Simplest way of transferring VHS to Mac?

[StephenCampbell]

I have a pile of VHS tapes I need to import to my Mac simply for viewing purposes. What is the simplest system possible, in terms of the connection from the VHS to the Mac, as well as the software used. I don't need anything at all other than to view them and store them digitally.

Thanks!

 

[ColdCase]

There are several analog capture devices ~$80 that connect to the computer via USB. Not sure which is the best one to use now days. I have a sony firewire box. Most of them come with capture software, or you can use iMovie. I think Elgato makes one thats pretty much plug and play on a Mac.

You cable the video/audio output of your tape player to the capture device and plug it into the mac. Set your Mac software to capture and hit play on your VHS player. Let it run to the end of the show/tape and stop recording, repeat.

 

[pukifloyd]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DPHOV0A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just bought this last week for my girlfriend during the prime day sale. She said she was able to copy 3-4 tapes to her computer yesterday without any issues. It seems like it's easy to use, since my girlfriend isn't tech savvy at all.

 

[dwig]

I've been using the Windows version of this product from Diamond.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Mult...-catcorr&keywords=diamond+video+capture+vc500

It's worked fine under both Win8.1 and Win10. I would think the Mac version would deliver similar performance.

 

[StephenCampbell]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DPHOV0A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just bought this last week for my girlfriend during the prime day sale. She said she was able to copy 3-4 tapes to her computer yesterday without any issues. It seems like it's easy to use, since my girlfriend isn't tech savvy at all.

This looks good. I would still need a VCR though, right? What exactly does this product come with? Do I need anything other than a VCR and power cable for it, in addition to what comes with this item?

 

[ColdCase]

The VCR is the hardest part, especially since most of the tapes will likely be degraded. There was a thread here just a few days ago with some JVC VCR suggestions.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/best-vhs-for-transfers.1981590/

 

[cdcastillo]

Or you can use one of the services enumerated here, you send them your tapes and they send you back the video digitized.

 

[ColdCase]

Or you can use one of the services enumerated here, you send them your tapes and they send you back the video digitized.

Yes, this has been proven to be the best and most reliable approach.

 

[Dave Braine]

What exactly does this product come with?

What's in the Box

• VIDBOX (USB video capture device)
• USB cable
• RCA cable
• Software installation CD
• User Guide

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VIDBOX-for...=8-1&keywords=vidbox+video+conversion+for+mac

 

[waloshin]

I would like to mention that the vidbox works okay, doesn't drop frames, but the quality in the video recording is kind of weak.

 

[Les Kern]

I used AverMedia's AverCapture for Mac. Did an excellent job.
http://avertv.avermedia.com/avertv/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=569

 

[markphil1424]

Here's one that works for me

Funai ZV427FX4 Combination VCR and DVD Recorder

 

[kumquat]

I encoded about 80 VHS tapes using the ElGato video recorder adapter which gives you a usb on one end and female ports for component and s-video on the other, which then plug into your VCR. It's dead simple. The software requires you to press like one button to record. The quality is....passable, if there's no other alternative. However, unless you use a very old tv or monitor, the resolution of VHS, even with a professional 1:1 transfer, is just not up to the standards of what we're visually used to at this point. There is software, specifically from Red Giant, which claims to be able to up-res SD footage, but I can't vouch for it. Of those 80 or so tapes I converted, I have replaced the ElGato encodings with DVD and Blu-Ray rips on all but about 10, which are simply too rare to be found in modern formats.

 

[Charp]

There are several analog capture devices ~$80 that connect to the computer via USB. Not sure which is the best one to use now days. I have a sony firewire box. Most of them come with capture software, or you can use iMovie. I think Elgato makes one thats pretty much plug and play on a Mac.

You cable the video/audio output of your tape player to the capture device and plug it into the mac. Set your Mac software to capture and hit play on your VHS player. Let it run to the end of the show/tape and stop recording, repeat.

[doublepost=1514754252][/doublepost]I had no problem with getting the vhs to my computer using elgato but once there I’m having a hard time transferring to dvd. What am I doing wrong.

 

[ColdCase]

If you want a DVD that can play in a DVD player, you need a DVD authoring program to create a DVD image out of your video files and then burn it to a DVD. I dunno whats currently available, I use the old DVDSP app on an old computer. I think current versions of iMovie can share videos out to simple DVDs

So using iMovie as an example, you would open iMovie and import the video you want on the DVD. Create a project and add the video, then share/export the video to DVD.

You can drag and drop video files onto DVD media as files, which can be viewed by another computer, but typically not a DVD player.

 

[Dave Braine]

I think current versions of iMovie can share videos out to simple DVDs
So using iMovie as an example, you would open iMovie and import the video you want on the DVD. Create a project and add the video, then share/export the video to DVD.

The current version of iMovie can't do that. You have to Share your iMovie Project as a video/movie File and then use a DVD authoring app to produce a playable dvd. Burn is free and does the job.
http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/Pages/English/home.html