How to Connect a VCR to Your Modern TV

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My parents have a huge collection of model train and British comedy VHS tapes, but they haven't had a way to watch them since they got a new TV. They aren't alone; whether it's old family movies, cult classics, or recorded soap operas, plenty of people have tapes they want to watch but can't, because their VCR won't connect to their TV. During my most recent trip to see my parents, I figured out how to connect their old VCR to their new TV, and have details for anyone else going through the same process.

First, a little background on why this isn't as simple as hooking up a Blu-ray player: VCRs aren't particularly compatible with modern TVs because of the type of signals they use. Pre-oughts video hardware generally outputs an analog signal, while TVs today are built around accepting digital signals. There's also a pretty wild difference in resolution, as a 4K TV can display over 100 times more pixels than a VHS tape can store. You can't do much about that, but you can at least deal with the signal differences.

The conversion from analog to digital signal can be done inside your TV if it has the right connections, or it can be done with a separate device. This guide covers how to do both.

Determine Your VCR Outputs

The vast majority of VCRs support composite video, which sends the full video signal over one cable, and the left and right audio channels over two separate cables. You can confirm this by looking at the back of your VCR. If you can find three circular ports in white, red, and yellow, you have a composite video output.

If your VCR has five circular ports instead, with three colored red, green, and blue, and two more in white and red, your VCR has a component video output. This is a higher-quality connection than composite, and fairly rare for VCRs.

Determine Your TV Inputs

Your TV might already have an analog video input that can work with your VCR. Many TVs have some form of legacy video connection, either composite or component. Check the back of your TV: If it has three or five circular ports that match the colors on your VCR's ports, you're good to go.

If it doesn't, don't fret; some TVs build analog video inputs into 3.5mm ports that work with a short dongle to provide the right connections. Check your TV's manual, or look for a port the size of a headphone jack labeled Analog, Composite, or Component. If your TV has one, check its packaging (if you still have it) for a short adapter with a headphone plug on one end, branching off into three wires with circular plugs or ports on each end (for component video, there might be two adapters, with a separate jack for audio). If you have it, and the colors match the colors on your VCR, you're all set.

If you can't find the adapter, you can get a third-party 3.5mm-to-composite adapter or cable. However, in my experience, they can be finicky, and I've hard difficulty getting them to work.

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Finally, if you have no analog video input options on your TV, you can use a composite- or component-to-HDMI converter. They're small boxes that take analog video signals and turn them into digital ones that your modern TV can accept. Most are inexpensive, readily available, and simple to hook up.

They also convert lower-resolution analog video signals to 720p or 1080p, but don't expect them to actually improve the picture you get; most cheap converters perform little to no processing to improve the signal, and even if they do, they can't synthesize fine details out of such little video data.

How to Connect Your VCR to Your TV (If Your TV Has the Right Inputs)

1. Find or purchase a composite video (red, yellow, and white) or component video (blue, green, white, and two reds) cable, based on your VCR.

2. Connect the colored plugs on one end of the cable to the matching colored ports on the VCR. Note: If you're using component video, one of the red plugs will be adjacent to the white plug, usually with the wires between them separating at a higher point than the other plugs. This red plug should be connected directly next to the white port. The other red plug connects next to the green and blue ports.

3. Connect the 3.5mm plug to the analog video input on your TV (if your TV uses a 3.5mm input and you have the TV's adapter).

4. Connect the colored plugs on the other end of the cable into their matching ports on the back of your TV or on the analog video adapter. If you're using a component connection, again note which red plug is closer to the white plug.

5. Switch your TV to the analog video input, labeled A/V, RCA, or Analog.

How to Connect Your VCR to Your TV With an HDMI Converter

1. Find or purchase a composite or component RCA cable, depending on what your VCR uses. If you don't have an extra HDMI cable, buy one of those, too.

2. Purchase a composite-to-HDMI or component-to-HDMI adapter, depending on what your VCR uses.

3. Connect the colored plugs on one end of the cable to the matching colored ports on the VCR. Note that if you're using component video, one of the red plugs will be adjacent to the white plug, usually with the wires between them separating at a higher point than the other plugs. This red plug should be connected directly next to the white port. The other red plug connects next to the green and blue ports.

4. Connect the colored plugs on the other end of the cable into their matching ports on the adapter. If you're using a component connection, again note which red plug is closer to the white plug.

5. Connect the HDMI cable to the HDMI port on the adapter.

6. Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to a free HDMI port on your TV.

7. Plug the adapter's power cable into the power port (likely a mini USB port). Plug the other end into a wall outlet.

8. Switch your TV to the HDMI input you plugged the adapter into.

For more on watching old tapes, check out our story on how to convert VHS home movies to DVD. And for more home entertainment tips, read up on our five simple tweaks to get the best picture on your TV.

5 Simple Tweaks to Get the Best Picture Settings for Your TV