I need help getting video into my mac.

[DangerDiabolik]

OK..

I have a 17 inch imac.

Final Cut Express
imovie
idvd
dvdstudio pro ( though thsi look incredibly complicated to learn )

my question : I have ALOT of vhs tapes I want to capture and put to DVD. What options do i have to hook a VCR up to my computer ? I can capture in Final Cut, I just dont knwo what to buy to ho connect teh vCR to my comp.

Im assuming its some sort of firewire dealy

Any help would be great

[leet1]

You need a TV-in card

[krimson]

if you have a FW capable camcorder you can do what my friend did, record it to the dv cam, then bring it back into the mac via FW. takes a little more time, and could wear out a tape, but it's a good way of doing it without having to buy a specialized card.

[DangerDiabolik]

no camcorder..

whats a TV card ? Is it as simple as buying one, hooking it up to my VCR and plugging it into a firewire port ?

details ...me needs details :)

EDIT:

This looks simple enough....is there an OS X device like this anywhere ?

http://www.devdepot.com/ProductImages/HBKVID.JPG

http://www.devdepot.com/description.html?pcode=HBKVID

That dosent have OS X capabilities.

[leet1]

Hope thats USB 2, otherwise its going to be terribly slow.

[DangerDiabolik]

i think that pic is wrong...the description says its firewire...reguardless...its not on OS X

Thats just something that look reasonable...firewire in to comp, and AV hook ups to VCR ..

keep em coming.

[manitoubalck]

Don't buy an iMac for video editing (should have told you sooner. sorry:) )

[markjones05]

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Don't buy an iMac for video editing (should have told you sooner. sorry:) )


Why? he should be fine for basic video editing. Besides, the question wasnt about editing.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by leet1
You need a TV-in card

Er, no he doesn't.


Canopus ADVC-100 (http://www.canopus.us/US/products/advc-100/pm_advc-100.asp)


Lethal

[solvs]

Ignore the trolls. iMacs don't have PCI slots. They're fine for DV.

You need either a USB or Firewire-in device. They can be found at various Apple dealers like MacMall, PowerMax, etc. for $200-$400. Most of them also include software to watch TV on your Mac with TiVo-like capabilities. But for just a pure VHS to DV/Firewire, yeah, the Canopus works well. It's about $300.

But for the price, you could just get a DV camcorder with A/V in. Like krimson said, you could borrow one. Unfortunetly, analog to digital can be expensive. The Dazzle Hollywood DV-Bridge is only about $130-$200, but I've heard it's got a lot of issues. The EyeTV is about $200, but it's USB not Firewire.

Do a search on this site for more suggestions, this question gets asked a lot.

[DangerDiabolik]

Thanks for the help Solvs, i'll do some checking around on the boards.

I have many video projects and concerts that i want to archive , plus mauthoring a badass DVD is a skill I NEED to learn

[snickelfritz]

I agree with solvs; get a DV camcorder with analog inputs.
Decent capture cards/modules will end up costing you almost as much anyway, so you might as well get a camera in the deal.

[manitoubalck]

Originally posted by solvs
[B]Ignore the trolls. iMacs don't have PCI slots. They're fine for DV.

You need either a USB or Firewire-in device. They can be found at various Apple dealers like MacMall, PowerMax, etc. for $200-$400. Most of them also include software to watch TV on your Mac with TiVo-like capabilities. But for just a pure VHS to DV/Firewire, yeah, the Canopus works well. It's about $300.B]

$300USD ($420AUD!!!!!!!!) for a TV card. I payed $90AUD ($64USD) for my internal one, and it has a AM/FM radio+remote and recording TV options.

$50AUD for my 4 port Firewire card.

I couldn't warrent spending $420 on an extenal card.

[revenuee]

Originally posted by manitoubalck
$300USD ($420AUD!!!!!!!!) for a TV card. I payed $90AUD ($64USD) for my internal one, and it has a AM/FM radio+remote and recording TV options.

$50AUD for my 4 port Firewire card.

I couldn't warrent spending $420 on an extenal card.

You did this on an iMac?

[revenuee]

Originally posted by solvs
Ignore the trolls. iMacs don't have PCI slots. They're fine for DV.

You need either a USB or Firewire-in device. They can be found at various Apple dealers like MacMall, PowerMax, etc. for $200-$400. Most of them also include software to watch TV on your Mac with TiVo-like capabilities. But for just a pure VHS to DV/Firewire, yeah, the Canopus works well. It's about $300.

But for the price, you could just get a DV camcorder with A/V in. Like krimson said, you could borrow one. Unfortunetly, analog to digital can be expensive. The Dazzle Hollywood DV-Bridge is only about $130-$200, but I've heard it's got a lot of issues. The EyeTV is about $200, but it's USB not Firewire.


for that price you can get a DV cam? where? if you can find one it will be used, old, and crappy?

i recommend the Formac analog to digital converter or the Canopus that everyone has already mentioned

the Dazzle Hollywood DV-Bridge? problems - well i've heard of some, but a friend of mine runs his with an iMac G3 700 and it seems to work great.

[leet1]

Originally posted by revenuee
for that price you can get a DV cam? where? if you can find one it will be used, old, and crappy?


I got a samsung scd-80 for $300 its great. Not used, old, or crappy.

[revenuee]

Originally posted by leet1
I got a samsung scd-80 for $300 its great. Not used, old, or crappy.

my friend i am speechless... i

payed 2300 for mine 4 years ago and it's single CCD ... everything i've looked at now is at least 2100 with 3CCD, some are even in the 3500 - 6000 range

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by revenuee
my friend i am speechless... i

payed 2300 for mine 4 years ago and it's single CCD ... everything i've looked at now is at least 2100 with 3CCD, some are even in the 3500 - 6000 range


Are you just looking at prosumer level cameras? Almost all single chip consumer cameras are less than a grand.


Lethal

[revenuee]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Are you just looking at prosumer level cameras? Almost all single chip consumer cameras are less than a grand.


Lethal

Generally Ya... i shot/shoot wedding video's freelance

Thats probably the reason i didn't see anything that inexpensive ... LOL

[manitoubalck]

Originally posted by revenuee
You did this on an iMac?

err? :rolleyes: no, I currently own a self built PC.

[revenuee]

Originally posted by manitoubalck
err? :rolleyes: no, I currently own a self built PC.

hee hee, forgot to read the thread didn't you...LOL

Just messing with you man...

But the truth is, although there are inexpensive solutions out there, they are internal PCI based, which is useless on an iMac because it has no PCI slots to work with

Thats why a Firewire solution, is the only "good" solution - i've been reading good things about USB 2.0, but i don't recall him mentioning he has it, or the cheapest solution is USB 1.1 , but he's de-finatly not getting high quality video with those

[DangerDiabolik]

man...all i want to do is make a bad ass misfits dvd !

maybe a DV cam is the way to go....

cant there be a 100 $ firewire solution ! lol

[Fender2112]

Originally posted by DangerDiabolik
man...all i want to do is make a bad ass misfits dvd !

maybe a DV cam is the way to go....

cant there be a 100 $ firewire solution ! lol

The Canopus ADVC 100 is a great litte device. It has Firewire, composite, and S-video inputs and outputs. Not for $100 though. For that price your stuck with one of the above mentioned USB devices.

Check this thread for more info: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45669

[manitoubalck]

Originally posted by revenuee
hee hee, forgot to read the thread didn't you...LOL

Just messing with you man...

But the truth is, although there are inexpensive solutions out there, they are internal PCI based, which is useless on an iMac because it has no PCI slots to work with

Thats why a Firewire solution, is the only "good" solution - i've been reading good things about USB 2.0, but i don't recall him mentioning he has it, or the cheapest solution is USB 1.1 , but he's de-finatly not getting high quality video with those

Yeah I know (hangs head in sheme,) Just the iMac is such a limiting machine, your almost forced to keep around since you don't want to throw away the great screen. Yeah Fire wire is the best solution so if you can buy an adapter go for it, but an externalt TV device is a little rich. Or better yet by a DV cam.

Hypothectically if I was a wizz at writting drivers for PCI devices and found an extended TV PCI card for PC, could I write a driver to get it to work in a tower mac?

I have heard of people getting PC Graphics cards to work in tower macs?

[7on]

http://www.formac.com/p_bin/?cid=solutions_converters_studiodvtv&PHPSESSID=5bc9e5b5fd90611f36f1d8cb8db1d5c9