Transferring home videos to Mac

Any analogue tape format such as VHS will require an A/D (analogue to digital) Coverter to be placed between the playback device and the Mac.
Canopus is one company that sells A/D boxs.
Note: Many mini DV cameras can act as an A/D Coverter.

iMovie is on your Mac and will work OK for editing and output to a DVD using iDVD.

Al

The bad news!

To get VHS tapes into the Mac you need an Analogue-Digital Converter.

These typically cost over £100 and convert the analogue VHS signal into a digital (DV) one which can be used by a computer.

In the US most camcorders have this converter ability built in but in the UK, because of crazy tax laws, only the most expensive camcorders (around £800+) sometimes have the facility.

Note that for UK users _most cameras do not have Analogue IN_ which is what is required to use them as converters.

This is because they would then be classed as Video Recorders and as such would be taxed highly, making them too expensive for many users.

This is why only some of the most expensive models have the facility, the government and manufacturers obviously thinking that if you can afford an expensive camcorder, another £100 or so is not going to bother you!

I was in this same boat about 3 years ago when I first got my mac, partly for this very purpose. I wanted a self contained, easy way to transfer Vhs to DVD with user friendly software. 3 years later, I'm still trying to figure it out and am finally on my way.

First, as the others mentioned, you will need a DV converter. I just bought a Canopus ADVC 110 and it works pretty slick. As the others mentioned, it is possible to use a DV camera to import the video directly to Imovie, but it sounds like in the UK you may have issues with cameras.

Another thing to consider is what software to capture the video with.

I wanted to use Imovie because it was easy and in the Mac to begin with, what I found out after many forum questions and experimenting at home was that Imovie, at least the version I have, only imports every other line of resolution of the videos. So when I captured a home movie from my video camera into IMovie and then used a software program (I used Toast) to make a DVD it looked like garbage on my TV. The verison of Imovie I have however is 08' (I think) so I'm not sure if the new version imports better quality now. I would check on that before you capture/import all your vhs into Imovie only to find out it's going to make your home movies look awful on a TV.

To combat this, I had to get Final Cut Express which I am now finally starting to learn how to use.

Once you determine how you are going to get the videos onto the Mac, either DV Converter or the right camera, then you need to decide if your Imovie will give you the right output of image quality, then burning the DVD's isn't too bad.

IDVD works pretty slick and there are videos you can watch on the Mac website that show you how to use it.

Like I said, I've used TOAST a few times and it's pretty easy and user friendly as well.

Hope this helps a little.

Are you sure that iMovie is to blame for the poor quality of your DVDs?

I say this because a year ago I converted some 14 hours of VHS footage and the quality was appalling (by modern standards).

I had shot it on my Canon E230 (Video 8) between 1992 and 2000.

At the time I shot it, I was unimpressed with the quality and copying it to VHS didn't help. The camera no longer works so I had to use the VHS copies.

Converting them in my Mac has not made the quality any worse but the results resemble many of the videos on programmes such as "You've Been Framed" . . . . . . low contrast, low sharpness, ghosting, colour bleed and generally drab colours etc.

If I could have used the original Video 8 tapes the quality would be better but only marginally.

Luckily (?) they are only family movies and as such, the audience (my family) will not be too concerned about the technical quality.