Capture Video

Mmmm - for analogue conversions like this I use a Miglia TVMax ( http://www.miglia.com/ has several other hardware options).

My advice is that a stereo VCR connected on the RCA inputs trumps an RF (tuner) connection from a mono VCR. Of course, your budget may dictate the terms. At the very least, a Miglia (or other such device from, for example, Elgato - http://www.elgato.com/) tuned in to the VCR and you should be able to make a recording.

For the perfect video and sound, buy the DVD, sorry. For the best results though, use the RCA from a stereo source.

hth

I use a miniDV camcorder with 'pass-through' to do this - the video recorder is connected to the camcorder which in pass-through mode becomes the A/D converter allowing video to be imported into iMovie or Final Cut. It works perfectly.

As the previous poster indicated, you COULD get a TV-input device, but sadly the quality would be somewhat worse than the use of an analog to digital converter.

"As the previous poster indicated, you COULD get a TV-input device, but sadly the quality would be somewhat worse than the use of an analog to digital converter."

What do you think boxes like the plextor PX-402u do?
They have analog inputs, they accept the input and convert to digital at the same quality any camcorder with pass through will do. It is the same thing, done the same way-They are just a whole lot cheaper.

http://www.plextor.com/english/products/TV402UMac.htm

http://www.miglia.com/products/video/tvmax/index.html

Unfortunately there is no shortage of rather less sophisticated devices which provide only analog input and output and where captured image is not great.

But the links may be useful for the OP, so thank you for posting them.

...but sadly the quality would be somewhat worse than the use of an analog to digital converter.

For what it's worth, my EyeTV 200 did a great job converting my VHS to DVDs. VHS itself is not really the best quality and using the EyeTV software means you don't take up your hard drive with two hours of DV that you then need to wait quite some time as it gets converted to MPEG-2 for the DVD. The EyeTV files are smaller and movie directly to video DVDs (through Toast) without any further conversion. So, if you have a TON of video to convert and not a very large hard drive and not a lot of time, then an option like the EyeTV might be appealing.

-Doug

I take your point about the issue of drive space and conversion which for many would be distinct advantages, though in my case the video typically is intended for extensive re-editing so the drive space and conversion are an inevitable consequence. It's also true, I think, that technology has moved us on somewhat since the tv-tuner based solutions such as MyTv or the ATI cards for PCs that were often the only way to go with these tasks and which left a lot to be desired!

I would highly recommend the eyetv 250. Price is about $175 through newegg.com. It works smoothly over USB 2.0. I transferred two 35 minute tapes for the local fire department. The total disk space was 2.4 gigs. The system automatically links to Toast 7 and I was able to burn the DVDs quickly.