Can I transfer my VHS to imovie, could someone help me please

Hi

No modern Mac (after 1995 or so) can import Analog Video as from a VHS-tape directly.

You need either

• an Analog/Digital converting box - as Grass Walley ADVC-300 (expensive and there are cheaper ones)

• a Camera with Analog in and Video trough and digital out

or go to a firm that convert VHS-tapes to DVDs - but this usually ends up in .mpeg2 code and as such has lost quality AND also need extra programs to be converted into something iMovie can use.

• MPEG-StreamClip (free on Internet) + mpeg2 component from Apple ($20) MUST will not work without it

• Roxio Toast™ - even more expensive - but lot's of other valuble functions

Yours Bengt W

I bought a used VHS tape deck from eBay for this.

To connect it, I use the EyeTV Hybrid from ElGato. It connects via composite video cables through USB and produces good results. Through the same device, you can also record HDTV through a rabbit ears antenna.

Here is a link.

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-Hybrid-10/product1.en.ht ml

Here is a sample of the quality I am getting.

Great family video (very good quality too, coming from VHS) - moments to be treasured!

John

I do not think so. I use a USB gadget called igrabber with igrabber software to make a file from the analog tape. It was not expensive and has done a good job. The file is then easily imported into imovie11.

Bob

I have done lots of this.

You need, an Analog to Digital converter, iMovie, and iDVD.

VCR -> ADVC300 -> Mac. (DVDs come out of the Mac.)

To get your VHS video into iMovie, look at the Grassvally 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 09/11 (I have used it a few times with iMovie 09 and 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 (VCR, Tivo, Satellite Receiver) and convert it to FireWire (iMovie will treat it like a camera).

I would use iMovie 06 with iDVD 09/11, why?

iMovie 09/11 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.

If your primary workflow is editing DV clips and making DVDs, 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 09/11, 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.