Digital Video Converter

Digital Video Converter

From Analog to Digital

Converting video from an analog to a digital
format, requires either a DVD recorder (the
kind you hook up to your TV) or special
hardware that allows you to feed analog
video into your computer.

There are several ways to convert analog video to digital video. Most of them involve the computer.but they don't have to. For example, if you ONLY want to put your video tapes onto a DVD, without doing any special editing, then the easiest way would be to buy a simple VCR to DVD player/recorder. They sell them at any electronics store and you can usually pick one up for less than £100.

But if you want to do anything else with the video, it's better to get in onto your computer first. From there, you can edit the video and convert the video to different digital formats for use in different applications. And for this, you'll need an analog to digital video converter.

If you plan to put the video onto a DVD, you'll want to make sure the converter will create the right format for you. Different regions in the world use different formats. So check out the section on Putting Digital Video From or To a DVD.

If you're using a mini DV recorder, then you're in luck. The video is already in a digital format. All you have to do is download it to your computer. For this, you'll usually need a firewire port or possibly a USB in some cases. Check your recorder to find out how to download the videos to your computer. If you don't have the proper 'plugs' on your computer, you should be able to buy a card from an electronics store (if you're not sure, bring your camera and show it to the store employee so they'll know which kind of card you need).

If you're using a regular analog video camera, or you want to convert regular VCR tapes, you will have to buy some kind of converter. You can still use the VCR to DVD recorder mentioned above, but you'll have to use special software to take the digital video from your DVD to the computer.

The easiest way to convert digital video is to use an external converter between your VCR/camcorder and your computer. Again, if you plan to put these videos on a DVD, make sure to get one with the right settings.

You can find digital video converters for as little as £25. But the cheaper converters will give you low-quality video. It will have spots that skip because the equipment can't keep up with the conversion process. The video will also have moiré patterns in it when you use inexpensive converters. Moiré is the little squares you see when a digital picture has gone bad. What you're actually looking at is two blocks of image overlapping each other and forming a pattern. When you try to convert an image's (a video is just a compilation of images) resolution, it will form moiré if not done correctly. The cheaper the digital video converter, the more skips and moiré.