Convert VHS movies to DVD

In no way am I intending to do something illegal, but I have a lot of old "Laurel and Hardy" VHS movies that I would like to convert to DVD. I have a DVD/VHS recorder that can dub from one format to another. However, since the VHS movies are copy-protected, I cannot save these old movies. Is there a way to do this with my trusty iMac?? Is there any way I can do this without someone coming to the door to arrest me? Thanks!

It would be cheaper to just buy the DVD set.
<http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-k eywords=james+dean+collection+blu&sprefix=james+dean%2Cmovies-tv%2C224>
and you will get much better video quality than any VHS conversion.

Similar Messages

  • How can I convert VHS movies to DVD so I can watch on my computer

    I have a set of James Dean movies I want to convert from VSH to DVD.  How can I do this without too much trouble or expense?

    It would be cheaper to just buy the DVD set.
    <http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-k eywords=james+dean+collection+blu&sprefix=james+dean%2Cmovies-tv%2C224>
    and you will get much better video quality than any VHS conversion.

  • Converting VHS-C to DVD through I Movie

    I have been converting my VHS-C home movies to DVD using I Movie, some of the DVD's will work in my DVD player and some will not.  It shows it is a Data Disc and "file format is not supported".  Any suggestions as to why one would work and another would not?  Could it be the length of the DVD?

    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'm looking for software for my iMac to use to copy old VHS movies onto DVD and old records (digital turn table) in CDs.  Recommendations please?

    I'm looking for software for my iMAC to use to copy old VHS movies from a VCR into DVDs and records from my digital turn table into CDs.  Any recommendations?

    For the VHS movies, try googling Elgato - they make a number of USB devices that are supposed to be able to do this, but check what formatting options they offer : you will want a device that converts directly into .MOV files (to play in QuickTime), or into H.264 for iTunes / iPods, etc.
    As for the vinyl records - first you need a device that will convert the analogue output (phono) into a digital form and will connect via FireWire or USB. The Griffin iMic is one such USB device (if still available?). From there you can use the free Audacity download to read in the signal and convert to a suitable format, e.g. MP3. (You will need to use SysPrefs / Sound to switch to an external audio device, instead of your Mac's built-in mic.)
    (Wait - you said "digital turntable" - software already on your Mac? How do you use a virtual turntable to play vinyl?? Unless what you really mean is an analogue turntable that has a CD writer in it, or a USB connection to connect the turntable's DAC output to a computer?? In which case, either use your turntable to burn  CDs, or connect via USB and the free Audacity software to convert the signal to music tracks and output as MP3.

  • Convert VHS tape to DVD or flash drive

    I would like to convert home movies that are on a VHS tape to DVD, and then to a flash drive or USB stick

    convert a vhs tape to digital
    I have done lots of that.
    To get your VHS video into iMovie, use the Grassvalley ADVC300 (much better than the roxio easy vhs to dvd).  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).
    http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc300
    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.

  • Converting 8MM movies to DVD

    We were going through some old family boxes and found some old 8mm movies. We have not found the projector yet and were wondering if our local Best Buy would be able to convert them to a DVD. Any one have any ideas?

    Best Buy works with the imemories service to have them converted. http://www.imemories.com/home-movies-to-dvd/
    Crystal
    Superuser
    Forum Guidelines | Terms & Conditions | Community Guidelines | What is a Superuser?
    *Remember to mark your questions solved and click the star to give kudos to show your thanks!*
    While I used to be a Best Buy Employee, I no longer have any affiliation with Best Buy.
    My opinions do not in any way shape or form represent Best Buy's Official decisions.

  • Convert iTunes movies to DVD

    I have purchased several movies from iTunes. Since most of the times these movies are played on my APPLETV. However from time to time the children want to watch the movies in their room. I can not find any menu option that will allow me to burn purchased movies to a DVD.
    Please explain how to do this?
    Noppie

    Mark Betournay wrote:
    What about the claims of of some of these software companies being able to remove the DRM?
    If I recall, most of the U.S. based companies have been slapped down by the courts.
    I purchased the movie, I should be able to burn it to a DVD and watch it on any TV I choose.
    No, you didn't. You bought a license for certain types of use of the content. You did not buy a license to burn the movie to DVD. If you had purchased a DVD of the movie, the reverse would be true. You would not have purchased the right to rip the movie to digital format. Some DVDs, which generally cost more, come with an additional license to download the digital content.
    I buy music downloads from ITunes, and can burn them, why not movies??
    Two entirely different industries. Music went digital quite a while before video and the content providers were caught unawares. It's a pretty safe bet that, if they could, the music producers would prevent you from doing a lot of things.

  • Converting old vhs movie to dvd

    I have an old video on vhs format that we want to view on our dvd player. How do I convert this so that we can view it?

    ...a couple of options here.
    1. Buy a VHS/DVD combo unit that has a built in DVD recorder.
    http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&upc=2724271605&pid=_Froogle
    However, Ive never been a fan of the combo units.
    2. Buy or borrow a seperate VHS player and buy a DVD recorder such as the Toshiba D-R400 and make your transfers. This will be the most cost-effective way- VHS players are cheap.
    3. Buy or borrow a VHS player and import it into your FCP with a converter box such as a matrox card, or first make a transfer to DV and then import. This option, in my opinion is overkill and time consuming. However, you would have more control over adding music, chapters, ect.
    4. Have the transfers done for you by a local A/V company.
    If you have only one VHS tape, I would probably take it to a local A/V company and get it transfered to DVD for approx $30...
    Hope this helps- Mike
    Message was edited by: Mike Jensen1

  • Converting VHS videos to DVDs

    How do I use my Mac to convert old VHS video tapes to DVDs? Do I need to buy a converter of some kind? What is the process? I'd appreciate any light shone on this topic since I'm trying to preserve some family and travel videos by converting them and hopefully editing them in the process!
    Thanks!

    Hi
    Yes You need something that converts from analog to digiatl.
    • A/D-box like Canopus ADVC-55, 110 or 300
    • miniDV Camera with video trough function
    • miniDV Camera without - You need to copy one hour at a time to tape
    (Don't use LP-function 90-min on a 60min tape - audio Will go out of Sync)
    Many miniDV Cameras Don't have analog-in - in EU omitted due to tax regulations
    extra cost to turn it on.
    I do
    • Have a Canopus ADVC-300
    This because old VHS tapes often get's drop outs and the ADVC-300 makes it's own timecode
    this makes it possibly to import in long sequences without the need of baby-sit.
    You also need a SCART-plug WITH AN IN AND OUT Switch plus a RCA-Cable with three
    connectors in each end. This to connect A/D-box with VHS-VCR and a 4-pin to 6-pin
    FW-Cable for Canopus ADVC-300 to Mac (Others may use 6-pin to 6-pin or even
    FW-800 to 6-pin)
    There is no way possibly I know about if You got a Mac without a FW-port 800 or 400.
    eg New Mac-Books. Sorry.
    Yours Bengt W

  • How to convert MP4 movie to dvd burn ready disc image?

    I have a 15 minute MP4 movie (640x480, non-copy protected) that I'd like to save as a dvd burn-ready disc image. (This was a photo slideshow that a friend made into a movie on OneTrue Media. I don't want to add anything else to it, no chapters, additional files etc -- just save as a disc image that can be posted on my idisk public site for a few friends to download and burn to dvd if they wish). How can I do this the easiest way with iDVD?

    Welcome to the forums.
    You're almost there. Pull the video into iDVD (mp4 isn't the best format for DVD conversion but it should work) and use the Save As Disc Image command to create your image file (set preferences to Best Performance first).
    John

  • Software to convert VHS- DVD (w/out digital camcorder)?

    Hey everybody,
    I was wondering if anybody was aware of any software for converting VHS tapes to DVD wth your Mac that is Lion-ready? I'm looking to be able to plug my VCR into my Mac and encode in real time via some sort of component to USB cable (because I don't own a digital camcorder). If you could also point me in the direction of the required hardware to complete this process that would be awesome!
    Thanks,
    Tyler

    Have been doing this for some time, my setup:
    I use an ancient "Symphonic" VCR player connected to an Elgato Eyetv Hybrid USB dongle.  That plugs into my G5 Mac, 10.5.8, which runs Eyetv software v. 2.5.3.
    Recording is dead simple after fiddling around a bit with software settings for channel, etc.  Start the player, hit "record" on the software and wait for the end.
    The recording is saved in some obscure ".eyetv" format with file size about 4 GB per hour of recording.  The software has export to a variety of formats including QT Movie which results in a substantially larger file size.
    Quality?  Well, it's viewable and usable for archive purposes.  I'm fine with it but more discriminating folks may want something better.  I end up burning the video on a DVD using iDVD and that's not the greatest anyway.
    There are various Elgato units available, and the Eyetv Hybrid seems to run bout $130.
    Hope that helps.

  • Importing VHS to be converted and burned to DVD.

    I want to import my family VHS footage to my IMac G-5 with Tiger 4.2, to be burned on DVD . What software and hardware do I need to accomplish this and how do I do it?

    I recently bought a Plextor ConvertX PVR BY ELGATO. it was $100 less than the eyetv version, with the same eyetv software, the only difference i could tell being that it uses usb2 instead of firewire. i use mine to do the same thing - convert vhs tapes to dvd. while the software allows you to import video as DV for imovie editing, i sometimes set it to mpeg2 which allows me to send it right to toast for DVD burning. a full 2 hour tape takes about 2 minutes to save as mpeg2 to the desktop and then multiplexes in toast for about another 2 minutes, then starts to burn.

  • How to convert VHS  home movies to DVD?

    How do I get best quality converting VHS to DVD. I will need to use iMovie as some need heavy editing. I know I can get them into iMovie via firewire using the D/A converter on my newer Canon camcorder. My Question (s)? is /are: What settings & format should I use to import into iMovie8 and to export to iDVD for best possible quality when played on a large screen (50inch). Several of the tapes were in such poor shape that the D/A converter on the canon wouldn't play them and I had to digitize them by playing through Eye-Tv(not the best solution but the only one I could come up with). Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give.
    Dave

    How do I get best quality converting VHS to DVD.
    Use iMovie 06 instead.
    iMovie 08 now uses single-field processing. This means every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage.
    I find I get the best quality using iMovie 06 and iDVD 08 (use Professional Quality encoding in iDVD 08).
    iMovie 06 is a free download to iLife 08 owners. (THEY WANT YOU TO HAVE IT!)
    http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html
    To get your VHS video into iMovie, look at the Canopus 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 08 (not sure about iMovie 08).
    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 and convert it to FireWire (iMovie will treat it like a camera).
    http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC300/index.php
    You will need to use a "Real" Mac, (with a Firewire input).

  • Convert VHS tape to a DVD format??

    How do I save my family home movies (VHS) to a DVD?
    In broad terms what hardware and software could make this possible?

    Ron,
    Welcome to the discussions!
    The first step is to convert the analog video on the VHS to a digital format (DV) that iMovie can understand.
    Some miniDV cameras allow you to do this using a pass through function. You hook up a VHS deck to the camera and hook the camera up to your computer. The camera then takes the analog signal and converts it and passes it along to your computer and iMovie.
    Alternatively, you can purchase a digital to analog converter. This would make it a bit easier if you have a lot of tapes to convert.
    Some examples:
    http://www.canopus.us/US/products/ADVC110/pm_advc110.asp
    http://www.miglia.com/products/video/director2/index.html
    Matt

  • Best video Hardware/software for converting VHS DVD and others on Mac?

    Hello,
    I am having problems finding some much needed details on what the best software/hardware is for converting video formats on a Mac. I should note I am using a NEW iMac 4GB memory and Leopard OS so what I use needs to be compatible. Perhaps next year I will get a Mac Pro, but for now I'm using this setup. Here's is what I need to do:
    1. Transfer old VHS tapes (home movies and such) to DVD. I need to be able to use DL DVD discs for my recordings so I don't have to switch DVDs. In other words make them just like the DVDs you play that you buy. Therefore, they also must be able to playback in home theater DVD players, not just on the computer. I would assume the best way as for encoding is to get the VHS tape in digital format on the hard drive, then use the codecs to turn them into DVDs?
    2. Once on the hard drive I also need to convert them to a format neutral playback on both the Mac and PC. What is the best, MPEG 4?
    3. The ability to do some nice editing of making bookmarks, chapters and thumbnails for the DVD menu and divisions I wish to make. In other words, if I have a home movie containing my Summer and Winter vacation, I want to insert bookmarks at points to skip to like in a movie DVD and also have a thumbnail of it just like DVD movies does.
    4. A nice MAIN menu for the DVD that will let me hit the main categories, not just chapters for the TOP level DVD menu. Such as Summer Vacation, Winter vacation.
    5. The software should be easy to use so I don't have to take a HUGE crash course requiring lots of work making the project a chore. Also, I don't want or need a professional package, just something simple that is less than $200 per software program. Not the expensive $500+ software options for movie makers.
    Thank you for any tips and advice on this matter.

    "Best software/hardware" depends on your exact needs & wants.
    One simple way to transfer your VHS tapes to DVD is with a *DVD Recorder*. Many of these come with VHS and DVD decks already built in. Insert your VHS tape, a blank DVD, hit record and off it goes. When finished, you have a playable DVD.
    To transfer your VHS tapes to DV for editing you will need a converter. The *Canopus ADVC-110* is a very nice, relatively inexpensive device that will do that job for you. (It's also possible to use most modern DV camcorders as converters, too.) You would connect your VHS deck to the Canopus box via their analog video & audio connections, then connect the Canopus box via FW to your Mac, and then when you play the VHS tape you would capture the video in iMovie or FCE.
    Once your videos are captured on your Mac, you could use iMovie or *Final Cut Express* to do whatever editing you might want to do. Regardless of which one you edit with, however, it's iDVD that you would use to create your DVD menus and burn your DVDs.
    So, overall, the workflow would be like this: *VHS Deck > Converter (camcorder or converter box) > Capture on Mac (iMovie or FCE) > Editing application (iMovie or FCE) > iDVD > DVD*
    For playback on computers MPEG4 would be an ok choice, H.264 is probably a better choice, and then there's the matter of whether or not you want to export as a QuickTime movie and/or AVI.
    iLife came with your Mac, so you already have iMovie and iDVD. How about giving them a try before you consider investing in a significantly more sophisticated application like Final Cut Express. (just my opinion)

Maybe you are looking for