Digitize Tapes and LPs
Dust off your vinyl and video and add them to your CD and DVD collection.
You have a pile of vinyl albums and videotapes yearning to nest in your computer or iPod, or on CDs and DVDs. But how do you turn last century's media into today's digital files?
For albums, get a specialized turntable that plugs directly into your PC or Mac via a USB port. The Ion iTTUSB Turntable ($120) converts the analog signal to digital format.
For home videos, there's the Sony DVDirect recorder. Simply connect your camcorder or VHS player and press play, then hit the DVDirect's record button to burn the video to a disc. We liked the VRD-MC3 model (about $210 online), a cigar-box-size device with a 2.5-inch color LCD screen.
