VHS to PC help needed please

Hi all. I am buying a new PC and want to convert my VHS video tapes to files I can view on my PC and possibly later burn to DVD. Does anyone know what hardware I need? I was told I need a TV tuner but I don't want to watch TV on my PC I just want to get the VHS tapes on there. Do I need a capture card or something?

My new PC will come with an ATI HD4890 will that have anything built in that will help with this? I find it all very confusing, many thanks for any help.

 

If your pc has video input(s) that work with your VHS player, and you have recording software, that's all you'll need. Your graphics card only has video output capabilities. What kind of PC are you buying? Custom-built or brand name?

I have an HP and it has video and audio input capabilities. I would imagine that if you are buying from a company as opposed to building it yourself, you will have inputs. If you are building yourself, you can probably find some sort of PCI card with input for $20-$30.

 

Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm buying from Mesh. It's a Phenom II dual core 3.1 with 4 gigs DDR3 ram if that makes any difference. Is there a name for the video input you're talking about? I'm assuming you mean it's built into the system unit itself and not on a card of some sort?

 

Without knowing the specific model of your PC, I cannot determine much about your system's capabilities. Here is an image of my front panel so you can see what I'm talking about (sorry for the blur, it's a cell pic).

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd199/Black_Laser/0811091609.jpg

If you do not have anything like that, you'll need to purchase a compatible video capture card.

Here is a link for video capture cards from a UK website with prices sorted in ascending order (I'm assuming you're in the UK going by the Mesh computers reference):
http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/factfinder/search.asp?query=video+capture+card&sortWW=asc

 

That's a great help. Cheers mate I appreciate it.

 

Hi again. Can anyone who has read this thread tell me if this card will do what I need? http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=264441 thanks.

 

Looks like it will do the job but I would double check with their CS just to be sure as the blurb wasn't crystal clear to me. You also need to make sure that the VHS player you have has the kind of connectivity that is offered by this card ie your VHS player should at least have audio and video inputs, those being the red, white & yellow connectors.

I have a Leadtek one, which works fine and that came with video editing software as well Ulead. The blurb to this one is very clear ie it states clearly, Capture format profile: Support friendly setting for MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPEG-4/WMV/VCD/DVD video and MP3/WMA audio encoding format.

http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overview.asp?lineid=6&pronameid=93

Good Luck

 

I converted all of my VHS home movies to DVD and/or MPGs using a Dazzle and was very pleased with it...

http://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Systems-82301006461-Dazzle-Creator/dp/B001C5DOWI/ref=sr_1_1

It's USB, so you don't have to open the case. It supports RCA and S-Video input. It's nice for converting, but not really designed for watching TV through it. Video cables would need to be purchased separately.