I got started on my VHS transcription project this afternoon. It didn't come off without a hitch. First, the S-Video didn't work. In the end I went back to the three cable hook up which worked just fine. The first tape I planned to use wasn't working properly. Close inspection showed that the tape had come off the take up reel. That means surgery. These cassettes are pretty simple. I got caught in the trap of assuming that the side you take the screws out of is the side you lift off. So stuff fell out. (Who designs these things?) I flipped it over and found a youtube video about assembly and disassembly to figure out how the tape is threaded and where the bits go. I successfully secured the tape to the take up reel and it was as good as new. By the end of the day I had transcribed three tapes (six hours) and enjoyed viewing them as they went.

The big project is going to be editing. Right now my thought is to break them into short videos of the events they were about. That will take some time and I have to find some simple, I emphasize simple, editing software. This is going to be a long project.