Transfer video from 8mm tape onto a Mac

As noted here, you have another option (some camcorders with digital output):

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/596653?answerId=2899334022#2899334022

Of course, there are companies who will handle this process for you.

John

Hi

And there is an even more expencive path to consider.

Canopus ADVC-300 - this due to that analog tapes often has drop-outs old tapes even worse. resulting in

• Import / Capture halts - 100 re-starts of a tape can be trying = Lot's of baby-sitting

• If import wortks - Audio may go out of sync. (dropped frame by frame) and an hour or four or even eight (full VHS at LP-recording)

Then the audio can be severely wrong.

The more expencive box - has timebase correction - and these problems will be very much LESS.

And it can improve the quality a bit too - due to software delivered with it.

Yours (using one and very happy) Bengt W

Almost but not quite! 🙂

You cannot edit in iDVD, you do this in iMovie.

I use the Canopus ADVC110, and despite Bengt's love of the more expensive 300, the 110 has never failed me in the five years and about 150 tapes I have used it for - and continue to use it for, as I have an analogue Sony Hi8 video camera!

As for timebase correction: if you have recorded a timeline on the tape before using it, no further correction is required. If not, Bengt has a point.

I do lots of this.

ADVC300 > iMovie 06 > iDVD 09 / 11

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.grassvalley.com/products/advc300

I would use iMovie 06 with iDVD 09/11.

iMovie 11 uses 'single field processing' meaning every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage. iMovie 06 uses ALL of the image to form the video.

Your workflow is editing DV clips and making DVDs, so iMovie 06 is better suited. Your movie will arrive at iDVD in DV format, which is an ideal match for making a DVD: same resolution, same pixels aspect ratio, and original quality. If you share your movie from iMovie 09, it gets re-rendered at 640x480 or less, and then iDVD upscales it back to 720x480. The end result is obviously not as good.

iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11 is a "lossless" combination.

They were recorded on a digital (tape) Sonny camcorder.

If the material is already in digital format, you don't need an analogue to digital converter!