Can I Convert My VCR Tapes To DVDs?

The answer is yes, you can definitely convert your VCR tapes to DVDs, given you have the right software and hardware. Do you have a large collection of VCR tapes with some of your most prized classic television shows saved on them? If so, you are hardly alone. Many people have some of their favorite classic television shows saved on VCR tapes, relics from the time when people would record all of their favorite television shows on these tapes. Today, with digital media and recording, VCR tapes have all but become obsolete.

The problem, however, is that before the invention of CDs and DVDs, even the recording studios had to use video tapes to record their shows and performances. The simplest explanation of a video tape is that it is simply a strip of plastic that has been magnetized slightly such that it is able to hold iron filings on its surface. This magnetism and this arrangement of iron filings can be translated by VCR machines back into sound and video. The problem with video tapes is that the tape gradually loses its magnetism, the iron filings fall off, and the whole thing is rendered absolutely useless. Generally, it is accepted that this takes about 10 to 12 years.

This means that even the studios do not have archives of shows that were made and recorded more than 10 years ago. Sometimes, the copies held in individual collections are the only remaining copies of a particular television show or series. This can be extremely valuable, both in monetary and sentimental terms.

The problem with converting VCR tapes to DVDs lies in the hardware. There are several DVD copy programs that will allow you to convert VCR tapes to DVDs. Among these programs is DVD Wizard Pro, which has the ability to convert video stored on VCR tapes to a digital format that can be held on your hard drive or burned onto a DVD.

In order to transfer the video content from a VCR tape to your computer, however, you will first need a VCR machine and a video transfer cable that you can connect to both your VCR machine and a video input port on your computer. Once this is done, your DVD software program should provide you with instructions on exactly how to start the recording process. DVD Wizard Pro, for example, contains a help file that deals specifically with the steps required in order for you to record VCR tape content to a digital format.

This usually involves simply starting to play your tape, then starting a recording function on your DVD copy software. This process may be somewhat time-consuming, as the recording will have to take place in real-time, meaning that in order to record a whole show, you will have to play that show from start to end. In order to save your VCR tape collection from slowly decaying, however, I think most people would consider that time well spent.