Betamax to DVD. How ??

mrsa

Hi, I have some old home movies on Betamax and would like to get them to DVD so we can enjoy them again.
I have seen some websites advertising this but at a cost.

Is there a cheaper way I can do it ? I do have an old Betamax player.

Thanks in advance.

aliEnRIK

Wow
Thought they were extinct
What connections does it have? I assume just a single aerial lead?

[Deleted User]

How about just buying a cheap DVD recorder? Argos do one for £53.80 [link]
Hook the betamax's aerial out into the DVD recorders aerial in... play and record

Leopard

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Wow
Thought they were extinct
What connections does it have? I assume just a single aerial lead?

You should find that your Betamax machine has RCA/phono sockets for audio out and a socket called BNC for video out.

You should also be able to find a DVD recorder inexpensively on eBay or advertised locally: those with analogue tuners are now being sold by people who have upgraded to devices with digital tuners.

Hooking the Betamax machine to the DVD recorder with a video patch lead that has a BNC plug on one end and an RCA/phono plug on the other, plus an audio lead that has twin RCA/phono plugs on each end, will give you a better video result on the DVD you record.

But, if the DVD recorder does have an analogue tuner, and you don't want to buy the BNC to RCA/phono lead for video transfer, you should still get a very good picture out of the Betamax machine via its RF (aerial) socket.

I have one of the final version of the domestic Betamax video recorders sold in Britain. It was called the HF950 SupeBeta (and it cost £950 in 1986!). My companion has one, too - so we have a spare.

Both are wired into our current system at home and I am gradually transferring Betamax recordings on to DVD when I get the time. They come out well, so it's worth doing if you want to keep them.

I still use our Betamax machines for recording some things off-air. The way they can play back in slow-motion at one tenth or one fifth speed, or even frame-by-frame, backwards or forwards, is very useful for analysing exactly what happened in, say, a sporting incident.

When the analogue broadcast signal is switched off, it will still be possible to record on them, using their input sockets and a spare digital terrestrial or Sky box.

You'll even find that you can record a copyright-protected commercial DVD on to a Betamax machine and it will play back fine - unlike a VHS. The end result is very good on a 36" television but I haven't yet tried it on a 52" LCD.

It will be interesting to see how a Betamax recording, transferred to an upscaling DVD player, comes out on a big screen...

mrsa

Thanks for the detailed reply. Will have to dig the old Betamax player out of the loft and check the make and sockets.

Betamax was great. I am only 26yrs and studied Media and we did all our editing on Betamax then transfered to SVHS. !!

Will prob be in contact with you again if I need more help.

Thanks !