I have tons of old, home-made VHS tapes that I'd like to save to my computer before they go bad. I know they sell little boxes that will let you plug in a VCR, and import the video through FireWire. What's the best, Mac-friendly, most inexpensive way to do this?
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VHS to iMovie
- Thread starter thesdx
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I don't know if this is the best or most inexpensive but I used my Eye TV 200 to do this and it worked well. Then again, I assumed VHS to DVD on a home computer would look semi bad so I wasn't expecting great HD like quality and I don't think that is what I got. I'm happy with it though.
There are lots of options for you. The "best" one depends on what you intend to do with the video after you digitize it.
If you intend to edit it using iMovie or Final Cut, you would want to import the tapes as DV footage. A miniDV camcorder with A/D pass-thru will work for this. Another option would be a DV Bridge, like the Canopus products.
If you intend to go straight from VHS to DVD (or at least as direct as possible), you might want something that will use hardware encoding to produce MPEG-2 files. The EyeTV 250 does this as well as some other products. Then you can use Toast to create DVDs. EyeTV will allow some rudimentary editing (i.e. cutting out commercials).
Lastly, if you just want the video on your Mac and you want to save HDD space, you might want something that has hardware encoding for MPEG-4. I'm not sure which devices do this, but I think that the newer EyeTV units support MPEG-4.
Personally, I'd use a miniDV camcorder because I want the best possible quality and DV has it all over MPEG-2/4. Downside is that you need tons of HDD space for DV.
ft
If you intend to edit it using iMovie or Final Cut, you would want to import the tapes as DV footage. A miniDV camcorder with A/D pass-thru will work for this. Another option would be a DV Bridge, like the Canopus products.
If you intend to go straight from VHS to DVD (or at least as direct as possible), you might want something that will use hardware encoding to produce MPEG-2 files. The EyeTV 250 does this as well as some other products. Then you can use Toast to create DVDs. EyeTV will allow some rudimentary editing (i.e. cutting out commercials).
Lastly, if you just want the video on your Mac and you want to save HDD space, you might want something that has hardware encoding for MPEG-4. I'm not sure which devices do this, but I think that the newer EyeTV units support MPEG-4.
Personally, I'd use a miniDV camcorder because I want the best possible quality and DV has it all over MPEG-2/4. Downside is that you need tons of HDD space for DV.
ft
so definately don't get the JVC one it sux
jessica.'s suggestion is what I would also recommend. The EyeTV 200 has an analogue in and works at capturing just fine. While all the suggestions of DV, etc are great, dont forget that VCR quality is low to average at best so using more expensive methods to capture wont improve the quality of the original.