Is there any vhs player/drive for pc?

[Lilninjsways]

I have many VHS tapes that I want to save onto my pc while also my grandmother only has a VCR and no DVD player and want to move any videos of the family to VHS since she always asks for some. 

 

I have always asked her "why don't you get a DVD player to have these video's?" She says "it would be easier if it was on VHS" Is there any way I could do this without a VCR?

 

I have looked and they have converter's but no actual drives

 

Thanks for helping me!

[kirashi]

4 minutes ago, Lilninjsways said:

I have many VHS tapes that I want to save onto my pc while also my grandmother only has a VCR and no DVD player and want to move any videos of the family to VHS since she always asks for some. 

I have always asked her "why don't you get a DVD player to have these video's?" She says "it would be easier if it was on VHS" Is there any way I could do this without a VCR?

I have looked and they have converter's but no actual drives

Thanks for helping me!

There are many converters that will essentially take an RCA (red/white/yellow) output from any video device and allow you to record this to a digital file on the computer, but I'm not aware of anything that will do the reverse since that'd be going backward. I understand that VHS tapes may be easier for your grandma to use since she's used to them, and I really do feel for the older generations who are at an age where they can't learn new things due to deteriorating health (or other issues) but unfortunately this is the way technology goes these days.

 

I love tech, but also fear for the day that I too lose the ability to keep up, as I'll fall behind current tech and be in the same boat.

[Lilninjsways]

1 minute ago, kirashi said:

There are many converters that will essentially take an RCA (red/white/yellow) output from any video device and allow you to record this to a digital file on the computer, but I'm not aware of anything that will do the reverse since that'd be going backward. I understand that VHS tapes may be easier for your grandma to use since she's used to them, and I really do feel for the older generations who are at an age where they can't learn new things due to deteriorating health (or other issues) but unfortunately this is the way technology goes these days.

 

I love tech, but also fear for the day that I too lose the ability to keep up, as I'll fall behind current tech and be in the same boat.

that was a much more heartfelt response but thanks! I have heard that if you have a DVD/VCR combo player you could somehow record the DVD to the blank VHS tape but I wonder if there is a part where I can insert a VHS tape and move the video onto it i don't care if it takes forever I just want something that can do it 

[kirashi]

1 minute ago, Lilninjsways said:

that was a much more heartfelt response but thanks! I have heard that if you have a DVD/VCR combo player you could somehow record the DVD to the blank VHS tape but I wonder if there is a part where I can insert a VHS tape and move the video onto it i don't care if it takes forever I just want something that can do it 

There are DVD/VCR players that have 2 way recording, yes - this means you can record an unprotected DVD (read: not a feature movie because copy protection) to VHS, and vice versa. However, VHS tapes are NOT digital, therefore the way they record is by essentially playing the tape in record mode for the length of the recording. If they did make a device to record video from PC onto VHS tape, you'd have to let the video playback in real-time for it to "record" to the VHS tape.

[Lilninjsways]

2 minutes ago, kirashi said:

There are DVD/VCR players that have 2 way recording, yes - this means you can record an unprotected DVD (read: not a feature movie because copy protection) to VHS, and vice versa. However, VHS tapes are NOT digital, therefore the way they record is by essentially playing the tape in record mode for the length of the recording. If they did make a device to record video from PC onto VHS tape, you'd have to let the video playback in real-time for it to "record" to the VHS tape.

how long does 2 way recording take do you know?

[mariushm]

I doubt you're gonna find such a device, and if you do it's probably gonna be expensive.

You will find much easily DVD recorders, standalone things that accept RF in , composite/s-video in and maybe hdmi in and record the input to DVD.  So, you could get a VHS player and connect it to the DVD recorder, hit play on VHS and record on the DVD recorder and you get the job done.

 

Here's an example, just a random search on Amazon, first result : Sony DVDirect VRDMC10 Stand Alone DVD Recorder/Player (Black)

 

As for making VHS tapes from DVDs, are you sure it's not easier to just buy a TV with USB ports on the side, and teach your grandma to plug a USB stick whenever she wants to view movies?

Or have a standalone simple DVD/bluray player connected to a second HDMI port on her TV and just teach her to press the HDMI 2 button on the remote and then play on the dvd player

With a bluray player you could convert all her tapes to 720p mp4 and put them on a bluray disc (~25/50 GB)

 

how long does 2 way recording take do you know?

 

Figure it's gonna take at least as long as the original play time is, since you read or record at real time speed...

 

 

[kirashi]

3 hours ago, Lilninjsways said:

how long does 2 way recording take do you know?

When dealing with VHS? As long as the length of the program, because again, VCR's record video in real-time -- they are NOT digital, therefore cannot just "copy" a file over. This means if you have a 2 hour concert recorded to DVD that you'd like to clone to VHS, it will take 2 hours because you effectively have to play back the 2 hour concert for the entire length while the VCR records the video + audio to tape.

[Lilninjsways]

15 hours ago, kirashi said:

When dealing with VHS? As long as the length of the program, because again, VCR's record video in real-time -- they are NOT digital, therefore cannot just "copy" a file over. This means if you have a 2 hour concert recorded to DVD that you'd like to clone to VHS, it will take 2 hours because you effectively have to play back the 2 hour concert for the entire length while the VCR records the video + audio to tape.

oh yes i know that

[markr54632]

22 hours ago, Lilninjsways said:

oh yes i know that

Have you considered maybe getting her a digital photo frame? You can load the photos and videos on it for her, and there isnt anything for her to learn. It has the same playback buttons for video that she is used to. The hard part is on your end transcribing it to the correct format.

 

Or possibly a kids tablet. I know it sounds rude, but not intended that way. Use parental controls to limit it to a media player and load your family videos on that.

 

We used to use a netbook with a guest account. Worked wonderfully, but there are better solutions.

 

As for VHS, it's not too hard to convert family videos to vhs. Video converters are easy to find to go to composite or s video, playback full screen and record. The problem is more so finding a good vhs recorder that still works.

[Lilninjsways]

On 2/20/2019 at 10:40 AM, markr54632 said:

Have you considered maybe getting her a digital photo frame? You can load the photos and videos on it for her, and there isnt anything for her to learn. It has the same playback buttons for video that she is used to. The hard part is on your end transcribing it to the correct format.

 

Or possibly a kids tablet. I know it sounds rude, but not intended that way. Use parental controls to limit it to a media player and load your family videos on that.

 

We used to use a netbook with a guest account. Worked wonderfully, but there are better solutions.

 

As for VHS, it's not too hard to convert family videos to vhs. Video converters are easy to find to go to composite or s video, playback full screen and record. The problem is more so finding a good vhs recorder that still works.

well i have a dvd and vhs player (2 in 1) it has a "record button" but I dont have any blank tapes and dont really know how to do it  from using the dvd in the player and recording vhs with that same player