Which Path Should You Take To Convert To DVD? Pick One.
If you are preparing for the enormous challenge of transferring your home movies and VHS to DVD, Blu-ray, or some other digital format, you have no doubt started to feel more than a little overwhelmed by the huge amount of information on the subject. There are thousands and possibly millions of choices out there for people that want to make sure that their old movies and videos are preserved for generations to come. And, whether you have a family of your own or not, you most likely have old videos – even if they are just a few years old. With the lightning speed of technology, you are going to need to convert to DVD or another format to insure that your footage will survive through the continuing evolution of video.
I am Marty Holthaus and I spent more than ten years coordinating visual effects for over twenty Hollywood movies, including Superman Returns and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Before that I attended film school where I learned a fair amount of technical knowledge. And before that I was a home movie aficionado, making my own movies as a young boy. Nonetheless, as I begin my quest to transfer my old movies and videos to the digital realm, I also am overwhelmed by all of the choices.
How To Transfer VHS To DVD
Here are the three basic stages for transferring video or film to digital:
- Get a machine that will play your original.
- Connect that machine to a computer or another machine that can convert your original to digital.
- Copy the converted digital data to the medium of your choice, such as DVD or Blu-ray.
VHS To DVD Recorders And Converters
There are so many economical products on the market that can get the job done at a low to medium level of quality. However, having worked on Hollywood productions where high definition resolution and state of the art film scanners are the norm, I have a hard time trying to persuade myself to settle for anything less for my home movies. Whatever path I choose is going to impact the quality and longevity of my family’s home videos for generations to come. For this reason, I am searching for the very best digital transfer possible.
Can I Afford High Quality Hardware And Software?
The average person probably cannot afford the very best hardware and software that is required to perfectly convert to DVD. As I said, I worked in Hollywood post production for over ten years and I know that high end equipment is not cheap. And the older the visual media you want to convert, the more expensive a high quality transfer is going to be.
Let’s take film scanners as an example. If you have old Super 8mm film that you want to convert to digital and you were serious about buying your own true film scanner (not just a telecine, which is more of a medium level quality), it might cost you tens of thousands of dollars. I know I sure don’t have that kind of money in my film to digital transfer budget. Chances are you don’t, either. And, even if you could afford your own film scanner, would you really have the time to master such a highly specialized field. I don’t think so. So, what are the options?
Film And Video Transfer Services
Here is where I think. Throw in the towel. Don’t fight an up-hill battle. It just doesn’t make sense. There are plenty of companies out there that have already invested in state of the art film and video transfer equipment. In addition, they already have trained technicians who have been through the learning curve and are proficient at getting close to perfect results from the equipment. Why not use them to get the best digital transfer you can possibly get? It would save you lots of time and money. You would get higher, more consistent, quality than if you tried to do it on your own with equipment you could afford to purchase. And, so what if you still can’t afford the very best company? Maybe you can afford the 2nd best. Or maybe the third best? You will still get a better transfer from someone at the top of the list than if you tried to do it on your own with inadequate equipment. Do you see my point?
How Do You Know What The Best VHS To DVD Service Is?
The biggest problem I now face is determining the right company for me. If you are still with me, you are probably thinking the same thing. If you are now leaning towards hiring a professional company that provides transfer services, too, then you are probably asking yourself the same question. Is there a company out there that provides top of the line digital transfers at a price that I can afford? If not, what is the second best method I can afford and what is the best company using those methods?
My Plan To Help Us Both
So, to sum up, what is the best way to convert VHS to DVD? If you are converting VHS to DVD, I recommend hiring the best company you can afford to do it for you. Over the next seven months I am going to research as many video to digital transfer houses and film transfer houses as possible. Using my own criteria for grading digital transfer services, I will labor to find the best of the best. At the end of those seven months – November, 2012 – I plan to test one or more of the companies I find with a few samples of my own analog film and video collection to see what companies seem to do a better job. I chose November because this is right before the holidays and, because of this, most VHS to DVD transfer companies offer big sales on their services.
I invite you to join me in the coming months as I investigate as many companies as possible to see if I can find the right match for me. Hopefully, I will find a few companies that will meet your standards as well.
4 comments
Mary Ellen
February 15, 2011 at 3:29 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
So I have a dvd made from old movies and I would like to edit the movies. Is there a program I should buy for my mac, or can I import it (the dvd) into iPhoto? It doesn’t seem that I can– but there must be a way that I can edit these old movies! thanks!
Marty Holthaus
February 16, 2011 at 12:35 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks for your question, Mary Ellen. Unfortunately, it is not easy to edit video once it is transferred to DVD. If you still have the original media, it would be so much better to transfer the original to “uncompressed” digital files, edit them in iMovie (not iPhoto) or another editing program, and then convert it to DVD after that. The problem is that the video has already been “compressed” for DVD. DVD Your Memories is a company I know of that has dealt with your situation before. You may want to call them at 858-503-7965 or check one of the other companies I list on this site.
Watch Twilight
May 2, 2010 at 2:25 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
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Marty Holthaus
May 2, 2010 at 1:26 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
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