• The Mac-Forums Community Guidelines (linked at the top of every forum) are very clear, we respect US law and court precedence when it comes to legality of activity.

    Therefore to clarify:
    • You may not discuss breaking DVD or BluRay encryption, copying, or "ripping" commercial, copy-protected DVDs.
    • This includes DVDs or BluRays you own. Even if you own the DVD or BluRay, it is still technically illegal under the DMCA to break the encryption. While some may argue otherwise, until the law is rewritten or the US Supreme Court strikes it down, we will adhere to the current intent of the law.
    • You may discuss ripping or copying unprotected movies or homemade DVDs.
    • You may discuss ripping or copying tools in the context that they are used for legal purposes as outlined in this post.

Importing video with iMac

Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I just bought a new iMac and I'm looking for a way to import video from my old VHS tapes. Ideally I'd like to do this without purchasing new equipment (other than a cable from a VCR to USB or Firewire).

p.s.
As of now I have an old Dazzle AV/S-video --> USB cable. So if I could get the Mac to recognize it, I think that would work as well.

thanks,

Dave
 
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Best way... if you have a camcorder would be to utilize the camcorder as either a throughput Analogue to Digital converter and then capture via firewire as a non-controllable device or you could drop the VHS footage onto DV and then capture it as such. Straightforward and simple..
 
OP
D
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I don't have a DV cam. Really all I have as of now is what I've discussed in the first post.
 
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Well.. give that a shot.. that PC stuff tends to only work with itself though. your other option is to buy a standalone DVD burner with RCA inputs and dub something to DVD and then deal with it there maybe
 
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
27
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Scotland
Hang on

The steps here are :
1. digitalizing the analog signal from the VHS tapes. What was suggested as one possible means was to play back from a camcorder, which will ouput a digital signal in dv file format, which you could capture in iDVD. Since you don't have a camcorder...
but a DVD burner (external) isn't enough - firstly, the signal hasn't been digitalized, and a signal (even from a camcorder) has to be captured and 'prepared' ready for burning by software on the computer - and you can't go straight from a VHS to a computer peripheral external DVD player/burner (ie it's not an actual DVD Recorder in the real sense.)
...and if you want to hear something else informative but unhelpful to you:
Depending on the quality (price), actual DVD recorders may have an S-Video input connector. If so, they would take a direct feed from an S-Video port on a VHS and the machine will digitalize it. At rock bottom, you could feed into the RCA plugs on the recorder...but you have no recorder, and the quality that way would hardly be worth it.
But you don't have/want the expense of, a DVD recorder.
Everything you're up against in what seems such a simple task you can read in How to Convert VHS to DVD by Bob Hudson at
http://www.signvideo.com/conv-v-to-d.htm
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top