FYI this post is a backup of my reddit post. Now that reddit is pulling a tumblr I figured self hosting is in order.

Why a “How do I digitize/transfer/capture video tapes” thread?

I see this question asked on DataHoarder a couple times a week, mostly with the same good and bad answers. Hopefully this thread will serve the purpose of providing basic and in depth info and options for digitizing common video tapes. Will be asking mods to sticky this. I’ll be making updates if anyone has strong opinions or things to add.

Who are you?

I frequent this sub and spend a lot of time transferring tapes for various communities, here’s my setup: https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/g2l5ow/video_archival_rack_build_one_year_update_more/

Basics

The way in which you digitize your tapes is going to depend on the tape format and the quality you wish to achieve. As with most things, you get what you pay for, and the higher the quality you desire the more you’re going to go down a rabbit hole of information.

This post will cover the common formats you’re likely to deal with: VHS, VHSC, HI8, Video8, Digital8, and miniDV.