Here is my simple plan to convert VHS to DVD:
- Prepare and collect all of the orphaned media that is recklessly strewn around your home, garage, and attic.
- Organize all of the media according to year, event, etc. Use whatever organization system you think will help you get to your ideal home movie collection accomplished.
- Prioritize the most important material first because you may not be able to afford the cost of digitizing everything.
- Separate any extraneous material such film footage that is damaged or seems to have been processed incorrectly. Again, save your time and money for converting only the best images.
- Capture the analog media with a computer and convert it to a high quality digital file format.
- Convert the VHS tapes and your Super 8mm film to your computer hard drive or an external drive.
- Transfer the analog media on your own or hire a professional transfer house that will convert VHS tapes to DVD for you.
- Do not convert the analog signal directly to DVD or you will lose quality that you may not be able to get back later. To preserve as much of the detail in your old home movies as possible, convert the analog signal to a high resolution digital file format first. If you follow this method, you can transfer the movies to DVD later. (See the last section of the plan below.)
- Edit the high resolution digital files that were created from your analog media.
- Assemble the new digital footage into related categories and events and then edit those into little movies.
- Do another pass to remove any extraneous scenes that are still remaining.
- Add drama with music and visual transitions such as “fade-ins” and “dissolves” - but don’t overdo it.
- Back-Up all of your digital files.
- Back-up all of those high resolution digital files you now have by saving them to a special folder on your computer.
- Make a second digital back-up of the files onto a reliable external hard drive.
- Finally, make a third digital back-up on a separate external hard drive and ask family or friends to find a safe place for it in their home.
- Author and Burn DVD discs or Blu Ray discs of your home movies and you are done.
- Decide whether you are going to go DVD, Blu Ray, or both. (This is a whole other article in itself.)
- “Author” all of your video projects in order to prepare them for copying to DVD or Blu Ray.
- Then “burn” the “authored” projects with the appropriate disc “burner” that will “burn” your home movies onto digital disc media.
- Last but not least, make multiple copies as needed so that you can send them to friends and family.
You have a long way to go before all of your home movies are converted from VHS and film to a digital media format such as DVD or Blu Ray but now you have a good starting place. Remember that a long journey begins with the first step. Good luck!
Convert 8mm to DVD, Columbia S.C.
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