you went through. I just subscribed to your channel. I'm now a big fan! Thanks again.
Larry! This comment literally made my day. Appreciate the ♥️!
@@TechAuditTV Yes, thank you!
For years I've been wanting to do this!
I have through 1990's I've recorded on VHS.
I have a VHS player that the heads needs to be clean so it won't eat up the tapes.👍
I have not tried this capture device but of those I have used I don't bother with whatever software they come with, instead, I use OBS Studio
Excellent explanation. Waiting for the Elgato to arrive, meanwhile tried uploading existing video footage to RUclips and immediately received a copyright warning! So not always a straightforward process. The school gymnastics display I had shot was accompanied by pop tunes which were detected. Subject for a whole new tutorial there of which there are many on here.
Thanks for doing this video! Your advice saved me a ton of time and money. I purchased the Elgato converter and it worked like a charm! I am not tech savvy at all and it still worked flawlessly. I love the RUclips idea. I am doing that now. Keep the great videos coming!
Would you have any machine to clean (the mold)8mm tapes? the tape breaks. please help. thanks
My home movies are on the small tapes used by the video camera. It does not have the standard red white and yellow out cords. Any suggestions for doing this? Thanks!
The method I use actually gives better results. I found the Elgato does an OK job but the colours are muted and interlacing is still an issue. I use a Super VHS VCR which even slightly improves the quality of standard VHS a little, that is connected to an SVideo to HDMI convertor which is in turn connected to a cheap, fairly generic HDMI to USB capture device. The results are excellent, contrast is much better than using the Elgato, interlacing isn't an issue and colours are bright and not all muted like the Elgato device. The only slight negative is that it captures at 720p/60 but so far that hasn't actually mattered. The resultant files look excellent burned to DVD, BluRay or played back from USB sticks on smart TVs.
My Panasonic VCR has HDMI output. Do you think I can take the HDMI cord and plug it directly into my 2014 Mac Book pro computer which has an HDMI port and make it work.? Or do you think I should find a HDMI to USB capture device and plug into the computers USB port? Also what software do you use when recording?
What model svhs vcr are you using, out of curiosity?
does this cable work with DVD's? as in dvd player to computer? also don't see the elgato link?
Will this work with my 120 Video Hi8 tapes? I can't find a tape converter so I will have to use my video camera. It has Yellow and White.
Grazie.
Can you suggest some gadget for converting audio cassettes to mp3 on a computer.? Thanks
What is the best external DVD BURNER for a MAC? After digitalizing my videos, I would like to store footage on DVDs. Thank you
Any recommendations on how to safely clean the tapes prior to recording them to try to get the best footage?
Buy new ones. Tape is cheap and cheaply made.
@@jamespfitz that's not the question he was asking. He's asking how to clean the tapes his footage is on, before playing them through the system to record what's on them to a digital format. Buying new tapes will do nothing for him.
Will this El Gato Video Capture work with a DVD player? Transfer from a DVD Disc to a computer file?
Stumbled across this video and glad i did since I’ve been wanting to do this for some time. Great info. Thanks
This was the best video on the process I have ever watched. Thank you for breaking it all down so easily to understand!! I am ordering the Elgato thingy today!!
Hello there , i am in the uk . I plugged my vhs vcr into the scart socket on my dvd/hdd recorder . After recording , edit then transfer to a DVD-R. Do you have DVD recorders in the USA.
Does it matter if the computer USB is 2.0 or 3.0 ? And does the device fix interlace to progressive output for latest HDMI standards? What if the VCR has a dirty head? Garbage in garbage out Right? The device isn't going to fix audio problems, is it? Would this device be good for an old super VHS VHR to connect to a new LCD smart TV equipped with a THX surround sound system?
Hi, is there a way to record straight to USB? I have limited storage onj my computer to be able to record it to my laptop. Any suggestions?
Quick question. My VCR only has the Yellow and White AV plug ins on the back of it. Can I still use this device?
If you have Svhs on both the VCR and the elgato device, why not use the higher quality Svhs output?
I have a very old elgato 250 plus but no software are there driver downloads for MacBook Pro?
My VCR has an HDMI output along with RCA outputs. Is there a good converter that you would suggest? I assume the signal would be better coming out of the HDMI rather than the RCA jacks. My VCR may also have S video. But I’m not sure. It’s a last generation Panasonic VCR with DVD player recorder. So I can actually go VHS tape to DVD. But I would rather put the movies right to a hard drive.
Thanks for your input
What brand / model of (VHS) VCR do you have that has an HDMI output connector?
S-Video is better encoding source than composite video.
My VCR does not have an S cord or a red port, it has a cable plug in and a yellow and white port, would this even work on mine?
Brandon,
I have downloaded my videos to utube but they come out as static tv. What am I doing wrong. I see the videos and audio when recording but videos are pure tv static. Thanks.
I bought those generic capture device and use OBS with no problem. Ain't gonna spend 88 bucks for that Elgato
What is OBS?
Are you sure because I have some tapes I want to convert but I'm not paying that aswell
@@julekkruk4057 I bought mine for 5 dollars, work perfectly until now
whats obs
@@elviradistress Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS, is a free and open source solution for offline video recording and live streaming that is Mac and Windows compliant.
Elgato says it's not compatible with Apple Mac Silicon models. Will it be in the future?
Will this work on MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) with OS Monterey?...
Is there a rule of thumb conversion from time to file size? How big would a digitized 90 minute video be?
Hey have you ever trnsfered 8mm or Super 8mm film to Digital?
The back of my old VCR only has audio and video out in yellow and white. Is there a converter which will have white and yellow on one end and white yellow and red on the other side I can use the Elgato?
Hi great video I have a dvd recorder that has my VHS stored on the hard drive will this still work?
Could you push the signal through a video upscaler to improve the image.
Thanks
You had s-Video available on both ends and you used composite? Please tell me the S-video output doesn't work for VHS, because if it does, you captured 800 tapes at a lower quality for no reason.
whats s-video
@@Brandon-tz5pn It's a type of connector that doesn't require the black-and-white picture information to be mixed with the colour picture information, because if you do mix them, you have to unmix them on the other side, and that process is not perfect, meaning your picture will be worse if you don't use the s-video connection.
Charter oak digital digitized my entire collection of VHS to digital and it cost about as much as trying to do it myself. and the quality looked just as good as the original tapes.
How is the quality and are the transfers interlaced?
Why did you output composite instead of s-video when your VCR has S-video which is better quality?
2:05 why not use S-VIDEO OUT or RGB component?
When it transferes to your computer, where does it store it to?, onto the C drive or can I choose where it is stored to?
I only have a vhs tv and it only has the video in and audio in... I wonder if it would work even if only the red and yellow will be connected 🤔
What about an automatic copy from vhs to dvd on the vhs console
can you do this if you have built in vcr recorder in a old tv
Simple and straight forward even with a headache. Thanx Mate!!
hey bro. will it work with a Scart > RCA adapter? Im asking cause my VCR only has scart output. Many thanks.
After capturing your video how do you go about editing ? Can anyone help ?
Hi guys does it work with Pal VHS recorded taps which is used in Australia ?
So what is the purpose or use of the S-video cable? You only hooked up the red/yellow/white portion.
My VHS has only Scart output. Will the Elgato work with Scart?
How does the Elgato software handled interlaced video? I used to use one but it deinterlaced it on the fly with questionable results. I now use an ATI All in Wonder X1900 capture card and capture using VirtualDub.
May I recommend you to deinterlace with QTGMC, the results is even better than yadiff
Do we have an option to choose the resolution while recording
Wow ! Thanks! What were the extension cables you were using to connect... Sorry I'm ignorant in this... but wana try 😁
Thank You So Much for this Knowledge since many out there do like to keep their VHS recordings & convert them into Digital format for their family to enjoy in the future! 🌷🌿🌍💖
Can you split a recording into multiple video files within the Elgato software?
What's the link k for the products I'll need?
what kind of video file is the result? .MOV?, etc? Can Quicktime be used to play it?
Hi, I've plugged it in the audio OUT on my VCR and even tried audio IN but I can't see anything on my Mac.... I think I'm doing everything you're doing but there's nothing... Can you help? Thanks
What type of external device -like a flash drive type thing- would be good to put home movies on instead of the computer -once transferred? Can the movies be copied directly to the external device? Thanks so much for the lesson! We have been wanting to transfer ours for a long time! We do have the Elgato. You were a huge help! Thank you!
It's going to be a digital file, the same as anything else on your computer. You can put it on any storage device.
Does this have great video quality and have you looked into firewire cards. Just saw something that saying firewire transfers are better video quality
The best video converter. Plug and play type of deal. Love it! Thanks for making my life a lot easier. Highly recommend....
Really helpful for me. I have been trying to suss out if any of the cheaper VHS to digital converters were worth buying but my research was not coming up with anything conclusive. So, I am going to take your advice and go for Elegato. Thank you.
Hey there! 2 years late, but I was just curious if you have experienced any audio delay with the delays?
I’m looking into converting tons of hours of home videos and this video gave me a bit of peace of mind.
Thank you!
I use a Panasonic Bluray recorder with built in hard drive connected to an LG VCR to convert all of my tapes because once they are on DVD which is the most reliable form of back up I put them on the computer and convert to which ever format I need .
I need a VCR with S-Video. Do you recommend a good one? Is the Sanyo brand VCR in this video a good one? I am not big on a brand like Sanyo, but if the VCR outputs to S-Video, i assume it is a good thing. I have 2 Sharp brand VCRs, but they don''t have S-Video output. Using S--Video compared to composite (Red, White, and Yellow plugs) is a big time difference, from what i hear.
Can you use a tablet or similar device instead of PC or laptop?
Can you save directly to an external hard drive THROUGH your computer?
How well would this work if you want to use component rather than composite cables? I have a Sony HVR-M15U that takes DVCAM cassettes, of which, have 1080p HD footage recorded to them. It takes Composite and Component. Obviously, Component is HD 1080p quality and much better than the SD 480p that you will get out of the composite. I am afraid image quality loss when I do the screen capture because I see the Elgato device only takes composite.