USB capture devices digitize analog video and send it to a computer for editing or playback over a USB port. Some also accept S-Video, a popular video connection standard from the 1980s.

HDMI converters usually accept either composite or component inputs with RCA jacks. These converters won’t help you store or digitize old analog video themselves, but they do allow you to connect an older analog video source like a VCR, camcorder, or vintage gaming console to a digital TV or digital projector. HDMI convertersĪn HDMI converter is a small electronic device that converts analog signals into a digital HDMI signal. The type of video converter you need depends on what you want your video converter to do. You may find refurbished VCRs on Amazon, eBay or similar retailers. If you don’t already have a VCR, or the one you have no longer works, it can be a challenge to find one, as they are no longer manufactured. The software version converts digital video files from one format to another. Hardware video converters, especially those that connect to a computer, need software for handling the resulting digital video. The term “video-to-digital converter” specifically refers to a hardware device. The term video converter can apply to both hardware and software. To do this, you need a video converter.Ī video converter, also known as a video-to-digital converter, capture device, or capture card, converts analog video to digital data. The benefits are threefold: easier editing, versatile playback, and longer-term storage. As such, people began to realize they wanted to convert their old analog content to a digital format.

The advent of consumer technologies like home film and video cameras, VCRs, and similar equipment allowed the public to amass libraries of content stored on videotape or film and played back on analog devices.īut as technology changed, the integrity of this older content became threatened. For a long time, video and movies were produced and recorded on analog media.

Best video converter for windows 7