Best VHS to DVD Converters

Taking a closer look at what the Roxio Easy VHS to DVD 3 Plus can do, the feature that we especially like about it is that it allows converting not only videos but also vinyl records. Thus, if you have those collecting dust on your shelves, this converter will let you breathe a new life into them, letting you transfer them to CD or MP3 format. Another cool thing about this converter is that its bundled software offers the ability to customize CD/DVD disks by creating labels and building your own menus recreating the viewing experience from the '80s and '90s. Thanks to that, you'll be able to save both your tapes and your memories.

Now, turning to downsides, take note that because this converter is USB 2.0, its transferring speed is a bit slower than that of some other VHS to DVD converters. To give you the gist, converting a 40-min tape and burning it on a disk will take you the same 40 minutes, which isn't very fast. On the other hand, it's not too slow either, given that during those 40 minutes, the device will not only capture the content but also convert it and burn, which makes the deal quite reasonable. One other gripe some people have is that the Roxio Easy VHS to DVD 3 Plus tends to get quite hot during use. That, however, doesn't affect its performance and on the whole, doesn't cause any inconvenience, so most people don't consider it a big deal.

In the end, if you're looking for an inexpensive yet full kit suitable for both Windows and Mac OS, the Roxio Easy VHS to DVD 3 Plus Converter will get you covered. User-friendly and versatile, not only will it help give your old tapes and vinyl records a new lease on life but also, it will provide you with an assortment of video-editing tools to let you save those tapes in the best quality possible so that you, your kids, your parents and grandparents could look back and enjoy the precious memories at any point in time.

Let’s take a moment to dig deeper into what the VIDBOX converter can do and how it does it. You simply connect the VCR to the capture box and hook the latter up to your Mac via the back USB port (the keyboard ones won’t have enough power to keep the device working). Ripping the actual videos from old 8mm, VHS, and even Beta tapes takes just a couple of clicks as you launch playback on the VCR and keep the program running in the background so it’s capturing the video. At that stage, you only need to make sure that the RCA cables are connected correctly or you may end up with an empty screen or static instead of the audio.

The VIDBOX converts analog tapes to the basic .MOV format with 640 x 480 resolution, which you can watch with the QuickTime player and edit to your preferences using the iMovie software. While the VIDBOX integrates well with the external editor, we still would have preferred for the same features to be included in the VIDBOX kit. Even burning the videos to a disc will require the iDVD software, which means that the VIDBOX program will only be used for capturing the footage from the tapes, not all that versatile. Still, the integration with other software is pretty smooth and the program runs well, which is always a plus.

So while we have indeed spotted some shortcomings in the VIDBOX Video Conversion for Mac kit, it’s still one of the better VHS to DVD converters that you can run on your Macbook, even if it lacks in features. The resulting video is pretty high-quality for a VHS rip and the fact that you get all the required parts in one purchase makes this a real bargain for thrifty customers. To sum up, if you have a MacBook and need to convert some tapes to a digital format, you can’t go wrong with the VIDBOX Video Conversion kit, all thanks to its easy-to-understand interface, an extensive manual, and stable video capture.

You might be wondering how well the Diamond Multimedia VC500 actually captures the video and, as always, we’ve got the answer for you. All you need to do is get some RCA cables and connect your VCR machine to the Diamond conversion device, which is then hooked up to your PC via the USB cable included in the package. Afterwards, launch your software and start up the tape, the rest is done for you via the EZ Capture feature.

One thing you have to watch out for is how much free space you’ve got as a single hour of converted footage can take up as much as 3GB of storage so just a couple of old tapes can fill up your hard drive real quick. This is pretty understandable as the video is transferred in 720 x 480, improving the quality of old grainy footage a bit and raising the resolution. If you do start to run out of space, just use the same software to burn the videos to empty DVDs, preserving them in a new format.

By the way, while you’re converting one type of media for the digital age, you may want to take some of your old vinyl and convert it as well. And, of course, the Diamond Multimedia VC500 offers that option and the process is pretty much the same. Put on the record, turn on capture, wait for the album to finish, and you’re done!

All in all, if you’re looking for truly extensive (and inexpensive!) software to convert and edit videos from old VHS tapes, the Diamond Multimedia VC500 is a great choice. You get myriad features, a high-quality capture device, and an easy-to-use program with lots of accolades from professional video editors. Just make sure to download the up-to-date drivers from the manufacturer’s website as the ones on the CD won’t work on Windows 10. Other than that, the product is ready to go out of the package and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more functional and effective video conversion kit, especially at such an affordable price.

How exactly does this converting system work? The first thing you need to do is install the software. Next, plug in the USB cable into your PC or Mac, and the RCA cable into the camcorder. When all is properly set up, just hit the “Start Recording” button in OBS Studio, and then the “Play” button on the camcorder. Voilà, your tapes are being copied in real time.

Note that the UCEC converter captures video in the H.264 digital format. It’s high quality and works with many video editors (Windows and Mac). But that’s not all; you can transfer your old vids straight to DVD or pick other formats like the common AVI/MP4 or the quality preserving MKV.

Want to share your nostalgic tapes on social media? No problem. The output is fully compatible with YouTube. Throwing in old vids is a nice way to impress your followers with something really unique.

Use this versatile converter – but don’t forget the number one rule. It can transfer your tape quality to digital, but that’s as far as it can get. Still, there are hundreds of filters out there that you can use to de-noise the vid and fix the colors.

Of course, capturing footage is just the first step because no matter how good your recording device is, it can’t smooth out all the imperfections found in the old VHS format. You’re going to need to balance the color hue, edit out dead air, maybe even add some special effects or intertitles. Thankfully, most of this can be done in a matter of minutes by using the Pinnacle Studio for Dazzle, the special software included in the kit. Whether you want to mess around with the contrast or splice several home videos together into one long movie about your family, any editing-related task should be done via this program, especially since you’ll have a guide to back you up.

If you’re not worried about editing, you can simply adjust the output options so that the captured video is uploaded directly to the Internet or a mobile device. But here’s a word of warning, if you’re working with particularly old footage you may want to give the editing a go just in case as the VHS tapes deteriorate over time and the resulting video may have some artifacts. That’s why editing can be vital as, after all, the whole point of bringing VHS footage over to the digital age is to improve its quality and preserve it in good condition.

To sum up, the Pinnacle Systems DVCPTENAM can help you capture video from more sources than most of its competitors and, to top it off, do a better job of turning the old footage to HD quality. Of course, it doesn’t work that well with older tapes and the software requires quite a bit of processing power, which means your computer will be taken up for the duration of video capture. Try to make sure that your PC is far above the minimum requirements and can handle prolonged recording and has the space for hours of video. And while that may not be easily accessible to everyone we’d still say that the quality is worth it since, after all, memories are priceless.