Will this work to transfer hi8 to my mac?

[VoodooDaddy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dazzle-Digital-...oryZ3761QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


The guy says he used it on his mac, but its usb2 and the other dazzle product Ive seen ppl recommend have firewire. I just dont want to spend upwards of $200-300 to be able to convert and burn a dozen or so tapes. At that price I may as well buy another camera.

So before I bid on this, just wanted anyones opinion.

Thanks.

 

[jsw]

I bought an Elgato Hybrid. I used it to create videos using the A/V inputs (S-video, audio left and right), and it costs $100. There might be even cheaper solutions... Firewire is good only if your source has Firewire. If you're using standard analog components (Left, Right, Video), the Hybrid or similar solutions will do all you need.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

The hybrid looks like all it has is a coax cable connector. Does it have inputs for composite (v, l, r) that I cant see?

Basically, I have a Sony Handycam with a dozen or so tapes I need to get on to dvd before too long. Its got an s-video out, but I dont have a cable for that. I do have av out but its only 1 channel audio (dont know if the s-video has l and r or just one channel also)

Looking for the best method to transfer all these to the mac and I saw that dazzle bridge on ebay.

 

[jsw]

The hybrid looks like all it has is a coax cable connector. Does it have inputs for composite (v, l, r) that I cant see?

Basically, I have a Sony Handycam with a dozen or so tapes I need to get on to dvd before too long. Its got an s-video out, but I dont have a cable for that. I do have av out but its only 1 channel audio (dont know if the s-video has l and r or just one channel also)

Looking for the best method to transfer all these to the mac and I saw that dazzle bridge on ebay.

Yes, it comes with a dongle with composite and S-video, as well as stereo L and R. S-Video doesn't, as far as I know, carry any audio, so you might just get mono sound. An S-video cable is cheap... a lot cheaper than that Dazzle's price over the Hybrid.

Your Handycam does not have Firewire? How old is it? If it has Firewire - including the tiny Firewire plug most camcorders have - all you need is a cable to connect it directly to your Mac - no other hardware needed. Which model is it?

Sorry, but I'm going to bed. Hopefully someone else can pick up here.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Ah, I see the dongle on their website.

No, the cam has no firewire. Its probably 4yrs old at least.

Youre right, the s-video has no audio, I would just use the audio feed coming out of the av port. How much better, if any, picture quality would I get from s-video compared to composite?

The hybrid looks like the way to go, just wish there were more on ebay that people didnt want.

Lastly, would I be using any 3rd party software (whatever elgato sells) or would iDVD be all I need? I know iDVD will recognize a miniDV cam as I had my sisters hooked up just to see how it worked. So once I have an analog to dv converter will iDVD recognize that feed as if it were a minidv cam?

 

[iñaki'sonMac'87]

well, I'm trying to resolve the same problem, so, please send a feedback after you solve it!!
IMO this must work fine, but I have still some quality concerns, mainly because it seems that this device create MPEG-2 files, so you must decode it to quicktime friendly format to edit.
best luck anyway!

 

[jsw]

You're right, the s-video has no audio, I would just use the audio feed coming out of the av port. How much better, if any, picture quality would I get from s-video compared to composite?

You could try both ways, but you should see some improvement with S-video. Nothing huge, but noticeable.

Lastly, would I be using any 3rd party software (whatever elgato sells) or would iDVD be all I need?

EyeTV 2, which comes with the Hybrid, is great software and will export to iDVD (or, if you have Toast 7 or better, directly to Toast).

I know iDVD will recognize a miniDV cam as I had my sisters hooked up just to see how it worked. So once I have an analog to dv converter will iDVD recognize that feed as if it were a minidv cam?

If you get the analog to DV converter instead of the hybrid, then, yes, iDVD should recognize it natively. However, it won't be as full-featured as a "real" DV input, because you won't be able to stop, fast forward, or rewind the video source, as you could do with a DV camcorder. But that's no big deal - you'd import the whole tape, then edit it on the Mac. Note that there have been some complaints with cheap DV converters ending up with the audio out of sync with the video. The Dazzle might be fine, but, honestly, I think the $99 Hybrid will do everything you need as well as the more expensive Dazzle, and will actually be usable as a TV tuner afterwards, as opposed the the Dazzle, which seems like it would collect dust.

Of course, this assumes your system meets the Hybrid's requirements. For $150, the EyeTV250 is a much better deal (unless you want HDTV reception): same input capabilities, hardware encoding (so it doesn't tax your Mac and so it will work with slower/older Macs), and a VCR assistant:

EyeTV 250's easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through the entire process of digitizing your videotape, right through to creating a DVD. The VHS Assistant shows you how to connect the video recorder's outputs, play back the tape, and record it into EyeTV's Archive. From there you can choose to export the file to your iPod, leave it in your EyeTV Archive, or burn a DVD using Roxio's Toast 7 Titanium or iDVD.​

If you can spring for the $150, I'd recommend the 250 over the Hybrid. I'd personally steer away from the Dazzle, given your limited needs (a few tapes) and possible syncing problems. Just my opinion, though.

 

[ftaok]

Ah, I see the dongle on their website.

No, the cam has no firewire. Its probably 4yrs old at least.

Youre right, the s-video has no audio, I would just use the audio feed coming out of the av port. How much better, if any, picture quality would I get from s-video compared to composite?

The hybrid looks like the way to go, just wish there were more on ebay that people didnt want.

Lastly, would I be using any 3rd party software (whatever elgato sells) or would iDVD be all I need? I know iDVD will recognize a miniDV cam as I had my sisters hooked up just to see how it worked. So once I have an analog to dv converter will iDVD recognize that feed as if it were a minidv cam?

I'm suspecting that the EyeTV Hybrid isn't the device for you. Here's why.

If you're trying to import movies into the Mac for editing, you're going to want to use iMovie in conjunction with iDVD. In this scenario, you would need a Analog/Digital converter that handles DV format. They Hybrid doesn't do this. You might want to get a new miniDV camcorder with A/D conversion (the Canon Elura 100 has this feature and is a really great, inexpensive camcorder).

Alternatively, iMovie will import and edit MPEG-4 footage, however it's limited to something called "simple profile". I don't know what that means. If the EyeTV Hybrid could output to that type of MPEG-4, then maybe it'll work. Can't vouch for the quality of MPEG-4 vs DV, but coming from Hi8, I'm thinking you're going to want to retain as much quality as possible.

ft

 

[VoodooDaddy]

You could try both ways, but you should see some improvement with S-video. Nothing huge, but noticeable.
EyeTV 2, which comes with the Hybrid, is great software and will export to iDVD (or, if you have Toast 7 or better, directly to Toast).
If you get the analog to DV converter instead of the hybrid, then, yes, iDVD should recognize it natively. However, it won't be as full-featured as a "real" DV input, because you won't be able to stop, fast forward, or rewind the video source, as you could do with a DV camcorder. But that's no big deal - you'd import the whole tape, then edit it on the Mac. Note that there have been some complaints with cheap DV converters ending up with the audio out of sync with the video. The Dazzle might be fine, but, honestly, I think the $99 Hybrid will do everything you need as well as the more expensive Dazzle, and will actually be usable as a TV tuner afterwards, as opposed the the Dazzle, which seems like it would collect dust.

Of course, this assumes your system meets the Hybrid's requirements. For $150, the EyeTV250 is a much better deal (unless you want HDTV reception): same input capabilities, hardware encoding (so it doesn't tax your Mac and so it will work with slower/older Macs), and a VCR assistant:

EyeTV 250's easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through the entire process of digitizing your videotape, right through to creating a DVD. The VHS Assistant shows you how to connect the video recorder's outputs, play back the tape, and record it into EyeTV's Archive. From there you can choose to export the file to your iPod, leave it in your EyeTV Archive, or burn a DVD using Roxio's Toast 7 Titanium or iDVD.​

If you can spring for the $150, I'd recommend the 250 over the Hybrid. I'd personally steer away from the Dazzle, given your limited needs (a few tapes) and possible syncing problems. Just my opinion, though.

Looks like the eye 250 is it the. You have a link to somewhere that sells it for $150? All Im seeing is upwards of $200.

 

[jsw]

You have a link to somewhere that sells it for $150? All Im seeing is upwards of $200.

Their online store. US$150, right now.

 

[weldon]

Another option would be to rent or borrow a Sony Digital8 camera. Most of the models (make sure you have the right one) can play Hi8 tapes and digitize them in the camera. The firewire output will work as expected and iMovie will recognize the camera as a normal device.

This is what I did to digitize our Hi8 tapes several years ago. It worked very well, although I can't comment if this produced the best quality because I didn't compare with other methods. However, I can say that it was easy and painless because iMovie recognized the firewire camera immediately.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Their online store. US$150, right now.

I was at one of their online stores and it showed everything in pounds.

Thanks.

 

[iñaki'sonMac'87]

You could try both ways, but you should see some improvement with S-video. Nothing huge, but noticeable.
EyeTV 2, which comes with the Hybrid, is great software and will export to iDVD (or, if you have Toast 7 or better, directly to Toast).
If you get the analog to DV converter instead of the hybrid, then, yes, iDVD should recognize it natively. However, it won't be as full-featured as a "real" DV input, because you won't be able to stop, fast forward, or rewind the video source, as you could do with a DV camcorder. But that's no big deal - you'd import the whole tape, then edit it on the Mac. Note that there have been some complaints with cheap DV converters ending up with the audio out of sync with the video. The Dazzle might be fine, but, honestly, I think the $99 Hybrid will do everything you need as well as the more expensive Dazzle, and will actually be usable as a TV tuner afterwards, as opposed the the Dazzle, which seems like it would collect dust.

Of course, this assumes your system meets the Hybrid's requirements. For $150, the EyeTV250 is a much better deal (unless you want HDTV reception): same input capabilities, hardware encoding (so it doesn't tax your Mac and so it will work with slower/older Macs), and a VCR assistant:

EyeTV 250's easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through the entire process of digitizing your videotape, right through to creating a DVD. The VHS Assistant shows you how to connect the video recorder's outputs, play back the tape, and record it into EyeTV's Archive. From there you can choose to export the file to your iPod, leave it in your EyeTV Archive, or burn a DVD using Roxio's Toast 7 Titanium or iDVD.​

If you can spring for the $150, I'd recommend the 250 over the Hybrid. I'd personally steer away from the Dazzle, given your limited needs (a few tapes) and possible syncing problems. Just my opinion, though.

Thank you very much for such a complete explanation, now I'll try to buy it on-line from here.