Capturing VHS with your Digital Camcorder

Sometimes I want to document a process so that when others search for a solution, they can find it.

I am converting nearly 20 home videos on VHS for someone we know to DVDs. I have a Dazzle 90 for this, but unfortunately they do not have drivers for Windows 7.

I looked at buying a new capture device, but was put off by the many negative reviews many had on Amazon.

Then I hit on an idea. I knew I could run the video from VHS into my Sony digital camcorder, and record to tape, then transfer those tapes via fire wire to my PC. Was there a way to skip the recording and send the capture the signal the fire wire sends to the PC?

I re-discovered WinDV. WinDV is a free app for the PC that captures videos coming in from fire wire devices.

Using it, I can play a VHS tape and the video flows out of the VHS to the input on my camcorder, then via fire wire to my PC. WinDV captures it as .avi files. Then I use a DVD program to make the DVD.

I hope this helps someone else with the same issue.

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