CloudingClarity

Video Tape Backup

Posted on 17. Sep, 2008 by Eric in Video

Today I hope to share some information that will help you should you ever find yourself needing to backup some home video tapes. Some time ago, I was given the task of backup up all of my family’s video tapes. I immediately investigated my options. The two I found were:

-Purchase a set-top dvd burner ($150.00)

-Purchase an LG combination video capturecard and dvd burner for my computer ($30.00)

Anyone who knows me could tell you how much it cost me based on the information above. Yep, that’s right, 180 bucks. I am a frugal, frugal man when it comes to many things, and I always attempt the cheap solution first. Unfortunately, it almost always comes back to bite me in the butt. Bottom line is that you would have to have a very, very fast PC to pull off using a video capture card to record your tapes. Also, a large hard drive will be necessary. When capturing the video tapes, you must capture in a raw format or else the audio and video will be out of sync in many cases. The cheap solution turns out to be investing in a set-top dvd burner. I spent 2 weeks failing to copy 1 video tape with my PC, while I competed all 15 videos tapes within 1 week of owning a set-top burner. In conclusion, don’t be cheap skate. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share. Have you had a better experience using a video capture card? If so, what was your computer speed?

Tags: video tape