How do I get vhs tape into my mac and record it to make it into a dvd?

What cables/software are required, etc?
The cable you need will likely depend on you VHS deck and the specific device used to digitize your tapes. This can range from use of a digital camcorder or DVD recorder to a dedicated DAC (Digital-Analog Converter) to a capture card installed in your computer. Most will connect to your VHS deck using RCA and/or S-VHS cables with the computer side using either FireWire or USB cables. (My preference would be a FrireWire "pass through" camcorder or a dedicated FireWire DAC.)

In a similar manner, the software required will depend on the device used. FireWire devices can connected directly to digital editor applications (like iMovie) or dedicated capture applications (like Vidi) as desired as DV files. Content recorded to DVDs would have to be re-converted to DV or other "edit" compatible compression format before being eited. The normal process is to edit the DV (or alternative) source files and then pass the resulting project content to a DVD authoring application (like iDVD or Toast) for the creation of menus and burning.

Elgato sells some TV Tuners which also have the ability to capture from external devices (like VCRs). They are called the +EyeTV Hybrid+ and the +EyeTV 250 Plus+.

Here's more info: http://www.elgato.com/elgato/int/mainmenu/products.en.html

I use a "Canopus" brand capture device. The model is ADC-110. I paid around 200 dollars for it a couple of years ago and it works flawlessly. I'd recommend it to anyone!!!

Probably cheaper now too. I'd check ebay or amazon for a deal.

Basically, it's a little box you plug into your mac with a firewire cable, then you run the yellow, red, white cables from your VCR to the box and viola! It also has an S-Video if you want to use it.

To get your VHS video into iMovie, look at the Canopus ADVC300. Audio and Video go in, FireWire comes out. It also comes with a nice Macintosh application that works flawlessly with iMovie 06 and iDVD 08 (not sure about iMovie 08).

The program that comes with the ADVC300 has some nice filters that can improve video and audio of the source material. The ADVC300 will take Audio and Video from any source and convert it to FireWire (iMovie will treat it like a camera).

http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC300/index.php

I have been using the Pinnacle Video Transfer. (PVT)
You can connect the VHS device to it as the source, and a USB device to the PVT. You do not need to tie up a computer. Then you can import your files to the Mac from the USB device.