I thought I’d write a blog post about something that has been bothering me for nearly 20 years now, namely the impossibility of finding an all-in-one standalone VHS tape to digital converter to convert all the old VHS tapes I made when I was on a BTEC film and video production course in the late 1980s. These tapes comprise of various course projects, fly-on-the-wall type footage of course life, and a show reel of the videos I made there. It would be nice to have these preserved digitally and playable. There are various businesses that do convert VHS tapes to digital but they charge around £35 per tape—and I have over 20 tapes, each lasting over two hours long
Around 15 years ago there was, indeed, an all-in-one standalone VHS tape to digital converter called ION VCR 2. It combined both a VHS deck and a monitor in a single compact device, which could convert VHS tapes to digital without the need for connection to external equipment, such as now obsolete VHS recorders and VHS camcorders, and was only £150. It has been discontinued for some inexplicable reason, so now if you want to convert VHS tapes you need the following ridiculous setup:
A VHS recorder or VHS camcorder (if you can even find these now).
A video capture device.
A computer to connect everything to.
Cables to connect it all.
The ION VCR 2 (or a similar all-in-one device) is sorely missed and desperately needed. If you’re in the same boat as me, leave comments on YouTube videos and in forums that are about VHS tape to digital conversion, and spread the word. Perhaps if enough people make a fuss about this, a company will see the demand and bring a product like this back into production.
Precious memories shouldn't be this hard to preserve!
