How best to save VHS tapes to DVDs using a Mac ?

I'd be a little concerned about an investment based on the FireWire interface... Your next Mac probably won't have FireWire. My old apogee audio DAC did a fantastic job back in the day... But I have to replace it now because my macs don't have FireWire ports anymore and I'm not keen on buying a thunderbolt dock/converter dongle. I suppose I could upgrade to a Thunderbolt Display "just to get legacy FireWire support" go (among other goodies) but...

hi , i dont know the technical terms to use, but i used my old vhs video recorder, out put via the yelow video and white and red audio , plugged into my oldish video camera , (i thik the term - they have a dac converter inside)

i then rn i move and chose import, started the video playing and it came up on the screen and captured perfectly ,

sorry i dont know any of the technical terms but in summary , if you have a viseo player and a camcorder you may already have the required equipment

anybody help out with more technical guidance please

brian

While it is true firewire is dropped from the latest Macs, a Thunderbolt/Firewire 800 adapter sorts out the issue.

This adapter allows a Mac to work as if it's plugged into a firewire port.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapte r?fnode=51

Al

MacPcConsultant wrote:

Captured the video using which software ?

iMovie.

And as Alchroma wrote connecting a FireWire camera to a new mac is not a problem. Not sure why FabrizioRizzo feels the adaptor is not a valid solution.

I never said anything about the validity of the solution, only pointed out that a new investment in a legacy interface may have to be replaced sooner rather than later... ymmv.

Happy Holidays.

Just getting into this so I have the following: A (old) ADVC 300 - never used.

When I dug into the software for MAC I find it does not support the new Intel based computers. Did anyone different software to control the conversion?

I do have an option - I use Parallel for CAD and Quicken. Would this be a better way to get to a digital state for my tapes, using Windows 7. Have not gotting into details yet, the C300 seems to like the PC better as far as software support.

Any info would be greatly apppreciated, finally ready to get my family off my back about this project.

Tahnks in advance.

What 'software for the Mac'?

The ADVC300, and similar models (mine is the ADVC110), do not require any software, nor do they come with any. You simply connect to the analogue camera or VCR by RCA cables (or SCART), and to the Mac by firewire.

Just learned the hard way that Roxio simply doesn't work. About to plunk down for the Grass Valley ADC 110. The ADC300 is discontinued per their website. I noticed something in this string about problems "solved" with the 300 - does the 100 have syncing problems or does it work and syncs audio, etc. I have a Sony Handycam Vision CCD-TRV65 NTSC video Hi8. I have a late 2009 iMac and a recent late 2013 iMac. My handycam has RCA (and yellow) and SVideo output. Looking for assurance that the 110 will work, because the comment that the 300 solves problems made me think the 110 was problematic.

Yes, that should work. The ADVC comes with a manual - read it carefully regarding the settings required.

Klaus1, thank you.

This post in Amazon concerned me. I am especially concerned because audio syncing is the problem I'm having, and I'm wondering if it's because of the signal being sent from my camcorder.

Here's the post: I found the Canopus ADVC110 to be unusable on older (c. 10 years) Hi8 tapes. Symptomatically, there would be times where the frames would jump around, or black out entirely for parts of a second in the ADVC110 digital output stream. What seems to be happening is that the sync signal on the edge of older Hi8 tapes may be degraded, and the codec of the ADVC110 is not robust against such degradation; it loses sync on the frame, or gives up entirely and blacks out the output. Changing the fixed sync dip switch on the ADVC110 did not help it. (The same problem also occurred digitizing an old VHS tape). I put the same Hi8 tapes through the pass-through digitizer on a Sony DCR-HC32, and it had no problems whatsoever. The ADVC110 codec also produces more contrasty images than the Sony DCR-HC32; details in shadow are lost; frames are grainier; noise in the tape signals are amplified into subtle rainbow waves on the ADVC110, not so noticeable on the Sony, which seems to have a more linear codec. So, for a little more money you can buy a camcorder with more robust A to D conversion and better image than the ADVC110.

That's why I love my ADVC-300

I has - TimeBase/TimeCode correction - resulting in

• mends the picture (as good as possibly)

• KEEP AUDIO IN SYNC - even when Drop out frames and over several hours of Video.

I rather would try to get a second handed one (IN WORKING ORDER) - as I

• Hate to baby-sit the Capture/Import process

• Manually trying to mend Audio walking slowely out of Sync.

Yours Bengt W

. I cannot answer for some anonymous reviewer on Amazon who may will have faulty equipment or simply not understand how to use it.

All I can say for sure is that I have never had any problems importing at least 50 Hi8 tapes from an analogue Sony video camera via firewire into iMovie using the ADVC110.