Here we have a furious round up of some of the many analog to digital converters we’ve featured over the years to persuade you to digitize your precious analog collections of audio cassettes, vinyl records, photographs, slides/negatives and VHS tapes. Let’s go!
Audio Cassettes
With CDs looking like they’re being overtaken by new performance discs and music simply being downloaded and stored on computers, it’s amazing that some people still have audio cassettes – we’ve said our goodbyes, now it’s your turn. The Ion Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck lets you do that by sticking your tape into the slot and transferring it to your computer in MP3 format. Audacity and EZ Tape software suites are included to make make everything run smoothly and is compatible with PC and Mac.
Buy now! – $125
Slides, negatives, photographs, vinyl records and VHS tape still to come. Read on.
Slides and Negatives
Slides and negatives can be a nightmare if you have lots of them – picture the scenario: you’re rummaging around through some old boxes and you come across a large box of slides so you pick it up, but it’s upside down. Trust me, they go everywhere. Negatives are much easier to store but they are a lot more fragile and need a lot of care in handling them. Save yourself the trouble and convert to digital – this handy slide and negative to digital converter will set you up nicely and looks professional, even at just $100! The tower contains a 5MP CMOS sensor that provides 10 bits per color channel and can scan images up to 1,800 dpi. Some LEDs in the back provide the necessary light for the slides and photo editing software (which includes software to reverse your negatives) is included.
Photographs
Similar to slides and negatives, but requiring a different converter, are photographs. People arguably have considerably more photos than slides. Presenting the Photograph to Digital Converter, another handy tool that works almost exactly like the slide and negative converter. Simply place your photograph in its mini dark room and let the 5MP CMOS sensor do the rest, again scanning your photo up to a maximum resolution of 1,800 dpi and transferring them to your computer for easy storage and retrieval.
Buy now! – $100
Vinyl/LPs
Ion, the maker of the audio cassette converter featured above, have given us another blessing with their iTTUSB Turntable Converter allowing you to transfer all your vinyls to a digital format before selling them on eBay for a handsome price. The scratchy sound produced by those plastic discs can even be captured, or removed, (whichever you wish!) by the device. Naturally both PCs and Macs are supported.
VHS
We cap this list with the gadget that’s probably the most sought after converter – the VHS to DVD. Luckily though we’ve done a very nice article for you summing up your top options for getting rid of your VHS tapes once and for all.
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)