Holiday Head Start: Digitizing VHS
Supplies Needed:
- Home VHS tapes
- USB Drive (Minimum 32 GB) or External Hard Drive
Supplies Provided:
- VCR
- CyberLink PowerDirector Software
Appointment:
Call or email to schedule an appointment for Digitizing VHS
Call: 330-722-2681
Email: makerspace@mcdl.info
Note: Appointments are scheduled in 3-hour blocks. VHS Tapes convert in real time (no high-speed transfer).
With an appointment help is always available!
Step by Step Instructions:
- Check in for your appointment to be directed to a station in the Digital Lab.
- Double click the blue Cyberlink PowerDirector icon.
- Switch to “Capture” mode by clicking File > Capture.
- Click the Change Folder button near the bottom of the screen to save your videos directly to your storage device.
- In the pop-up box, select your drive and click OK.
- Load your VHS tape into the VCR connected to your Digital Lab station. You will play, pause, stop, rewind, and fast forward using the buttons on the VCR.
- Press ▶ PLAY on the VCR and immediately return to the computer to start your recording.
- In Cyberlink, click the Record Button (red circle) on the right side of the screen below the preview box to begin capturing your video. Note: When the Record Button is flashing, CyberLink is recording whatever you see in the preview box on screen.
- When you’ve reached the end of your video, click the Record Button again to end the recording.
- When you end the recording, a pop-up box will prompt you to name your digitized video. Enter a title and click OK.
- Repeat steps 1-9 as needed.