There is very little, if any, nostalgia for VHS; certainly not in the way there is for vinyl records. VHS was great for its time but no-one who switched to DVD will ever pine for the days of fast-forwarding to the next scene, fiddling with head cleaners or suffering the dreaded eaten tape.

If there has been any downside for those who adopted DVD it is the fact that all their old videos are now obsolete. If they want to see what is on those tapes again, they need to re-buy them on DVD at great expense or keep a clunky old tape player in the living room just in case.

Bridging the gap
A new wave of gadgets on the market aim to solve that conundrum by finally bridging the gap between digital and analogue formats – and not just for video.

The idea behind these products is simple – they allow you to take old formats, such as VHS, audio cassette or vinyl, and combine them with a USB to link it up with a PC or Mac. Once connected, users can copy the tape’s or disc’s information to their PC and, from there, do what they like with it. They can re-copy it onto a CD or DVD, transfer it onto a portable media device such as an iPod or just leave it where it is and enjoy it from the computer.

Preserving your classics
While this is ideal for those looking to access old content on their new device, it is also a great solution for those who want to preserve but still enjoy their classics. After all, once it is recorded to PC, they can pack it away in the attic, safe in the knowledge that it can be heard – crackle and all – at any time and with no risk of degrading its quality further.

Depending on the price paid and the technology chosen, the transfer process can require a little bit of messing around with file formats, although in some cases it needs very little at all. What will be required is time and patience, however, as most techniques involve playing the media end-to-end to transfer it. This means that copying a two-hour film will take at least two hours to do – although it will only need to be done once and then it is digitised forever.

Here are some of the digital transfer techniques available.

USB video grabbers
USB video grabbers – such as the EZ Grabber – are designed for VHS but can record any kind of video you have to PC. It connects to the video player via a RCA connection (that’s the three small cables coloured red, white and yellow that are usually used to connect DVD players etc. to a TV) and then transfer the video through a USB to your computer.

The software that comes with these devices is usually quite straightforward and will detect the video once it’s connected so all you have to do is hit ‘record’. However, you may need to keep an eye on it as it will not automatically stop when the video is over. On the plus side, you can use it to make recordings of any video – even live television or home movies straight from the camcorder.

Prices differ on these devices but you should find them for less than €40.

USB players
USB players – be they turntables, tape or video players – have been around for five years or so but have become affordable in recent years.

Unlike the video grabbers, they can actually be used to play the content rather than just connect it to a PC. This means they can be used as a regular VHS player or turntable if that is all you want.

If you do want to record the music or video to your PC, you can connect it to the built-in USB cable. The software that comes with it will guide you from there, showing you how to record and what to do next.

The company ION are one of the leaders in this market and the ION TTUSB record player is one of the best selling around. Its software has song recognition built in, which means it will give each track the correct title and artist automatically, saving the user a lot of hassle. It also transfers files to iTunes quite easily so, if you have an iPod, you will be able to enjoy your old music on it in no time.

ION’s USB turntable is available in selected shops and online, generally for €100 to €130. ION also sells VHS and cassette tape players with similar USB functionality.