By John Woram
(March 9, 2005)

As VCRs fade into the sunset, you're going to need a way to transfer your videotaped treasures to DVD. Fortunately, the job is easy. Aside from a PC and a VCR, all you need is a device to convert your VCR's analog signals to digital. That, plus some editing software, and you're ready to roll tape--so to speak. We chose Pinnacle Systems' Studio MovieBox Deluxe 9.0, which includes Studio 9.0 software and MovieBox hardware. Several manufacturers offer similar hardware/software packages that can do the job; although our steps refer to Pinnacle's MovieBox, the procedure should be the same no matter which package you choose.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

Before you get started with this project, we recommend that you have the following:

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

Locate the audio- and composite-video-output jacks on the rear panel of your VCR. These are usually color-coded white (left audio), red (right audio), and yellow (video). If the rear panel also has an S-Video output (black, four-pin), use that instead of the yellow video output. S-Video delivers a higher-quality signal than the conventional composite-video output. Now, run the cables from your VCR to the matching inputs on the MovieBox.

You can connect using both composite video and S-Video and select the one you like better via the software later on.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

Next, connect the USB output on the MovieBox to a USB 2.0 port on your PC. You may also want to connect a television to the MovieBox's analog audio- and video-output jacks. You'll see the same image as on your PC screen, but having an additional screen may come in handy for image-quality comparisons while recording.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

With your VCR and the MovieBox powered on, install and launch the Studio 9.0 software. From the Setup menu, select Capture Source. In the Capture Devices area, use the Video and Audio drop-down menus to select the MovieBox option.

You won't find this in the documentation, but make sure you check the VCR Input box--otherwise, the preview image may be severely distorted. In most cases, you should also check the Capture Preview box, but you may need to clear this box if you encounter dropped frames during the capture operation. This is where the TV connection comes in handy--for keeping an eye on the transfer process.

Audio/video production takes a lot of CPU power, so close all other applications and disable your screensaver and any power-saving options.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

Your VHS tape may have several seconds of dead air at the beginning, so make a practice run before starting the capture. While watching the VCR's counter readout, jot down the time the movie appears on your PC's screen. Then stop the tape and rewind it.

With the videotape fully rewound and ready to play, click Studio 9.0's green Start Capture button. This doesn't do what its name implies, though. Instead, a small Capture Video window appears. Give the capture a name and make sure the Stop Capturing After box allows sufficient time to complete the recording. You can set this to any interval you want, and the recording will conclude at the end of that interval. Begin the VCR playback and click the Start Capture button in the dialog box at the appropriate moment. Don't worry if it doesn't come out perfectly--you can delete dead space or other undesired content later on during editing.

A series of thumbnail scenes should appear in the Album window during the capture process. Use the Capture Source tab's Scene Detection section to configure the desired duration for each scene. Perhaps the most convenient option is No Auto Detection--just hit the spacebar whenever you want to start a new scene. Either way, the scene options have no visible effect on the capture; they're used later on for editing. You can remove any unwanted scenes, insert special effects, or resequence the film à la Quentin Tarantino.

Click the Stop Capture button when you're finished recording, unless you already specified the interval at which the capture will stop automatically.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

Now comes the fun part: editing the captured video. Click the Edit tab near the top of the Studio 9.0 window to display again the thumbnail images, along with a multiframe storyboard in the lower half of the window. Drag the scene thumbnails into the storyboard in the sequence you want. You can ignore unwanted scenes such as the countdown scene Pinnacle adds as the first thumbnail. Once you have your scenes on the storyboard, play the compilation to see how it looks.

For the moment, each scene is followed immediately by the next one on the storyboard, but you can insert transitions between them via the Show Transitions button. Don't get carried away with too many special effects, though. Anything beyond a simple wipe can be a visual distraction and divert your audience's attention from the film itself.

You can also insert a still image between scenes on the storyboard. If you're editing a wedding video, for instance, you could place childhood photos of the wedding couple to serve as transitions between scenes. Click the "Show photos and frame grabs" button, select an image, and drag it into the storyboard, placing it between any two scenes.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

One of the most complicated tasks in film production is integrating the soundtrack with the video. It's no problem in an unedited start-to-finish transfer from tape to disc, but audio continuity gets rather complex when merging scenes from several sources or just editing sections from a single tape. You can remove a few seconds of video without anyone noticing, but if a few seconds of music are also gone, everyone will notice. You can try fading one sound out while fading another in, or just watching where you're cutting the audio when you edit the video to keep distractions to a minimum.

Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD

Once you have your audio/video scenes in order, click the Make Movie tab to begin the transfer to disc. The Studio 9.0 software lets you transfer the final cut to your hard drive first, then transfer that copy to DVD. If possible, transfer the VHS source to a second hard drive, or at least to a partition other than drive C: to avoid conflicts with the operating system and the Studio 9.0 software.

After you've burned your DVD, you can play it just about anywhere--but more important, you'll be able to kiss those bulky, last-century videotapes good-bye.