Check out the Capture devices on
http://hauppauge.com/

There is a USB capture device there about $50.

I use a PCI card capture device. I also have a usb capture device that works.

My favorite device is a Stand-Alone VCR/DVD recorder. Put in the VHS tape and record to a DVD.
Then import the VOB files to the hard drive from the DVD. Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Thanks for the response Carl. After some more indepth consideration as to the volume of VHS tapes that I want to convert, I have decided that the best way to go very well may be the stand-alone device or the PCI card. Initally, I'm leaning toward the stand alone device so I won't have to worry about fitting the PCI card into future computers. On the stand alone devices, after you record to a DVD, is it easy to transfer to the computer? Does it simply create a file that you can drag and drop or will there be additional steps that will need to take place in order to edit in PD9?

Is there any recommendations for a stand alone device that will accomplish what I want done that I won't have to worry about audio/video sync?

Thanks for your help!

To convert old VHS tapes, I use a Sylvania DVR90VE which consists of a stand alone DVD Player/Recorder and a VHS tape deck in one cabinet. I have used it to convert 50+ old VHS tapes to a DVD format with completely satisfactory results.

You record (“Dub”) the VHS tape to a DVD-R or DVD/RW blank and the result is a collection of VOB files in a VIDEO_TS folder, which is just like a standard DVD but of course without copy protection. To import into PD9, you just reference one of the VOB files.

One caveat: Although PD9 would allow me to specify one of the VOB files on the DVD disc as input media, the import process was a lengthy 4 or 5 min (for a 1 GB VOB file) , and the result was jittery when played in PD9.
I found that if I copied the resulting VOB file from the DVD disc to the hard drive in my computer, and then imported into PD9 from there, all was fine - no audio or video jitter present.

Loss of audio/video sync has never been a problem when viewing the dubbed DVD content.

A nice side effect is that the DVD you created is can be regarded as a backup of your old VHS tape.

Good Luck.

I echo KenJ comments on the procedure.

I always copy the DVD to the hard drive before editing.

There is a bonus with the stand alone DVD recorder, If the VHS tape has Closed Captions, they are recorded on the DVD.
There is good software that will extract the CC from the VOB files and you can use those CC as subtitles in PD.

It is a detailed process, but not hard to do.

PD can edit the VOB files directly, however I find that if you convert the VOB files to Mpeg2 files before doing serious editing, PD just works better.

My procedure is to drop the VOB files on the timeline then produce a MPEG2 HQ file. Then do all edits on the Mpeg2 file.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Thanks to both of you for your input and help. I think the stand alone is the way to go. I'll check out the Sylvania DVR90VE that you use KenJ. Have a great one!

I use the DVD/VCR combo method myself, although I don't copy the VOB files off the disc. I insert the disc and use PD9's capture mode to rip it into Mpeg format, then work with that. I've never seen any sync issues doing it this way. PowerDirector 10 Ultra
Dell XPS Studio - i7 3.4 GHz / 8 GB RAM / Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Be careful if you do purhase a DVD/VHS combo. Some of the more economical ones are only players when of course you need one where the DVD player can also record.

I have a Sony DVD/VHS "dubber", model # RDR-VX560. I believe it was Sony's top-of-the-line model. If not, very close. These are no longer being manufactured, but you can find quite a large selection on the Bay. I got the above model new in the box for about $150.00. So far, it's doing a bang-up job of copying my old VHS tapes to DVD. One caveat: it's smart enough to prevent copying a copy protected VHS. If you want to convert commercial movies to DVD, you'll have to get a special device that will bypass copy protection.

You can find many choices of cheap, used dubbers on the Bay, but I've never been comfortable buying used electronics. "Give us your two cents worth; a penny for your thoughts". Who gets the other penny?

I am currently using an EzCAP DC60 USB video grabber and have captured many VHS, Hi8 & Video 8 tapes, Plus TV, to mpeg2, without any problems. I downloaded a Windows 7 64 bit driver for it without any problem. Re the lip sync problem. There does appear to be a lip sync problem while watching the preview window during capture but it is not apparent when subsequently editing and burning the video.
I note that there is now available a later model of the EzCAP. The 116DC60 which fully supports XP/Vista Windows 7
32/64 bit for under £20 UK.


Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
VM Windows Professional XP
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM DDR3
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Chip type: ATI display adapter 0x68B8
Motherboard ASUS P7P55D-E
1TG Hardrive