Back Up Copyrighted VHS Tapes
Over time, you may have accumulated a significant library of movies and television programs purchased on VHS. Given the age of this format, you want to protect your investment by creating backup copies in case something happens to the original tape. You are within your rights as a consumer to do so, and when duplicating tapes for this purpose, you are not in violation of copyright laws. Unfortunately, a copy-protection process known as Macrovision will prevent you from duplicating many commercially produced VHS tapes. This guide will provide practical steps to successfully back up most VHS tapes.
Instructions
1. Choose your backup format. You would be wise to select a more durable medium than the aging magnetic tape technology used for your original VHS tape. Optical discs (DVD or Blu-ray) or a computer hard drive may be your best option. You will need specific equipment to convert your VHS video to these formats.
2. Select an encoder card. The encoder card will be what converts the analog video signal coming from your VHS player to a digital file format used to burn discs or store on computer hard drives. While a variety of manufacturers exist, you may want to select a card that encodes specifically to the MPEG file format used in DVDs. These cards can be quite affordable and work with either Windows or Apple Mac computer systems. Select a card that has RCA input jacks that are compatible with your VHS player.
3. Defeat the copy protection. If your library of commercial VHS tapes is very large, you will no doubt encounter copy-protected tapes. You will need to purchase a device that passes the video signal from your VHS player to your encoder card. These devices are referred to as video-enhancement or video-correction units. Professional time base correctors (TBCs) are most effective tools to remove Macrovision copy protection. Though once costing many thousands of dollars, used professional units can be purchased for a fraction of the original cost, having been replaced by high-definition technology.
4. Make the connections. Using RCA patch cables, plug the video output of your VHS player into your video correction device or TBC. Then plug the output of your correction device into the input of your encoder card. The audio output from the VHS player can go directly into the audio input of your computer or MPEG encoder card. You may need an adapter cable that features male RCA connectors on one end and a male stereo mini-jack on the other.
5. Use the software supplied with your MPEG encoder card to capture the video signal when you play back a VHS tape on the player. Most software allows you to adjust the encoding quality so you can reduce the size of the files created. Smaller files will result in more tapes fitting onto a DVD or hard drive.
Tags: encoder card, your player, video signal, Back Copyrighted, Back Copyrighted Tapes