# Question for gadget gurus **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530 "2013-05-16T17:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/1 "2013-05-16T17:50:50Z")
I recently found some old (27 year old :eek:) VHS tapes, and there’s some stuff on some of them I want to keep. I have a working VCR. My question: is there some way to connect the VCR and my laptop that would let me transfer the videos into the computer? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/2 "2013-05-16T17:55:07Z")
there are video capture cards (often part of a video output card) for desktops. there are also USB video capture devices for any computer with USB ports. quality is limited by USB speed. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/3 "2013-05-16T18:14:11Z")
You can also pay to have it transferred to DVD as well. There should be services in your area that will do it for a reasonable fee. If not, there are plenty on the web that will do it through mail-order. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/4 "2013-05-16T18:52:40Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > there are video capture cards (often part of a video output card) for desktops. > > there are also USB video capture devices for any computer with USB ports. quality is limited by USB speed. The quality on the USB devices is fine. I have an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid, which makes great video captures over USB. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/5 "2013-05-17T09:29:11Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > I recently found some old (27 year old :eek:) VHS tapes, and there’s some stuff on some of them I want to keep. I have a working VCR. My question: is there some way to connect the VCR and my laptop that would let me transfer the videos into the computer? I did this a few years ago by plugging the VCR into a digital video recorder, then burning onto a DVD. I’m not 100% sure but you could probably plug into a set top box that has a removable hard drive, then transfer from there. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/6 "2013-05-17T19:37:47Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > I did this a few years ago by plugging the VCR into a digital video recorder, then burning onto a DVD. I’m not 100% sure but you could probably plug into a set top box that has a removable hard drive, then transfer from there. Thanks. I’ll give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-gadget-gurus/658530/7 "2013-05-17T20:10:43Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > there are video capture cards (often part of a video output card) for desktops. > > there are also USB video capture devices for any computer with USB ports. quality is limited by USB speed. For VHS tapes, USB2.0 is far faster than you need. These ain’t 1080p. 🙂 Hauppauge is a major player in this market;[something like this](http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr850.html) should meet your needs.