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

I used Elgato capture to copy from VHS deck using the RCA jacks. Takes time because you run the tapes at real-speed. Then iMovie converted into files compatible with iDVD in my SnowLeopard (you may or may not have iDVD as it is not currently easily installed in ML or Mavericks). But Roxio Toast is often recommended as DVD-producer (not just burn to a DVD but also add special features and backgrounds).

I found that the VHS tape quality is critical to the input signal, and the multiple settings of FPS (frames per second) converted form and to ... and other settings in the applications can be dizzting. You may need to experiment.

I cannot comment on Easy VHS to DVD3 but if price is only $60 compared to $100 for just Elgato without the DVD special-formatting/encoding software, Elgato + RoxioToast may give you more options.

I will also ask that this be moved to the iMovie sub-forum to catch more eyes that have done this longer than I have.

Do you wish to do a straight transfer or do some basic editind and titles?

Al

Are you sure neither player has a digital output? FireWire would be the most likely connector on that type of equipment.

Frank Caggiano wrote:

Are you sure neither player has a digital output? FireWire would be the most likely connector on that type of equipment.

Both VHS & Hi-8 are analog tape formats so it is extremely unlikely that VHS players or Hi-8 camcorders would have built-in analog to digital converters. That's why you need a product that includes a hardware A-D converter like the three mentioned by the OP.

Roxio's Easy VHS to DVD 3 product is for Windows -- there is no software compatible with OS X included. The Easy VHS to DVD for Mac product does include OS X compatible software but it gets poor reviews at Amazon, has apparently not been updated in some time, & the support page for the product has some "page not found" links suggesting Roxio isn't currently supporting the product very well.

The KWorld DVD Maker comes with a software driver for its A-D converter, which apparently uses a Empia 28xx family chipset. According to this that driver will not work with recent OS X versions, but for $30 one can purchase the VideoGlide driver to solve that problem. The KWorld product does not include OS X compatible editing software; for that you use iMovie (& presumably Toast or iDVD or something else) to burn the movies to DVDs. That makes the price about the same as the Roxio solution but complicates support because hardware & software are coming from different companies.

The Elgato Video Capture product should be compatible with most OS X versions (but I could not find anything specifically about at beyond the typical "10.5 & above" kind of comment which may or may not mean it supports 10.8 or 10.9) but it captures to H.264/MPEG formats only, so like the KWorld you still need something to convert that to MPEG 2 to burn the captures to a standard DVD.

So basically, there is no easy "one step" method to transfer VHS (or any of the other analog video formats) to DVD's. Depending on the version of OS X in use, it should be fairly easy to convert the analog source material to a digital format that can be used with iTunes, iMovie, etc., but editing it & particularly burning that to a DVD that will play in a regular DVD player will take more work.

I have over 30 VHS tapes, eight Hi-8 tapes, and a player for both formats. Would like to make DVDs of these movies.

I have done lots of that.

To get your VHS video into iMovie, use the Grassvalley ADVC300. With the 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 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 11 is a "lossless" combination.

I know you want to use a mac, but another way that may be easier would be to purchase a DVD player/recorder, hook the out of the VHS to the in of the DVD, play/record and make your DVD's.

I've done it both ways. Bringing the file into my computer and doing it with the DVD recorder. The DVD recorder version is faster since there's no rendering/transcoding time factored in.

I am suspicious of those due to experience. I used ont that my sister-in-law had puchased to make DVDs directly out of the VHS tapes, but you just have one long stream wil no automatic markers where one begins or ends. Also I tried one of these burned DVDs on my (less expensive, given) DVDs players at home and it was not recognized. Also is no recognized by any computer for the purposes of simple "bulk copy". Not sure why, but I suspect it uses a proprietary format that works sometimes ONLY in the device that copied it.

That is why I tried a method that turns VHS into true computer-format video files.

R C-R wrote:

Frank Caggiano wrote:

Are you sure neither player has a digital output? FireWire would be the most likely connector on that type of equipment.

Both VHS & Hi-8 are analog tape formats so it is extremely unlikely that VHS players or Hi-8 camcorders would have built-in analog to digital converters.

Analog, gee would have never realized that 😀

As for the possibility of a digital out, the OP only mentioned that he had a player for the tapes not the specific type. While digital out on the original equipment is unlikely, as you said, newer equipment could have it. I have a Sony deck plays both digital and analog tapes and has a FireWire out. It also has analog inputs and will convert an analog source to digital.

So checking to make sure there are no digital outputs on any of the OP's equipment seems like a simple easy to do step that, if it pans out, would save the OP a bunch of money and time,

Frank Caggiano wrote:

So checking to make sure there are no digital outputs on any of the OP's equipment seems like a simple easy to do step that, if it pans out, would save the OP a bunch of money and time,

Fair enough. I assumed that if the OP had one of these devices he would not be asking about converters & Mac software for them, but maybe I was assuming too much?

I agree completely with Ziatron and use the same workflow with one small difference. Mine is the ADVC110.

🙂

Hi

There are some special things with the ADVC-300

If You have lot's of VHS tapes - and do not like to baby-sit (restart now an then e.g. evert 10 minute)

It can play/convert a full four hours tape - even with frame drop outs

If there is drop outs (very likely) - the audio goes adrift = Sync problems - the ADVC-300 can handle that too.

Yours Bengt W

This unit is pretty simple and works OK.

Will operate with anything with RCA outputs plus other stuff.

For simplicity and speed it's hard to beat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIbD2NDv_Sg

A Canopus unit will also get your analogue video into a Mac with little fuss and yu can then use iDVD which can create some nice menus, chapter markers and titles etc.

This method takes longer.

Also if the footage is unstable (as VHS can be) and A/D Converter with TBC (Time Base Correction) will work wonders. Canopus ADVC 300 is such a device.

Al

I've just started converting a whole box of old tapes...

I have a little Elgato "EyeTV Hybrid" USB dongle that comes with SVideo, Composite, L/R audio, and antenna RF inputs. The EyeTV3 software allows live recording into MPEG-2 format with a couple (limited, but selectable) encoding rates. The "high (DVD 90 min)" setting gives 720x480, 29.97 fps, 6.0 MBS VBR (8 mbps max), IP frames with 48kHz audio at 384 kbps. It uses an AMD ATI Theater T507 demodulator / USB / Video controller and a NXP TDA18271C2 tuner chip for OTA HD TV reception if you have an antenna.

It also allows a "Live TV Buffer" feature that ues up to 1.5GB of RAM to off-set any recording lags due to disk I/O issues.

I haven't tried to see if FCPX or IMovie / IDVD will see the device and record directly. First tape will is being recorded using the EyeTV software just to kick the tires.

My deck is a consumer Philips VR960. nothing special... hooked up via SVideo and component audio.

recording on a 2011 MacBook Pro via USB2.

13 minutes == 725.4 MB recorded file.

Now being automatically exported into H.264 by the EyeTV software because I have the "Prepare all new recordings for iPhone/iPad" option checked in the preferences.

When it's done, I'll import the original recording into FCPX and see how it looks...