[MUSIC PLAYING] Most VHS tapes will
begin to degrade after just five years so
if you've got some home movies on VHS, it's better
to convert them to DVD's sooner rather than later. There are several
ways to do this. The simplest way is to
have someone else do it. Look up copy VHS to
DVD on the internet, and a business near
you should pop up. This can be a fairly
expensive approach, but if you only have a few
tapes, it can make sense. The next method is to
use a combination deck, like this one, which is
designed to copy tapes to disks. Put in the tape, put in a blank
DVD, and hit the Copy button. Most modern combo
decks do a good job of this for about $150. And if you have a
lot of tapes to copy, it makes sense to just buy
one and do it yourself. If you have a regular VHS
player and a DVD burner, just hook them together
according to instructions. It's not quite as
simple as a combo deck, but it will still
get the job done. Another option is to
use your computer. You may need to buy an analog
to digital video converter, like this one, so your computer
can read and store the video, but they are fairly inexpensive. Also, your computer
will need the ability to burn a DVD using an
internal or external drive. Depending on the
equipment you use, you may be able to copy the
tapes to DVD in real time as it plays. Or your computer
may store the video on the hard drive
allowing you to edit the footage if you desire
before burning it to a DVD. If you have video editing
software on your computer, that will make the
task easier as well.
