Capture VHS and DVD videos

I can recommend a converter from clearclick(dot)com. I have the 3.0 model which has both RCA and S-Video capture to an SD chip or a USB thumb drive. It features a 5" screen so you can monitor the video while recording. Capture is independent from a computer and it's got an internal battery that can likely self-power for 1-1/2 hours. (I haven't really tested it.) Once captured you can play back via HDMI or put the chip or thumb drive in most new TVs or into your Mac to edit in FCP or iMovie. An hour of video results in about a 2GB video file.

This model will NOT capture from HDMI but there is another model that can accept HDMI input from personal DVDs but not commercial (copy protected) DVDs. They are available from Amazon.

you need something like this: Elgato Video Capture - Digitize Video for Mac, PC or iPad (USB 2.0)

and to connect that specific one to a TB3 (USB-C) port, you need an USB-C to USB Adapter

Raw Video is a difficult problem because it has very timing-sensitive information. Jeffreythefrog provided good advice for older "raw video" formats.

Any device with a digital interface such as 4-pin FireWire or USB likely has already 'captured' and digitized the video, and can transfer FILES, not just Raw video. So do not try to re-capture video from more recent devices. Transfer the already-captured video FILES instead.

Just the vhs tapes, I think… for dvd’s you’d have to buy a dvd ripping program… just FYI, the best resolution you’d be able to get from vhs ( standard vhs) would be around 325-350 lines… s-vhs maybe 375… you should also make sure you’re using a decent/good/very good/ quality vhs deck/playback unit/vcr and that its heads( audio and video) have been cleaned and aligned… also, vhs tapes, like all tapes, will degrade over time… after that, iMovie..

good luck…

john B

my reply was sort of focused on the VHS conversion aspect of your question. yes, you could also use that type of device with a DVD player attached to it's input. but with the DVDs it would be simpler to use an app. I personally use the free app HandBrake to rip DVDs.