Converting your old camcorder tapes to digital is most likely one of those jobs that you’ve just never got round to doing.
As rewarding as it can be, converting camcorder tapes is an extremely time consuming and tricky task. It can throw up a bunch of challenges you’d have never expected to face.
If you’re reading this with the good intention of converting your camcorder tapes yourself. We want to help prepare you for some of the most common problems you may encounter on your quest to restore your memories.
You’ve scoured the dark depths of your cupboards. Travelled through cobwebs and waded through the dust in the loft. Finally you find your old camcorder and tapes. You’ve hit the jackpot! You’re now committed. After all these years the tapes are finally going to see the light of day and get converted to digital.
Dust off the cobwebs and check for mould
After being stored away for years in dark and damp conditions it’s important to check the tapes for dust and also mould. Dust and cobwebs can be easy to fix. Mould can be a bit trickier. If you discover mould on your camcorder tapes it is best to clean and remove it before attempting to play the tape.
Mould on camcorder tapes can deposit onto the video heads in your player. Any tapes played in the same player after can then get infected- it can spread just like a virus.
The best option you have is to try and clear the tape of mould yourself (there’s plenty of videos on youtube with multiple methods of cleaning the tapes). Alternatively, seek advice from a professional team. If you do opt to take on the task of removing the mould, please be cautious of the side effects it can have on your health.
Recharge your batteries
As soon as you get your camcorder out, check to see it still works. Attempt to charge the battery first. It may sound obvious, however, it is highly likely after many years of being dormant it may not work or hold charge. This can be extremely disappointing when converting old camcorder tapes to digital as you’ll need your camcorder to capture the tapes.
If you’re unfortunate enough for this to happen to you. It’s worth checking to see if you can get a replacement camcorder tape battery (on sites such as Amazon). It may be cheaper to source a new video camera (from Ebay or Facebook Marketplace) – this can prove costly however.
Choose your video to digital converter wisley
There are a wide variety of home video to digital conversion kits on the market. Search Amazon, Ebay and check on Google for hundreds of options. There are so many, this can make it overwhelming and confusing.
When selecting your USB device, be sure to check that the software that comes with the hardware is compatible with your computer or laptop. Many video to digital conversion kits for the home come with software that may be out of date with your current system or include the software only on a disk – this can prove problematic with many modern PC’s or laptops that don’t contain disk drives as standard.
Our advice:
Ensure you can download the software drivers online before purchasing!
Converting old camcorder tapes to digital is highly rewarding, especially when you discover little gems of content you never knew you had. Because of the time and equipment involved it is always an option to have them professionally converted – it may even work out much cheaper!
Whether you choose to do this yourself, or sought for someone else to convert your camcorder tapes to digital, we are here to help where we can. No expense, no commitment, just friendly advice from a team that is passionate in restoring old video tapes and old memories.
Contact us with any questions you may have about your conversion retrospectvhs@gmail.com.
Want some help converting your tapes? No problem, visit our store and place your order- we’ll take care of it.
