VHS to digital using MacAir M2 with Thunderbolt/usb 4

Doing this type of conversion has unfortunately gotten progressively more difficult over the years as the industry gradually abandoned VHS and other analog video; conversion device vendors either went out of business or abandoned the market; and system vendors changed their interfaces.

For those interested parties, what always worked in the "good old days" was a Mac with Firewire ports, a device called a Canopus/GrassValley ADVC 110 and either iMovie or Final Cut software (the older versions) for video capture. These days, that's not so easy, for example with TB4 you would need a way to get back to FW. It was possible in the TB3/TB2/TB days with a couple of Apple adapters but I have not seen any info that implies that ganging up those dongles would work with TB4.

That said, there are some interesting devices on the market. Take this one for example - ClearClick Video2Digital Converter v3. It does the conversion internally to MP4/H.264 and writes to a flash drive or microSD card. It's a standalone converter - you don't use your Mac to do the conversion or capture. The MP4 video files that it creates can be copied to your Mac and you can use QT, iMovie or Final Cut to edit. Here's info on the device -> ClearClick Video2 Digital v3 and the user manual for details. (Disclaimer ... I have not used this device myself, so am unable to vouch for its capabilities.)

you need to look a little closer. here's a partial screen grab from eBay:

and I would put money on if it would also work on M2 chip. even the product images are exactly the same as the one listed on amazon.

Seriously consider VikingOSX's suggestion. Here's a couple of costs per taps on a quick search;

These are general estimates. Check in your area to see what it would cost. If you don't have too many it would be worth having it done. I did over 30 two hour tapes myself (took over a year to finish along with digitizing over 5000 slides 25 years ago). I had a digital video camera which has a pass thru that I could run my VCR player thru. Had to watch 60+ hours of tape again.

All kidding aside, do consider having it done professionally.

Get a quote from a local service offering this conversion capability to see if it is less than what a quality converter and software costs plus the opportunity cost of your experimentation to get the conversion process done correctly.

please consider VikingOSX's reply first.

I would recommend searching at amazon to find an appropriate video capture device. I would share the one I use, but the vendor ended support for macOS Big Sur and later. but there are many available on amazon depending on which input (VHS machine) and output (computer port) you desire.

-EDITED-

Me too. Answers here are lame. I don't want the entire video. I was doing fine with my 2014 MacMini... then poof! And so far, I haven't found anything. Please rsvp if you have. I haven't gotten rid of the 2014. I may have to set it up again just for the vhs tape conversion.

TuckerdogAVL wrote:

Nope. Searching is futile because even if you find the specs that are usually hidden, it will say something like 10.6+ Nothing I have found works with 13. (Ventura)

well, you couldn't have looked very hard. it took less than 30 seconds to find this: VHS and Camcorder USB Video Capture Kit for Mac. For Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur on M1/M2/Intel Macs. Create MP4 Files and DVDs from VHS, Hi8, MiniDV..

I'm sure there are many more, but I'm not going to do your window shopping for you.

ok. so you stated in an earlier reply that you may start using your 2014 Mac mini for use with your current capture device. that is, IMHO, a perfectly acceptable solution. my capture device does not work with any macOS after Catalina. so rather than getting a new capture device, I instead loaded Catalina onto an SSD. I now boot into Catalina any time I need to use my capture device. you could use the old Mac to the same end.

TuckerdogAVL wrote:

Sorry. Love your snark,

thank you. :)

but that’s only available in Canada. And no there aren’t many more available. Thanks.

FWIW, amazon isn't the only game in town. I found what appears to be the exact same device on eBay USA.

Capture VHS VCR & Hi8 Camcorder Video Tapes to Mac Ventura on Intel / M1 Macs

Yes. The only annoying part of this is disconnecting the htmi to the monitor and connecting it to the old mac mini, not really that big a deal... just then have to make it an "appointment" project vs. allowing to run in the background. I could just let go overnight, then go back and FF through the entire videos, grabbing clips. What I had been doing is FF'ing through the video, then recording the bit, then FF.... I migrated when I went to the MM2, so probably just need to figure out how to get an OS on the old Mac Mini? I had saved the old OS b/u but of course, last week I decided I wouldn't need it anymore and recaptured the 600gb.

Thanks. I try to stay away from eBay as much as I can (it's even more notoriously spammy than Amazon); sometimes, though, it's the best place to find something. I needed a VHS rewinder (the VCR can't handle rewind anymore and to purchase a new one would be absurd). Found one that is perfect for $15. I'll see what I can find there too

PS Clearly states Ventura on Intel. Need Apple Silicon M2 chip capability or OS 13+ This is the problem. I've got an inkling that it ain't gonna exist. Already was on the cusp of unusability... I had Firewire adaptors to thunderbolt as it was. What's also annoying is that apparently ROXIO has created a new version for Windows, but not Mac peeps. As usual.

True. Watching them in real time can be a little annoying. I did find this, however, and it may be the answer. Doesn't use the computer at all. https://ebay.to/46UU0OS

There appear to be a number of these. Finding the legit one is the next step :-)

Maybe. However, by copying and pasting model numbers and searching on Amazon, by checking "answers" to questions, I've put in "M2" and "Silicon." There are numerous responses that it doesn't. However, I solved my problem. After two-plus hours on this today, I had an "aha" moment and realized the laptop we have, even though it is Ventura, it is running on an Intel chip. I loaded the software for the Roxio VHS Digi for Mac that I had been working, and it's fine. Just have to watch the GBs as the laptop has only 59 GB left. I have about a dozen more tapes to go through, so that is going to work vs. a new purchase. I looked at the stand alones and the Diamond appears to be identical to the Clearclick and about $40 cheaper. That may be the eventual answer if it goes on sale. In the meantime, the workaround will work.

Nope. Searching is futile because even if you find the specs that are usually hidden, it will say something like 10.6+ Nothing I have found works with 13. (Ventura)