From VHS To DVD In Four Simple Steps

Converting VHS tapes to digital DVDs is any amateur videomaker secret desire. Tools and technologies are here that make this once difficult black art a straightforward set of simple steps. CNet editor Lee Koo and the CNet Forum community contributors provide great tips and advicet:



"1. Capture the video on your computer.



2. Edit the video.



3. Create the DVD layout.



4. Burn the DVD.



From a hardware point of view, you need a way to connect your VHS VCR to your computer. Video capture devices are available as PCI cards (for desktops), PCMCIA cards (for laptops), and USB cables (for either).



All of these come with software for controlling the video capture process and basic video editing. Your DVD burner may have come with beginners' software for creating movie DVDs.



Finally, you will need a large hard disk for holding the raw video files during the capture and editing process. A typical DVD can hold almost two hours of video, but this is in a compressed format and takes up about 4.5GB. The same raw video in AVI format may take 30GB."