Video Capture Hardware for Mac - What is there?

actionjaxon

I've been given the task of copying a bunch of VHS tapes onto DVD for my mum's friend. I'm looking for a product such as Pinnacle's 'Video Creator Platinum' (but Mac compatible) a USB device which I can connect old fashioned analogue equipment to with the red/white/yellow connectors. Any recommendations appreciated! Budget of £50-£75 ($100-$150).



If any of these devices will allow me to import into iMovie '08 rather than having to use the bundled software would be a help too...

tarl

USB and video don't mix. I know they sell products based around USB, but I don't think any of them provide good results.



I would recomend a Digital camcorder with analog inputs and a firewire port. It's way above your budget, but maybe you can borrow or rent one.



Plug the VCR into the camcorder's white/red/yellow ports and enable the "pass-thru" mode on the camera. Plug the camera into the Mac using firewire and launch iMovie. Press play on the VCR and import in iMovie.

Marvin

EyeTV ($150) might be an option:



http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/main...oduct2.en.html



but it won't encode to DV so you'll need a second encode step.



You can also get a standalone DVD recorder (£80+) but that means the same.



There's also:



http://www.echofx.com/usbvision.html



There was a product that captured DV externally from analog inputs and it was around £150 - might have been this one:



http://www.allmacshop.co.uk/proddeta...ion__Mac_Win_/



The only thing about the dedicated devices is that's all they are good for. At least with eye TV and the recorder, you still have a useful product when you have finished your capturing.



If you can borrow a camcorder or pick up a used one on ebay (the camera quality doesn't matter really as it's not doing any recording), it would be the cheapest option as mentioned.

sequitur

Would you use the same equipment to copy the VHS tapes to a hard drive?