There are a few different ways to go about backing your VHS tapes up to DVD, and they each have their ups and downs.
Method 1: Buying a DVD recorder deck, or a dual VHS / DVD recorder deck.
Pros: This is the quickest and easiest way to transfer your VHS tapes, and you can do it yourself if you want to front $200+ for the equipment. It's as easy as hooking the VHS deck to the DVD recorder, and then recording the VHS playback onto DVD in real time. If you're going to pay a company to do a deck-to-deck transfer like this, it will cost less than Method 2.
Cons: I have yet to find a DVD recorder deck that will create "auto play" discs. They always seem to generate a really ugly menu which pops up when you put the DVD in. This probably doesn't bother most people, but I think it's tacky.
Method 2:Buying a device that will allow you to capture your VHS tapes into your video editing system.
Pros: Capturing the footage into your computer gives you a LOT of flexibility in terms of color correcting the footage, adding titles, music, fading in and out, or cutting from one clip to another. Then, depending on the complexity of your DVD authoring software, you can make the disc "auto play" or you can create a really nice menu so that if you have multiple clips on one DVD, the viewer can select what they'd like to watch. Overall, this method makes for a much nicer finished product.
Cons: Depending on the device you buy, this can also be fairly expensive. There's a variety of converters you can buy, but the cheapest is probably around $150. If you're hiring someone and they'll be using this method, it's more expensive because it takes more time and utilizes an editing station.
My feeling is that if you're going to transfer your home movies to DVD, (and especially if you're going to give them as gifts), you should spend the extra little bit of money and go with method 2. It's especially nice if you have an old photo or two which can be printed onto the DVD face, and we even offer the service of designing a really nice DVD jacket and shrink wrapping the full sized DVD case. It's for a holiday gift, so why not go all out and make it as special as you can? AM I WRONG?
Contact us today and we'll be happy to transfer your old VHS tapes to DVD. It will preserve the videos for many years, and let's be honest-- watching a DVD is way more convenient and more fun, too!
Adam Flaherty
www.adamflaherty.com
