Converting 8mm movie tapes to dvd

I would like to convert some old 8mm home movies to DVD but not sure what file format would work best with iMovie HD 6.I have a Pioneer DVD/VCr recorder and have tried importing one of these DVD's into iMovie but it doesn't seem to work,it looks like it imports but the resulting file cannot be opened.

Basicall, iMovie works with miniDV tapes rather than straight from DVD. What you will need to do is convert the 8mm films to mini DV tape format or have them put on a VCR tape from which you can use your VCR to pass through a miniDV camcorder into iMovie in the miniDV format. So the simple answer to your question is convert your films to the mini DV format. Not knowing what other equipment you have, it's hard to give specific recommendations, but here is what I did with some of my father's films from the 1940's:
*Sent the films to a commercial company to convert to mini DV tape format.\
*used my DV camcorder to import into iMovie and edited to my heart's content.
I also converted some old video tapes by using my camcorder as a pass through device (basicially played the tapes from my VCR to my camcorder so that it would convert to the miniDV format and deliver to my Mac.) Others have used devices made by Canopus to do the same thing.
Hope this gives you a start.

Similar Messages

I am attempting to convert 8mm video cassettes to dvd using a video cassette player, elgato video capture with rca/usb connections to the mac, editing in imovie and burning on idvd. The picture quality is awful. What can I do?????

I am attempting to convert 8mm video cassettes to dvd using a video cassette player, elgato video capture with rca/usb connections to the mac then editing in imovie and burning dvd-r using idvd. The picture quality is awful. What can I do??????

At what point is the video quality bad? Is it bad on capture? I would recommend using an s-video 1394 firewire converter instead. They capture the video at a higher bit rate. If you have a lot of 8mm tapes to capture, invest in a stand alone DVD recorder. They capture and compress in one shot. If you need to rip it back from the DVD into iMovie again, I would recommend using DVDxDV.

Can I convert my VHS tapes into DVD using iMAC?

How can I convert my VHS tapes into DVD by using iMAC?

From VHS to DVD
http://www.macworld.com/article/1030972/fromvhstodvd.html   <<< click here.
How to Convert a VHS to a DVD for Mac OS X
http://www.ehow.com/how_6515774_convert-dvd-mac-os-x.html   <<< click here.
Roxio unveils VHS to DVD converter for Mac
http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/05/26/roxio.vhs.to.dvd/   <<< click here.
How to Convert VHS to DVD on Mac OS X
http://www.daniusoft.com/tutorial/burn-vhs-to-dvd-on-mac.html   << click here.

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.

8mm video tape to DVD conversion

I have a stack of old 8mm video tapes from 5-15 years ago that I wish to convert to DVD and eventually edit. Is there a device for converting these tapes? I do have a working 8mm camcorder that I borrowed from a friend that can play these tapes.

To record an analogue signal onto a (digital) PC/Mac calls for a player, a converter, a recorder and a re-purposer.
Ignoring the player (you're sorted there) conversion can be done either by using an external recorder (typically a digicam c/w analogue-in recording), an external converter (see pinnacle, canopus or miglia) or an internal converter (vince1327's idea of using the new generation TV devices is an inspired one).
You'll then need software to record the signal. Apple suggestions include QT-Pro, iMovie or Final Cut Express. Traditionally there was a challenge with dropped-frames and other failures so, especially if your using an external converter, use something simple to record with (QTP?) and something like Tiger Cache Cleaner (or OnyX) to keep the keep your machine "clean" throughout the process.
You'll need to re-puropse the result; this can be done in any of a number of ways depending upon whether DVD, PSP, iPod, etc will be the final viewing medium. QT-Pro/Flip4MacStudio and iDVD are all good, but in truth the world's not short of widgets, freeware, shareware and mainstream applications (for example the previously Popwire applications now at Flip4Mac/Telestream) for re-purposing results.
ffmpegX being a good, free choice.
Cheapest - borrowing a mate's digicam is free and the results are guarateed; Second cheapest? Try vince1327's idea TV idea; at least you'll be able to use that hardware after you're finished recording.
pBook 12/1.5mhz Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Converted 8mm movies

My son had our entire collection of 8mm movies converted to dv and has passed them on to me for the daunting task of editing and adding commentary. Each clip contains 6 movie rolls and the files are huge. I'm importing one clip at the time and tried, unsuccessfully, to break the clips up into separate events corresponding to each movie roll. I also have imovie hd and in a few days will have Final Cut Express 4 on a new iMac.
Also, while the quality of the movies is not bad, the speed is off, jumps from normal to fast.
Any suggestions as to what would be a reasonable first approach would be appreciated.

Any suggestions as to what would be a reasonable first approach would be appreciated.
With regard to trimming the file content, either QT Pro ($30) or MPEG Streamclip (free) can easily handle this. Just load a file, Set "in" and "out" points usint the "i" and 'O' keys, use the "Trim to Selection" Edit menu option to isolate the content you wish to save as an independent files, and save the file using the File menu "Save As..." option in either application. Repeat as many times as needed. Files are nor re-compressed, but simply save to the generic MOV file container still as DV compressed file content. If you come across content your definitely do not plan to keep or use, simply exclude it from your saved file to save time and storage space when importing/editing later.
As to speed problem, this could be more problematic. First step is to determine if this is a playback problem independent of the file or in the file itself. I.e., does it always occur at the same place in the file or is it random or only when played back in certain media players? Is it a relatively slow "jump" in speed or does it occur over one or two frames? Not an enviable task in either case but if consistent, may allow you to segment the files during editing and make fine adjustments as possible. Still, it is not a task I would want to take on under normal conditions.

Converting Premiere Movie to a DVD without Encore

I finished my movie and cannot seem to find a way to get this burned successfully to a DVD. Encore did not download with my month purchase of premiere pro cc and when I open the creative cloud there is not additional options to download encore. I have tried exporting the media to a MPEG-2 DVD file however, windows media player cannot seem to open that file and I have not been able to successfully burn it to a disc. I just want to burn my movie to a DVD to play on the television - please help!

Another way is to go to
https://creative.adobe.com/products/premiere
and click on the Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 in the dropdown shown in the attached image.
Then use the upper right link to download PrPro CS6, which should include Encore.

Converting old analog camcorder video tapes to DVD

After spending days scouring the web I still have the following question:
I have old small Video 8 camcorder tapes, a Mac with a SuperDrive and iMovie/iDVD, but no camera anymore to put the tapes in - what do I buy in order to convert my little tapes into DVDs?
I would appreciate any and all help!
-Joanna 39

Joanna,
As previously mentioned, one method is to buy a Digital8 camcorder by Sony which should be able to play older analog 8mm and Hi8 tapes. I do this all the time as I have a stack of old 8mm and Hi8 analog tapes I am slowly getting around to digitizing, importing to iMovie, light editing, archival copy back out to digital tape, and finally a copy on DVD to watch. I have a Sony Digital8 camcorder and all I do is simply hook up the camcorder to my eMac via a Firewire cable, pop in my old analog tapes, and start importing. The camcorder does the analog to digital conversion and passes that stream up to the Mac.
You can also buy MiniDV models of camcorder that support what is known as pass-thru where you patch your old analog camcorder into the MiniDV camcorder and then firewire to the Mac. The miniDV takes the analog coming in, digitizes it, then passes it thru to the Mac. But since you said you don't have any camcorder now, this would require you to buy two, so this option is kind of out.
Perhaps if you are not interested in investing in a new (or used) Digital8 camcorder, someone in your area (or out of your area if you are willing to ship) with the right equipment could do it for you. Depending on the number of tapes you are talking about, you could invest in a large capacity external Firewire drive which could then be given, along with your tapes, to the person who is going to do it for you. They would import the tapes into iMovie project folders onto your external hard drive. Once all in the hard drive, tapes and drive would be returned to you and you could access the projects on the hard drive by plugging it into your Mac. Tapes could then be safely tucked away for safekeeping. You may have to pay a fee for this, especially if someone is willing to put the wear and tear on their Digital8 camcorder or other tape device to transfer that footage. You may be able to get the person to do stuff like put copies onto digital tapes and/or make DVDs of the tapes, all of which take time of course.
Maybe you could post the area of the world you live in and see if anyone near you is interested.
Patrick

8mm Camcorder transfer to DVD using Roxio

Hello. I am looking for an economical way of moving 8mm Camcorder tapes to DVD.
From some research, it seems that the Roxio program, in conjunction with the DVD recorder in my iMac will do this. I would appreciate if anyone that has information on this could comment. Thank you.

I have done lots of this.
You don't need Roxio.
If your camcorder has Firewire, connect it to your Mac. If not look at the Grassvally 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 08/09 (I have used it a few times with iMovie 09).
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.grassvalley.com/products/advc300
I would use iMovie 06 with iDVD 08/09, why?
iMovie 08/09 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.
Your primary workflow is editing DV clips and making DVDs, so 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 '08 / 09, 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 09 is a "lossless" combination.

What apps is good to converter the movies for the format of IPAD

What is most popular apps to converter the movies CD and DVD to all format or to play in my IPAD.

I use DVD Catalyst......not really an "app". You're going to convert your movie on your computer first and then sync it to your iPad.....unless there's some other way to do it that I am unfamiliar with.

Help: Convert 8mm tape to dvd and edit with imovie

Please help. I would like to convert my 8 mm tapes to dvd and edit them using imovie. I have the original camcorder that captured the video and it still works. (The camcorder is a Fisher Camcorder-8 model FVC-801 circa 1987). It says digital on the camera so I think the videos may already be in some sort of digital. I also have a new macbook and it only has usb ports not firewire. To play the video on the tv the camera came with a RF Adaptor and all i do is plug the adaptor into the camera and the yellow, red, and white cords into the tv. I have done a bunch of research and it seems that I will need some sort of converter. Can someone please tell me what kind of convert, which brand I should buy, and how the process works (ie what gets plugged into what, etc) Thank You.

If you want to edit the footage, I'd recommend to NOT put them on DVD first. That will only compress the footage heavily ... then you'll have to uncompress to convert them into a format that iMovie works with natively.
Instead, capture the footage by playing through a qualified DV device (DV camcorder, VTR or converter) and capture directly into iMovie for editing.
Once you're done with the edit, that's when you'd export for DVD for final delivery.
-DH

Help! Trying to convert 8mm tapes to my Macbook with a Sony HiFi Stereo

I have a ton of old 8mm family video tapes that are very precious. I have wanted to convert them to my mac, then to DVD for a long time. So this is basically what I have: A stack of 8mm VHS tapes, and 8mm
VCR that plays them. This is what it says on the VCR: Sony HiFi Stereo EV-C25 NTSC
So, do I need to buy some sort of cable that plugs into the back?? It has a Line in and Line out (you know, the red, yellow, white cords) I would really really appreciate any help you can give. Thank you!

that are very precious.
Welcome to Apple discussions.
I would not use a VCR to DVD recorder. You will have no way to improve the material. Menu designs and chapter creations are very limited. By using your Mac you will have total control of how the DVD looks and works.
Let me assume that these movies are important to you and that you want the best quality possible.
You need a device that will take audio and video and convert it to FireWire.
I tried many converters but found the Canopus ADVC300 to be the best.
With 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 09 (I have used it a few times with iMovie 09). The software that comes with the Canopus ADVC300 has some incredible filters that can improve the picture as well as the sound. I sometimes use it to reduce the background "hiss" found in some tapes. Well worth the price.
http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC300/index.php
For the best quality (and easiest workflow) I would do the following.
Connect your VCR to the Canopus ADVC300. Connect the Canopus ADVC300 to your Mac with a FireWire cable. Run "Picture Controller" (that's the program that comes with the Canopus ADVC300), then run iMovie 06. Why iMovie 06?
iMovie 09 uses single-field processing. This means every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage.
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, same aspect ratio, and original quality. If you share your movie from iMovie 09, 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 08/09 is a "lossless" combination.
You can get iMovie 06 in a number of ways. You cannot download it FROM APPLE any longer. You can also find iMovie 06 on the iLife 06 install disc. You can buy iLife 06 on Amazon or eBay.

How to convert VCR Tape to DVD on MACbook Pro?

Any insight into how to convert VCR tapes to DVD on Macbook Pro would be much appreciated!

The first question is: how to get video into your Mac?
My answer is: use a DV camcorder as a translator. Most Canons and Sonys do this. Here are some general steps:
1. connect the video and audio outputs of your VCR to the input jacks of the camcorder. (If the video is on an S-video jack instead of the conventional yellow phono jack, it will be a little bit better quality.)
2. Using your camcorder's menu, set it to "AV IN->DV OUT". This will vary according to the model of your DVCAM. One hint: all camcorders have a 3-position camera/off/play(vcr) switch. In this application, most of them use the PLAY position.
3. Connect the DV out of the camcorder to a firewire port on the Mac. This requires the cable that comes with the camera...it's a mini-firewire on one end, and a regular firewire 400 on the other. (If your Mac has only a FW 800 jack, you may need another adapter.)
4. Turn on the DVCAM. Usually, iMovie will automatically open and be ready to record...if not, start it.
5. Hit PLAY on the VHS machine. You should see the video in the iMovie window. When you see what you want to save, press iMovie's button to start recording. You're free to edit the movie in any way you want.
When you have enough for a DVD, save it and use iDVD to burn a disc.
Alternatively, if you want to save a step, you can skip the iMovie step and just open up iDVD and select the feature...I forget the exact name...but it's like "Quick Movie" that will just save it as one stream.

Transfer a movie from a DVD to Digital tape

After completing an iDVD movie project, I burned it to a DVD, but unfortunately then deleted all the movie and iDVD data to make room for subsequent projects.
I noted a glaring textual error when later playing the DVD - too late to edit.
Is it possible to download the movie from the DVD disc to digital camera tape using the firewire - the reverse process used to originally build the iMovie data?
Ewald

Sure, that's possible. But if the idea is to correct the text, you'll probably suffer less quality loss if you convert/uncompress the digital files on the DVD into a format that you can work with. Basically, you'll be converting VOB files to MPEG-2 and then uncompressing them to DV Stream format (.dv) that iMovie likes. Do a search in this forum for "Streamclip" or "converting DVD" to get some ideas for workflow steps.
John

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 movie tapes to dvd

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for