VHS to Mac?

[macdon401]

Hi, I have some old VHS tapes with some bloopers and TV commercials I have Directed on them, I dont have the master tapes anymore so this is the only way I can make copies to DVD/CD!
Wondering what sort hardware/software I might need to get the VHS information into my iMac G5 to make dupes? I could call my editor but thought this may be an interesting thread for the forum.
Thanks
R

 

[Steven1621]

VCR > Digital Camcorder set to Analog to DV > iMac > iMovie caputure. All set!

 

[mackaveli]

VCR > Digital Camcorder set to Analog to DV > iMac > iMovie caputure. All set!

that sucks my digital camcorder only has output, no inputs to record stuff. Any other way i can get vhs to record on dv tape somehow to transfer to comp?

thanks

 

[Heb1228]

Dazzle and some other companies make firewire devices that let you plug RCA and S-video plugs into them. I think its called the Dazzle DV Bridge or something like that.

You're sure your camcorder doesn't have RCA plugs that can be used for either input or output?

 

[mackaveli]

Dazzle and some other companies make firewire devices that let you plug RCA and S-video plugs into them. I think its called the Dazzle DV Bridge or something like that.

You're sure your camcorder doesn't have RCA plugs that can be used for either input or output?

it has a single output thingy, that i connect to it, then it has the Yellow,white,red cables that i connect to a TV to watch the DV tape. Thats it. so its a black cord that has one input to go to dv, then it splits into rca cables to connect to tv. it would be awesome to somehow transfer my vhs tapes to mac without paying much for a special device

 

[840quadra]

you could buy a classic Mac

you could buy an old macintosh with built in Svideo, or RCA video in / out, that also has a network card, and capture your video in that way.

I quite often use some of my older mac computers to capture video and audio for various projects. If you are a Macintosh lover, it is also a good excuse to expand your collection

 

[Heb1228]

it has a single output thingy, that i connect to it, then it has the Yellow,white,red cables that i connect to a TV to watch the DV tape. Thats it. so its a black cord that has one input to go to dv, then it splits into rca cables to connect to tv. it would be awesome to somehow transfer my vhs tapes to mac without paying much for a special device

The yellow, white and red plugs are called RCA plugs. You may want to check to see if it will let you input video over these as well. Mine does.

 

[mackaveli]

The yellow, white and red plugs are called RCA plugs. You may want to check to see if it will let you input video over these as well. Mine does.

cant input video through them.

 

[Savage Henry]

it would be awesome to somehow transfer my vhs tapes to mac without paying much for a special device

I purchased the Dazzle Bridge, and it was a crock. The image quality was poor, and that only happened if I was lucky enough to get th image in longer than 8 second bursts.

I gave up and decided that the few VHS I have left it wasn't worth the effort.

 

[Wrock]

I've converted a lot of my old vhs home movies. I use the canopus advc100 for the analog-digital transfers. It's a little pricey, but quality, and reliability are great.

 

[Arnaud]

I've converted a lot of my old vhs home movies. I use the canopus advc100 for the analog-digital transfers. It's a little pricey, but quality, and reliability are great.

Another solution is to use devices from Elgato: http://www.elgato.com .

I turned my iMac into my TV-recorder with the eyeTV 200, which allows (antenna/cable) TV to be watched and recorded. Additionally it records any analog video. The box encodes in Mpeg-4 and sends it to the iMac via FW, very good results - I copied to DVDs personal tapes etc, all satisfied -

There are other devices, I think the cheapest sends the video output directly via USB to the Mac, which is then in charge of the compression.

Other variations available.

A!

 

[evil_santa]

it has a single output thingy, that i connect to it, then it has the Yellow,white,red cables that i connect to a TV to watch the DV tape. Thats it. so its a black cord that has one input to go to dv, then it splits into rca cables to connect to tv. it would be awesome to somehow transfer my vhs tapes to mac without paying much for a special device

The RCA Jacks are usually 2 way, you select them as an in or out from the cameras menu, what camera do you have?

 

[mackaveli]

The RCA Jacks are usually 2 way, you select them as an in or out from the cameras menu, what camera do you have?

Canon ZR90
its not my (edit mine i mean haha) but a friends, ive just had it for 5months or so.

 

[ITASOR]

I have a Miglia Director's Cut II and it's basically RCA-->Firewire. iMovie sees it as a camera, so I hit play on the VCR, and then capture in iMovie really quick.

If you do this, make sure you get a VCR that has a screen on it. I got a CHEAP $15.00 one from Big Lots and it doesn't have a screen, so you can see this tracking thing come up for the first 10 seconds of everything I record. Not very professional or good looking, and extremely annoying.

 

[slu]

Canon ZR90
its not my (edit mine i mean haha) but a friends, ive just had it for 5months or so.

I have a Canon ZR60, which is an older model camera with less features, and I can do analog to dv transfer.

I just got mine out and what you do is:

Plug the AV cable into the front (1/8 inch end) and plug the yellow, red, and white RCA cables into the appropriate output jacks on your VCR.

Take the tape out of the camera.

Turn the camera on in VCR mode.

Hit Menu Button.

Select VCR Set Up.

Set AV to DV Out to On.

Plug Firewire cable into the Mac and camera.

Turn on the VCR.

Open iMovie and capture as you normally would, except you must control the tape via the VCR remote or controls.

That should get it done. I have done this many times with my iMac G5 with excellent results.

 

[mackaveli]

I have a Canon ZR60, which is an older model camera with less features, and I can do analog to dv transfer.

I just got mine out and what you do is:

Plug the AV cable into the front (1/8 inch end) and plug the yellow, red, and white RCA cables into the appropriate output jacks on your VCR.

Take the tape out of the camera.

Turn the camera on in VCR mode.

Hit Menu Button.

Select VCR Set Up.

Set AV to DV Out to On.

Plug Firewire cable into the Mac and camera.

Turn on the VCR.

Open iMovie and capture as you normally would, except you must control the tape via the VCR remote or controls.

That should get it done. I have done this many times with my iMac G5 with excellent results.

awesome thanks, i tried doing the vcr setup, i didnt just set av to dv out on on cause i dont have the instruction manual. thanks, im going to give it a go later tonight. i'll post results.

oh btw, will it still work even though i only have mono on vcr not stereo?

 

[slu]

awesome thanks, i tried doing the vcr setup, i didnt just set av to dv out on on cause i dont have the instruction manual. thanks, im going to give it a go later tonight. i'll post results.

oh btw, will it still work even though i only have mono on vcr not stereo?

I think so, but I am not sure. I would try it and just plug in only the red or white audio cord.

Let us know!