How to Convert VHS Tapes to Digital!

My entire life on VHS and 8mm tapes has been rotting away in a closet for years. I found a very simple and effective way to convert these tapes to digital and save my analog life!

•Elgato VHS Converter:

•Samsung T5 SSD:

•Download the Video Capture software directly from elgato:

This is not a sponsored video, I just found that by doing the conversions myself, it was MUCH cheaper than using some of the other services that are available. It’s been so fun to see these old videos again, that I wanted to share the process with you in case you also have old memories in storage!

Episode 115: Save Your Analog Life - Convert your VHS Tapes to Digital

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– Who Am I? –

Hi! My name is Tom Buck, a lifelong A/V nerd and former high school Digital Media teacher. I started this channel in 2017 as a project to share my enthusiasm for everything related to audio and video production.

•My channel is open and welcoming to people of all races, ages, genders, and orientations. I’m glad you’re here.

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#8mm #VHS #DigitalMedia
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[saberboi]

Im very glad you made this, my grandma just found my dads graduation tape from when he was in the Air force. He died when I was really young and I never heard his voice so hopefully Ill be able to hear him. My family says I am a lot like him. So having a more permanent piece of him means so much to me.

[peggyrestivo]

This is so great! I hope i find it as simple as you make it look. Just turned 70 and have been investigating this procedure for months. You have given me the guts to try it. Video is straightforward and not alot of extra BS (parden me) that confuses a person. So many videos have so much technical terms that are above my understanding. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

[nicywicy]

Out of all the videos pertaining to vhs to dvd, this one is the most well done, clean, beautiful, easy to understand and enjoyable to watch. I'm sad you don't have more comments or views. But hey, as an adult I've learned that trashy trendy garbage always out shines real hard working individuals.

[amatrixa]

Great advice and device! I found that when re-using older tapes, always fast forward all the way to the end and then rewind back to the beginning (some machines will automatically rewind) to loosen up the tapes, this is kind of like fanning paper before printing. It's easier on the vcr and makes the playback a little smoother and less statically. Also, just like at the rentals, be kind and rewind when done. Tapes store better when rewinded evenly on their reels.

Don't be discouraged if an old tape doesn't play back well, sometimes tapes track better on different machines, especially if the playback is on the vcr or camera that recorded the tape. If a tape doesn't play great, it could just need tracking. Be prepared after hours of play and searching to clean the vcr as the spinning video head easily collects dirt and tape particles. It's a good idea if you're not using a brand spanking new vcr to clean the heads of the older machine first. There are pretty good head cleaners sold in stores (or online) or if you're brave, like me you can do it yourself with something very non-abrasive, dampened (not soaked) with rubbing alcohol, personally I use (non-aloe) tissue or toilet paper, but it's something you have to be very careful doing. While the lid is off you might want to use a can of air to blow out any dust build up inside the machine as you'd be surprised what's inside the player, almost like what lives inside your keyboard.

Come to think of it, that might be a good idea for a future video to show some simple cleaning and preparing of your vintage playback equipment.

[demisemedia]

Story time: 📼I've always held on to a particular vhs cassette tape that I called "The Never Ending Tape". It contains footage from my 2nd b. day and other shenanigans with my family (some who have since passed away). After moving into my current location I must have accidentally A.) Misplaced it or B.) Threw it away in a dumpster by accident. I was SO sad when I couldn't find it. My girlfriend felt so bad for me. Then I told my mom & grandma and they remember bits & pieces of the footage. It made me even MORE sad and I'd give anything to have it back. So... I gave up searching for it and took it as a loss.
Welp, about a month later my mom was going through her dresser and came across a 📼vhs tape. She sent me a picture. The cassette was labeled "The Never Ending Tape"!!! My mom & I don't know how it got there. I watched the entire thing with the biggest smile on my face! Nostalgia & memories! Thanks for the video

[rickenricomorrone]

DUDE. Your intro is word-for-word what I’m doing and what I’ve been dealing with for years. I’m 33. I’ve always been the “video guy” of the family and I’ve been tasked over the years to digitize hundreds of VHS tapes, Hi8’s, etc, because my dad was the camcorder guy too. The stress, the anxiety, I totally know what you’re talking about. I had Dazzle before, which worked for a while, and then it broke and I needed something for Mac and I just kept putting it on the back burner, meanwhile these tapes just kept sitting in a cabinet getting worse over time. This is just so awesome. I just ordered the Elgato, I also use the Stream deck and love it so I know I trust the brand— and I can’t wait to get started on this. THANK YOU man. And my family thanks you for preserving precious memories.

[melissachin-parker]

I've been using this unit for years and I'm happy to see your segment confirming that it's a good choice!

[TacoCrisma]

Hey Tom, thanks for the vid. As a fellow millennial who was gifted his family’s VHS tapes - your video was the first one I found when I searched on an easy way to convert them.

I grabbed the Elgato converter at your advice, went on a Cowboy bebop-esque search for a VCR, and was able to rip all my family videos onto thumb drives which I gave to my parents and my sister yesterday for a pretty emotional Christmas present.

Wouldn’t have been possible without this video - so thanks! Have a great holiday.

[severtone]

This video is exactly what I was looking for. Double like.

[NegativeMass]

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. This video is exactly what I was looking for. I've got boxes of old VHS and 8mm tapes, some from the early '90s, that desperately need to be digitized. A job I've been putting off for, oh, 30 years now lol. And, yeah, it is stress and worry, coupled with not knowing HOW to do it. Thanks so much for doing this video, it is just what I needed. I've now ordered this item and you have a new subscriber. Nice one!

[Jenstirrr]

This was so informative! My dad just passed away last month and I’ve been looking for tutorials on how to digitize all of the surviving vhs tapes we have and came across this. Thanks for the recommendation!

[TechAuditTV]

Man this video was so well made. And your quality looks amazing. Would have thought this was an account with 500k+ subs. Job well done!

[AtomicPixel]

100% need to do this. Was just thinking of options, so thanks bro!

[elihollett]

My dad just passed away and I found a whole bunch of VHS-C tapes from the late 90's/early 2000's that I want to convert so this is super helpful! Also a bunch of footage from my old band in high school that I thought was gone forever. Just ordered the Elgato system and stoked to do some converting. Thanks for this video!

[AACLibrarian]

Awesome job ... I'm starting my project this weekend --- I've been having the stress and anxiety for a few years -- BUT now that I live on the coast and hurricane season is here I will be starting this weekend! I plan to make a backup copy and send it to my sons! THANKS :-)

[sportstv]

Thanks, you are a wealth of knowledge and I wasn't even searching for this topic, YouTube just served up your videos!

[jimtalor]

The 80's!! Sure miss it! Use to have a Sony Betamax and a mechanical tuner Panasonic Vcr.
I have started to convert my library of old tapes and I find this helpful so as to not waste hard drive (ssd) space. Rewind, reset counter, fwd until video ends, make note how long video played by using the counter and set the recording time on the software accordingly. You see not everyone will record the full 2, 4, 6 hrs on a vhs tape. " Just set it and forget it"

[nihilyst]

Hi, this video is well done and kindly reminds us to save our analog treasures into the digital world but I like to add some things: whenever possible, find yourself a top of the line late nineties S-VHS VCR from JVC or Panasonic, with a Line Time Base Corrector (TBC)! Not much older, not much newer (because the last VCRs were the cheapest and usually, they suck). Even when your sources are not SVHS they will look better by A LOT on these machines! The horizontal VHS jitter, which is almost the trade mark of this format will be gone almost completely due to the TBC. Additionally, these machines will give you s-video out (also visible in your video as possible input of your capture device) which separates luma and chroma signals, which greatly reduces color noise in your VHS footage, even - again - if your sources are plain old VHS only. The problem is, that your capture device/your capture software will try to sqeeze that noisy, grainy, jittering VHS source material into a codec which will be very vulnerable to noisy input signals and result in artifacts (blocks!) in your destination material on your computer. I bet, the VHS material will look a lot worse after digitizing it, compared to as it looked before when played from tape directly if not treated right. All the time, the people are like - "Hey, its just VHS, and VHS already sucked in terms of quality when new" - but this is just half true. Treat the sources right, and the end result will be night and day, not just subtle changes for the nitpickers, but I mean a real difference! The people over there on digitalfaq and videohelp have tons of threads and good information concerning this topic...:-)

[MysticHermit]

Perfect timing to see this, and to meet you ! I have hundreds of vhs tapes from my talk show, circa 1990's

[dazmos_]

I'm about to do this myself. This has helped massively and encouraged me to finally get around to doing it. Thanks a lot!!