Converter Question?

Ppass through doesnt work with FCPX. It might work with the QT player.

The Canopus products actually do improve the video quality, significantly, over the "USB dongle) video capture devices available (i.e., EyeTV, etc.) First, they stabilize the image (if possible — some tracking issues are incurable) Second, they provide timecode. Third, they improve the dynamic range in color (makes faded video look better.) I recovered this clip from a VHS tape that was over 20 years old at the time using the ADVC 55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_MgMyeWNTY -- it's been further cleaned up with some "tricks" but you should get an idea how well the ADVC 55 did. The ADVC devices are Firewire and if I remember correctly (and I probably don't,) FCPX will recognize a Firewire video device (usually a camcorder, but the ADVC should appear in the list) for a direct import.

However, you might want to consider moving forward into the future. The Blackmagic Design Ultrastudio Mini Recorder (SDI / HDMI in, Thunderbolt out connection) or the Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle (for USB3 if you don't have Thunderbolt). Both units are (currently) less than the ADVC 110, both also work with SD and HD media and both units will do automatic SD to HD up conversion (the Canopus units are SD to SD only). These units are NOT plug'n'play... you have to install drivers (probably just the Desktop Video software -- includes Media Express which can be used for "Log and Transfer" for importing into FCPX. You MUST also go into System Preferences and set up the media inputs you will be using with your unit after installing the drivers.)

I don't know if the Blackmagic equipment handles stabilizing old tapes, I made all my copies years ago with the Canopus equipment. I have none of it left to test with the Blackmagic (Mini Recorder) I recently purchased. From reviews I've read, it seems that the Blackmagic equipment does an outstanding job... I just can't verify that for you.

[*Blackmagic sends a disc with ALL their software for all their products... it's not necessary to install everything.]

HTH

This may be helpful:

Re: Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt

Al

I've written about three different responses and deleted them all...

Your current Mac can't handle the Blackmagic devices (based on my research). Even with a USB 3 card, I don't think OSX 10.7 is supported any longer and I believe 10.7 is the max OS you can use on that machine.

If you cannot wait: the ADVC 110 will be your best investment at this point in time. You will definitely be able to convert your tapes with this item — to 720x480 DV. Unfortunately, as soon as you upgrade to the iMac, you will lose all Firewire connections (there is a Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 converter available and you'll need the stepdown FW400 converter, and possible the power supply if the power isn't supplied by the TB - FW800 cable) and you will probably lose use of this device without purchasing an external power supply.

There is also much more to think about even with a new iMac.

Yes, you will need at least USB 3 to use the Shuttle and OSX 10.8 or better (probably at least 10.9). If you're going to wait, try to go with the Thunderbolt options.

The other side of the story is that you will also need fast storage in order to capture your video. For SD, you can get away with a "fast" Firewire 800, but you will need something much faster for HD. A standard HD as an internal drive is not going to be fast enough. Research how fast the Fusion drive is — it might be fast enough. I can't recommend an SSD because they're just simply not large enough for my liking.

I built a drive for use with capture: I bought a Crucial M500 SSD drive and put it in an OWC 2.5" drive enclosure with USB3/FW800 connections. I'm getting write speeds of 324MB/s (read @ 400MB/s), which is fast enough for 2K (1556@25fps) but not 1080p60 (10-bit RGB 4-4-4). It was more cost effective than a traditional RAID and if I had a Thunderbolt enclosure (which is much pricier) I could get much better read/write speeds.

[*prices (amazon)

OWC Mercury On-the-go Pro USB 3/Firewire enclosure $55

an alternative type of "enclosure" : KDLinks USB3 / eSATA docking station ($37)

Crucial 480GB SSD 2.5in $180

]

Wait until you get all the hardware in place. You may only have the one chance to recover those tapes (particularly the older ones.) Do it right and you won't be disappointed.

One more thing: if any of your videos are copy protected, you will need to buy a "video stabilizer" to bypass the CP. I personally believe that if you legally purchased the videotape, you have the right to back it up (I am currently supported by the Supreme Court in this opinion; but that could change at any time). If you buy the Blackmagic Mini Recorder (and make sure it's the recorder and NOT it's nearly identical "Monitor") you can get an AV to HDMI converter (from < $20 to about $50 - look for sales) to connect to the HDMI input of the unit.

If all of this is overwhelming, you might want to consider a different way to convert your videotapes, which is to buy a set-top box to do it for you. It will be considerably less work. At this time, there is still a cost effective solution to this and that is a "combination VCR DVD recorder" (the one I linked you to is one of the LAST reasonably priced units.) You will need DVD-R blank disks (100 for ~ $25.) Consider this also: no new Macs have optical drives anymore. Even DVD is passing into history.

Good luck with your project!

This unit is no longer a Canopus offering but it would be worth shopping around the second hand market for one:

Grass Valley ADVC300 Pro-Quality Bi-Directional Analog ...

It hasTBC for correcting analogue sources, Something the 110 lacks.

Al

Some words of doom and gloom . . .

Why are you capturing old VHS tapes?

Is it for a competition or money making enterprise where only the highest quality will be acceptable or is it simply as an archive for family members?

If the latter, and if your family etc. is anything like mine, they will either never watch them or else not care a d.a.m.n about the quality as long as they can distinguish "Uncle Fred" getting up to his embarrassing antics etc. . . . I can't count the number of times I've stressed myself out in order to produce superior results only to have family and friends completely oblivious to or unconcerned about the quality.

Don't forget that for those of us who do value sharp, bright, naturally coloured images, watching even the best VHS tapes can come as a severe shock to the system.

On a practical note, a couple of years ago I copied a batch of VHS tapes to DV using a Datavideo DAC100 which is very similar to the Canopus.

There were a few sections of the tapes that the DAC100 either could not capture or could not capture properly.

I was about to give up on these sections when I remembered my old Canon HV20 could convert analogue to DV, so without holding out much hope I gave it a try and to my amazement, the camera was able to capture the tricky tapes well.

In fact the camera appeared to be at least as good or even better than the purpose-built DAC100 especially with problem tapes.

I raised my eyebrows when I read that passing through the camera doesn't work with FCP X but last Friday I discovered it really didn't!

Out of the blue I decided to copy a video on a 20 year old VHS tape using my DAC100.

There must have been some problems with the tape because it played perfectly going on to the TV but when I captured it, the video kept stopping for a second or so every now and again leaving me with a lot of separate clips with a few seconds missing between them.

I decided to use my Canon HV20 and although the video appeared in the Import window, FCP X was unable to capture it.

So I finished the capture with legacy FCP and got everything in one long clip . . . . the only snag I noticed was that on a few scenes there appeared to be some intermittent black flyback lines.

So why can't FCP X capture video passing through the camera?

I would have thought that the DAC100 and HV20 were doing the same thing?

Obviously not quite.

Just done a couple of further tests using my HV20 passthrough and the current versions of iMovie and QT Player.

Whilst they both displayed the video and audio on the computer screen, they both seemed unable to capture it.

This was not using a VHS tape but a live TV programme.

Legacy FCP had no problem.

Did you use a fairly recent version of iMovie or the old iMovie 6?

My iMovie 10 doesn't work.

FCP7 had a non-controllable device setting. FCPX does not. It has no settings for tape. The Grass Valley box acts as a timebase corrector and generates timecode; pass through does not.

You can also capture using the QTX player.