We recommend storing them with all your other data files and sync them with a cloud service like Dropbox or OneDrive. That way they’re safely preserved for future generations. If your PC is part of a home network that includes a smart TV or select media streamers, the PC can act as a media server.
Read more about convert mini dv to mp4 here.
Installing the correct driver (Windows 7 only)
Another alternative is to make copies of your tapes on DVD using a PC or Laptop. This is done by connecting the camcorder to an analog-to-digital video converter, which, in turn, connects to a PC . Or connect the camcorder to an analog-to-digital video converter, and connect this to a computer with a DVD drive. FireWire Card The Firewire cable is necessary for capturing high-quality video from your digital camcorder. You will find DV connectors on almost all camcorder models, providing you with the best possible footage capture. In addition, converting over the DV connection will allow you to capture the highest resolution that the camcorder can provide.
There were hours of concert footage from 2000 to 2003, when Peter’s high school band—Down in Flames—briefly gained a following and toured the country. When recording is done, stop the VCR or DVD recorder and the camcorder. Put the tape to be copied to VHS or DVD in the Camcorder, and put a blank tape in the VCR or a blank DVD in the DVD recorder. Plug the camcorder directly into the VCR or DVD recorder and not the TV. In both cases, record to the target media as the source plays. Don’t waste your time and money by digitizing MiniDV tapes at home – send them to us at KODAK Digitizing and we’ll take care of it for you.
Camcorders That Use MiniDVD Discs
These machines can be expensive—the Wolverine Data Film2Digital Moviemaker Pro, for example, costs about $400, though you might find other models for closer to $100. Another problem that may show up during the conversion is editing flexibility. The digital conversion service will only make a carbon copy of your tape.
(Blu-rays are more expensive.) You can start your order online, then take your tapes to a local store. The process takes about three weeks, and you get your original tapes back as well as the files on DVD. Digital files are included at Costco, but Walgreens charges an extra fee for them. “There is another way, but it’s a bit of a project,” says Elias Arias, Consumer Reports’ project leader for audio/video testing. You’ll need a film-reel projector, a digital video camera, and a clean white wall or a projector screen. First, you can buy a film-to-video converter, which looks like a compact version of an old-fashioned reel-to-reel projector.
Use the software that came with the video converter to “record” the videotape to a digital file. Shooting video on camcorders has been a great way to preserve precious memories. Many people have copied their videos to VHS and DVD to watch on TV or pass out to family and friends. However, with the demise of VCRs and DVD recorders, the most practical way to preserve videos is to upload old camcorder videos to a PC. No brand new 8mm tape players are available in the market. The 8mm video format fell out of popularity, especially after the emergence of the mini-DV format and also DVD camcorders. 8mm tape players also make excellent 8mm video cassette converters.
Plug the USB side of the converter into your computer and the red, white and yellow cables into your VCR. If your VCR is new enough that it has an S-Video port you can use that, as it will give you slightly better quality. If you’ve got the time, you can convert your VHS tapes to digital at home with a few tools. If your tapes are particularly old, or you’re short on time, there are services that will do it for you.
Copy Tapes to DVD Using a PC or Laptop
Something to note here is that AV has a single pin, while RCA has three separate pins colored yellow, red, and white. Can be complex for those who are not tech-savvy, leading to frustration and delays in the process.
So don’t waste any time looking for a way to connect the old VCR to a new all-digital TV. There was a time when you probably preserved family memories by saving them to videotape, but videotape is now completely obsolete. If you’re like a lot of people, you have a cabinet full of VHS tapes but haven’t had a VCR to play them on in 10 years or more. And while it’s possible to convert VHS to digital, don’t wait too long to actually do that. Eventually, the contents of your old tapes will be gone forever, because the video stored on VHS degrades by as much as 20% every years.
VCRs are no longer manufactured and finding one new-in-box is vanishingly rare . Note any other editing instructions you would like to take advantage of.