How to get my VHS tapes from my camcorder to my laptop?

Question

Can Anyone hook me up with some software for plugging a camcorder into my laptop and burning the videos on to my pc then on to DVD's?

I have Windows Vista

My camcorder has a USB Connect but I can't get my pc to recognize the "unknown Device" (My camera )
What can I do to get it to recognize it????

Answer 1

It depends, what is your camcorder? If it's like Hi-8 or something (the one where the only output is RCA video), you'll need a peripheral called a Video Capture Device. I saw one for 50$ at Best Buy (which includes software). Just know, that the set up can severely slow your comp. down in the process, and output files will be big. Second method involves buying a DVD Recorder, capturing the video on a blank DVD, and then ripping it as a video file to your computer, editing it to your liking, then burning. But if your camcorder has USB out, then take the video file, and use NERO BURNING SOFTWARE (or you can use
Windows Movie Maker, the free movie maker (although crappier) pre-installed on Windows), to make your DVD. Hope it helps.

Answer 2

I haven't seen a camcorder, especially a VHS tape one, that connects to a computer with USB. Are you sure that is what you have? Most of the time, digital camcorders or Digital 8 camcorders are Firewire (also known as iLink). This is not USB.

Assuming you know what you're talking about, however, and since you only mention software, I have to assume you have all the hardware already set up and are just looking for software. In which case, you already have a free software for doing that, called Movie Maker by Microsoft. You can find it in your Program Files directory.

But what this and other software does, is simply lets you import the footage into your computer and on your hard drive. You still have to encode that footage into MPG2, which is what is required for making DVDs.

If you want to bypass all that, consider purchasing DVD Xpress from ADS Tech. You can find used units on eBay for less than $30 after shipping! I just bought one myself, and in addition to that I read what people were saying about it.

A lot of people were complaining about it freezing up all the time. When I got the unit, sure enough, the freezing happened so often it practically made it useless to even try to import video.

So I opened it up, drilled a ton of little 5/32" holes in the top part of the case, and put it back together. During operation I place a little $5 desk fan next to it to keep it cool, and the little thing works totally awesome!

What makes DVD Xpress different from the other solutions is that it uses the box to encode your footage before it even comes into your computer, and makes it ready to place on a DVD! It has other methods as well, and you can change the quality settings to achieve size over quality or quality over size needs.

Other products similar to this are available (different brands). ADS Tech is just one of the brands, and I have use their products before and have been satisfied. The guy before me mentions Pinnacle Systems brand, which is also good. I've had some of their stuff, and it was top notch.

Of course, if you buy brand new, you're gonna have to spend over $100 just for software. Go eBay. Used. And try to find something like I did, where people just need to used their head a little to make the product work perfectly. You get the best deals that way!

If you have any questions, just send them my way and I'll help you get squared away.

Answer 3

You need a computer with a video card that accepts either a composite ( Yellow) video or a S-Video cable and software that allows that input. That is the simplest way. The only other way is to transfer your raw footage to a DVD and then copy it to your hard-drive (assuming you have a DVD player/Recorder on your computer) and edit it using the Vista video software and then produce your edited feature onto another DVD. The only other way is to convert your VHS footage to a Digital tape or DVD format, which isn't easy to do on your own since most newer DVD and MiniDV cameras do not accept input from an anolog source such as a composite or S-Video cable.

Answer 4

It depends on if your camera has a USB cord. If so, plug it in to your camera and computer, then select Windows Movie Maker (it should already be on your computer). Select Capture and play the tape, start recording, and you've got it. If it only has A/V cables, then you need a capture device such as DVD Express.

Answer 5

NEED TO GO ON EBAY AND BUY A PINNACLE SOFTWARE, IT COMES WITH THE HARDWARE DEVICE TO HOOK UP YOUR CAMCORDER TO YOUR USB PORT AND COPY YOUR VHS, CAMCORDER, AND VCR MOVIES AND BURN THEM ON YOUR PC DVD

Answer 6

So..
You can download Nero for free here http://j.mp/VMdQHZ

Nero offers you everything you need to burn CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as an impressive number of multimedia utilities.

Have a nice day