As long as you stay within the legal guidelines of “fair use” you can not only transfer your VHS movies to DVD format but you can also improve the quality of your transferred movies. Due to today’s technology and the advancements with various kinds of image and video editing programs, your DVD movies that you transferred from a VHS tape, including family videos, can be very close to optimal DVD quality.

It is much safer to only transfer and edit your personal family movies that you recorded onto DVD than it is to do this with VHS movies you have purchased in the past. Many of these movies are readily available for download for much less than the cost of a recordable DVD so it just doesn’t make sense to spend your time on the conversion and take your chances with the legalities of this issue.

The following information is intended to help you learn how to convert your VHS home movies to DVD movies. These can include birthday parties, weddings, receptions, festivals, family antics, graduations or any other events you may have recorded and want to keep and preserve on DVD.

DVD Recorders

There many advantages to using a DVD recorder to record old VHS family movies to DVD. Some DVD Recorders support input from VHS VCRs, older video cameras, or even digital sources like your camcorder. Some DVD Recorders actually include a VHS VCR so you can convert directly on the device. One downside to using a DVD recorder is that if the VHS tape or DVD you are trying to copy has copy protection restrictions. Additionally, these are not the most inexpensive devices you can use for this kind of transfer. However, the process is easy to set up and use and as long as there are no copyright issues with the DVD or VHS tape, you can get a very good quality video as a result.

Once you have completed the transfer or transfers of your family VHS movies onto a DVD today, then you can use your computer and specialty software to edit and improve the quality of your newly copied video.

Video Capture Card Transfers

A less expensive way to get your VHS family movies onto DVD is to use your already existing DVD burner on your computer and use a capture card to grab the input from your VCR or old camcorder. This can be a more flexible option, especially when you want to edit your recorded family videos. Another advantage of using the capture card method is that it allows you to record copy protected VHS videos in many cases. Just make sure you stay within the law following the fair use regulation. You may only copy them for your own personal use and not to pirate or sell them.

Either of these methods can help you get your old VHS recordings onto DVD. You can then use specialty software to improve the quality of your transferred VHS to DVD movies. It’s a lot easier than you might think and less expensive than having it done by a professional.