Somewhere in the attic, in a cupboard or in a moving box, they're still there: old videotapes containing footage you probably haven't watched in years. Holidays, birthdays, weddings, your children's first steps or other precious moments.
These recordings are often irreplaceable. Yet watching videotapes is becoming increasingly impractical. Modern TVs have different connections, VCRs are gradually disappearing from homes, and sharing a videotape simply isn't as easy as sharing a digital video file.
By digitising your videotapes, you can give old recordings a second life. But how do you do that? And do you always need a computer?
Why digitise old videotapes?
A videotape is a physical storage medium. To watch the footage, you need a suitable VCR, which isn't always easy to connect to a modern TV.
Converting the footage into digital files makes things much easier. You can store your recordings on a USB stick, external hard drive or microSD card, for example. This makes it easier to revisit old recordings and share them with family or friends.
What do you need to digitise videotapes?
For VHS tapes, you'll need a working VCR. This plays back the original analogue video signal. You'll also need a device that converts the video and audio into a digital recording.
Digitising videotapes without a computer
With the Marmitek Record AV200, you can digitise old videotapes without a computer. Connect your VCR, insert a USB stick, USB hard drive or microSD card, and start recording directly on the device.
The built-in screen lets you see which footage is playing while you digitise it. This is particularly useful for videotapes when you're no longer quite sure what's on them. Apparently, "VHS 4 – holiday?" was once a perfectly acceptable filing system.
How to digitise a VHS tape step by step
The digitising process itself involves just a few simple steps:
- Connect your VCR. Connect the VCR to the Record AV200 using SCART, RCA or S-Video.
- Insert a storage device. Use a USB stick, USB hard drive or microSD card, for example.
- Find the right recording. Play the videotape and watch the footage on the built-in display.
- Start the digital recording. Start recording on the Record AV200 and play the section you want to capture.
- Save your digital video. The recording will then be stored on your chosen storage device.
The VCR takes care of playing the old tape, while the Record AV200 converts the analogue video and audio into a digital recording.
Don't forget the sound
When you think about old videos, the images might be the first thing that comes to mind. But it's often the sound that makes these recordings so special. A voice you haven't heard in years, laughter at a birthday party or conversations in the background can sometimes bring back a memory even faster than the images themselves.
That's why the Record AV200 captures both the video and its accompanying audio. During playback, you can hear the sound through the built-in speaker. This way, you preserve not only what you saw back then, but also what you heard.
Watching old videotapes on a modern TV
You might not want to digitise every videotape straight away. Sometimes you simply want to see what's on it first. That's where old video equipment runs into a modern problem: many new TVs no longer have a SCART connection or other analogue video inputs.
From an old VCR to HDMI
Connect your old video source to the Record AV200 and connect the HDMI output to a modern TV or projector. The old video signal will then appear on the modern screen. This allows you to take your time deciding which recordings are worth preserving.
Which videotapes are worth keeping?
If you have a large collection of videotapes, there's no need to digitise every minute without checking what's on them first. Start with tapes you know contain personal memories.
Think of family recordings, holidays, birthdays, weddings, children growing up or footage of people who matter to you. Watch unfamiliar tapes first, then decide which clips you want to preserve digitally. That way, a box of old videotapes eventually becomes a digital collection you can actually enjoy.
Give old videotapes a digital future
What makes old videotapes so special is that their contents are often far more valuable than the medium they're stored on. You can replace a VHS tape. But you can't replace the footage from that family holiday in 1994.
With the Marmitek Record AV200, you can convert analogue video recordings into digital files yourself, without a computer. You can monitor the recording on the built-in screen, save both video and audio to your own storage device, and use the HDMI output to watch old video sources on a modern TV or projector again.
So that box of videotapes doesn't have to spend another ten years waiting in the attic.
Discover the Marmitek Record AV200
