frenchyd
frenchyd PowerDork
5/9/20 1:21 p.m.

I have a great collection of VHS mainly car tapes  but no way to watch them. 
Any  suggestions? 

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy MegaDork
5/9/20 1:44 p.m.

You can find nice CRT televisions all over the place, free.  VCR's, same deal.

Or find someone that can put them on disc or a hard drive.  That won't be hard.

frenchyd
frenchyd PowerDork
5/9/20 1:56 p.m.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

That's what I'd like to do. Transfer them to a disk myself. I got some time right now and my wife just got a disk drive for the Smart TV 

Stefan (Forum Supporter)
Stefan (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/9/20 2:07 p.m.

You'll need a video capture card or device for your computer.

You connect the VCR to the computer via the capture device and record it using the included software.  Save the file and then transfer it where ever you'd like.  You might also be able to record it to DVD if that is more convenient.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/how-to-convert-vhs-to-dvd/?amp

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
5/9/20 2:26 p.m.

Do you have a VCR? Most of the later ones will have a composite output that your modern TV shold have an input for. 

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
5/9/20 3:02 p.m.

Composite to hdmi converters are around $10 if you need one.

ProDarwin
ProDarwin UltimaDork
5/9/20 3:11 p.m.

A smart TV should have coax in and RCA jacks and almost every VCR should have that kind of output.  Hooking one up now isn't really any different than hooking one up 30 years ago.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/10/20 10:11 a.m.

VCRs are usually $5 at a goodwill store.

I wish I had known; I just threw away about 6 VCRs at the theater, but the shipping would have cost you more than the VCR was worth.

frenchyd
frenchyd PowerDork
5/11/20 12:28 a.m.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I know but hooking one up to a smart TV has thus far eluded me. 

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
5/11/20 5:33 a.m.
frenchyd said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I know but hooking one up to a smart TV has thus far eluded me. 


nothing different than by other tv. Literally the same. Unless you're using a vcr from 1982 they will all have the rgb outputs. Anything made in the last 10 years will have an hdmi output. 

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 UltraDork
5/11/20 9:29 p.m.

Apparently I didn't know it wasn't supposed to be done. I did it. Family got me a 55" smart TV with built-in ROKU a couple years ago. I hooked up everything that was hooked up to the old 32" flat screen which SWMBO wanted for her computer to watch her Korean movies online and hooked it up to the ROKU TV. Includes a combo VHS/DVD player, Playstation3 and a sound system. Only issue I had was I could never get the surround sound to work with this TV, only stereo sound. Good enough, better than the TV speakers. All hooked up and working. Can select VCR/DVD, playstation from the smart TV menu. Used the yellow/green/red cables. Had cable TV for a while but disconnected that and run an antenna now. Runs internet wireless.

Snowdoggie
Snowdoggie New Reader
5/11/20 10:28 p.m.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

VCRs are usually $5 at a goodwill store.

I wish I had known; I just threw away about 6 VCRs at the theater, but the shipping would have cost you more than the VCR was worth.

Finding a VCR for $5 is easy. Finding a VCR that still works after all these years.Not so easy.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/12/20 8:31 a.m.
frenchyd said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I know but hooking one up to a smart TV has thus far eluded me. 

Tell us whatcha got.

My smart 4k tv still has nearly all the inputs.  It has coax, composite (the red/white/yellow), RGB component (the multicolored RCA plugs), and S-video in addition to a few HDMIs.

You'll never likely get the CEC/ARD functions (controlling the VCR with the TV remote) since that is a function of technology that didn't come around until after VCRs were out of style, but you should be able to physically hook it up your TV.

If you don't have those inputs on the TV, you can always just do one of these.  This particular one is 14 bucks

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