Replacing VHS tapes with DVDs can be an expensive proposition.
One cost-effective alternative is to get a VHS to DVD converter and do it yourself.
It will pay for itself if you have about 10 or more VHS tapes.
You may have seen some of these or other similar products on electronics blogs, we’ve decided to put together a list of top products for you. Here are 4 such products:
4. Plextor ConvertX Digital Video Converter - Plextor’s ConvertX box converts your VHS tapes into DixV or MPEG-4 on your computer, after which you can burn it to DVD. You don’t have to burn it to DVD if you don’t want to. The tidy ConvertX box plugs into your computer and also comes with software. Its built-in compression software allows you to store 2 hours of video on a CD, or 10 hours on a DVD. Costs approx $55.
#3. CopyThis! Digital Video Enhancer - The CopyThis converter can enhance the quality of your VHS tapes during conversion. The enhancement features include noise reduction to improve picture quality as well as convertingthe movies into black and white! Unfortunately, this product is no longer made, but you may be able to find one on eBay.
2. Honestech’s VHS to DVD 3.0 Deluxe - While named VHS to DVD, it can also convert many analog inputs into digital. The included software is very easy to use and has two levels: advanced and beginner. In beginner mode, a few mouse clicks will get you started converting VHS tape to a DVD.
There are advanced features like video editing. VHS to DVD is a good value for the money and easy to get started with. VHS to DVD costs about $50. You can read a full review of VHS to DVD 3.0 Deluxe here.
#1. Panasonic DMR-EZxxx VHS & DVD Recorders - Panasonic is one of the vendors that decided to simply bridge both formats by having a device that plays (and records)both! As it has slots for both, it also allows to record from one format to the other (although we’re not quite sure why you’d want to downgrade your DVDs). This is different from the other 3 products featured above, as it actually acts as a player, rather than just a converter, and has the option to play a variety of formats including all the DVD formats, and even JPG files from a SD card. It also does not come with any bundled software. This unit also has a HDMI connector and can can upscale to 1080p. We’ve decided to rank this number 1 for its slew of features, but unfortunately it does have a price tag to match (about $170).
Except for the CopyThis product, you can find the others quite easily on your gadget shopping hunts.