Record Video to VHS

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:17 pm

I'm trying to record a video on my computer to a vhs tape. I'm able to connect my laptop with an RCA cable and I am able to play the video file while watching it on the TV. At the same time, I have a blank VHS recording the video from the tv. When I finish and press stop, I watch the vhs and its just blank. Whats going on here? Is there another way to go about this?

Oh and by the way, I know how to put the video on dvd, but I need it on vhs.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:21 pm

There should be a button on the VCR with a red dot. Push it.

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:23 pm

atari2600a wrote:There should be a button on the VCR with a red dot. Push it.

Obviously, I clicked it and it even said it was recording...but I didn't get anything on the tape

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:39 pm

what channel is the vcr on? it has to be on 'input' or 'line in' if you are using rca cables

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:00 pm

also, on one of the sides of it (not sure what side you would call it, but it's the side you would use to push the tape into the player) there is a write protect tab. If that tab is there (if it's all flush overall) then you're fine. If there is a square where everything is a bit deeper, you will need to put a layer of tape or 2 over that square, so it is not write protected.

Post by **bicostp** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:25 pm

"recording from the video from the TV"...

Did you hook up the composite cable to the VCR, or to the TV? (Sorry if this is obvious, but I've seen people wire VCRs up all wrong before...)

Meh · Post by **Meh** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:48 pm

ya, the VCR should be wired between the Pc and the TV.

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:48 pm

bicostp wrote:"recording from the video from the TV"...

Did you hook up the composite cable to the VCR, or to the TV? (Sorry if this is obvious, but I've seen people wire VCRs up all wrong before...)

The composite cable from my laptop is hooked up to video 2 input on my hdtv. The dvd/vhs player is hooked up with a composite cable to my tv and i believe its hooked up to hd/dvd video 5 input on my tv. Now on the front of my dvd/vhs player I have a video in 2, L-audio, and R-audio ports where I can plug in my RCA cable.

Normally I'd hook up the tv to video 2 on my hdtv to the laptop. And it just won't record. I've tried plugging the rca cable into the dvd player but it doesn't show video on any of the video in's. Its really confusing me.

Meh · Post by **Meh** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:56 pm

I have no idea how it works, in england VCR's usually just have scart cables, which I believe don't exist in other countries.

gamer2 · Post by **gamer2** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:03 pm

V.....H....S? What is this Ancient technology?

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:06 pm

minkster wrote:The composite cable from my laptop is hooked up to video 2 input on my hdtv. The dvd/vhs player is hooked up with a composite cable to my tv and i believe its hooked up to hd/dvd video 5 input on my tv. Now on the front of my dvd/vhs player I have a video in 2, L-audio, and R-audio ports where I can plug in my RCA cable.

Normally I'd hook up the tv to video 2 on my hdtv to the laptop. And it just won't record. I've tried plugging the rca cable into the dvd player but it doesn't show video on any of the video in's. Its really confusing me.

You need the tv to send the video to the vcr, right now it is on the tv input, so it can just send stuff to the tv. You need a connection from the tv's output to the vcr's input.

joevennix · Post by **joevennix** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:16 pm

You need to hook the AV cables directly from the computer into the AV Inputs on the VHS Recorder.

The thing wrong with the setup you have now is that the VHS is going into the INPUT on the TV, so it can't retrieve any information from it.

NES_fanatic · Post by **NES_fanatic** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:45 pm

Sound like you've confused the inputs and outputs between your TV and VCR. If you wanted to record what's on the TV, you have to set it up in the reverse style of watching a tape (unless your VCR is built in like mine, but it sounds like yours is external).

Make sure you got the in's and out's like this:
<a href="http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3753428"><img src="http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/10/29120421214.jpg" alt="Click to enlarge"></a>

EDIT:
This is what Joevennex said above me:
<a href="http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3753438"><img src="http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/10/29120492473.jpg" alt="Click to enlarge"></a>
That would work too, as long as your computer displays the video while you output it.

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:18 pm

I've tried both methods you have suggested and I just cant get it to work. Is it possible to take a video from the computer and hook up it to a camera via firewire and record the video back onto the camera to a dv tape?

NES_fanatic · Post by **NES_fanatic** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:04 pm

If that doesn't work, I'd say something's broken. Either your computer's video output or the VCR.