Converting Sharp VL-AH30 8mm tapes to DVD.

Does anyone know how I can hook up the Sharp VL-AH30 Camcorder to my MacBook? It has a single audio/video output that splits into one audio jack and one video jack. I'm just trying to convert some old home videos (8mm) to dvds... so I really need to know the cheapest way... and easiest.
Thanks!

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

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

Converting 8mm tape to DVD via FCP (AJA IoLA TBC??)

I am playing old home video 8mm tapes out of a Handycam S-Video out (audio from the a/v jack), into an AJA IoLA. I am having a problem with dropped frames, they are happening all over the place. And although I have it set to not abort on dropped frames, when I view the captured video, there are hideous audio spikes and the audio and video are completely out of sync by several seconds after these spikes occur. I've tried different tapes and had the same problem.
I have combed the discussions a bit and found that I need a Time Based Corrector. Does my AJA IoLA take care of TBC in some setting somewhere? Or do I need to purchase something else?

FCP 4.5
Mac OS 10.4.10
Quicktime 7.2.0
I'm not completely sure that the AJA allows me to capture to some form of DV. It only gives me a list of specified presets, and it looks like all of them are uncompressed.
This is copied and pasted from my Audio/Video Settings Capture Presets Summary when "AJA Io LA: S-Video 10-bit NTSC US 48KHz" is selected:
+Use this preset when capturing NTSC US material for Uncompressed 10-bit using+
+S-Video input via AJA Io LA+
*Using ProIO Uncompressed 10 bit 422 Video for video input*
*ProIO 10-bit S-Video 29.97Hz US using NTSC*
*29.97 frames per second*
*Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 at Best quality.*
*24 bits per pixel*
*720 by 486*
*Using ProIO In for audio input*
*Input: Analog - 4 channels*
*Rate: 48.000 kHz*
*Speaker: off*
*Volume: 100, Gain: 0*

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

Converting 8mm Reels to DVD; Cleaning Up The Footage...

You guys have been terrific helping me so far so hopefully you can help me with this issue too!
Im going to be converting some old family 8mm reels to DVD by projecting the movies onto a white wall and recording the footage with a video camera. The process looks really good all considered, but I was wandering what the best way was to clean up the color of the footage. Im still new to CS3 so Im willing to bet its an option that is right in front of me but if anyone can help me or recommend a plug-in etc that would help me out I would greatly appreciate it!

I normally start with Levels, then add Highlight & Shadow (turn the auto OFF and do that manually), and the either the Fast Color Corrector, or for more difficult footage the Three-way Color Corrector. Pretty much as Rod suggests.
Good luck,
Hunt

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.

Converting 8mm tape - please read for detailed question

Hi everyone - A few months back the Apple forums helped me convert old tapes to iMovie using my Canon camcorder as a pass-through, converting the tapes from AV-DV. (These were tapes that fit into a VHS adapter, so I plugged my VCR into my camcorder, then into my iMac and used iMovie for the project).
I'm now faced with a similar project, only this time, the tapes are 8mm tapes. I went out and bought an 8mm player (not camcorder), a Sony EVO-511 NTSC. I've checked the machine by using regular cable wire and plugged it into my tv and it works great. However, when I plug the Sony machine into my camcorder (Canon) and use it as a pass-through, it's not recognizing it so iMovie has no 'import' button (it usually becomes 'available' once it recognizes something's plugged in).
Since the set up would seem identical for the VHS conversion as for the 8mm machine, any ideas on what I can do differently? I even purchased an adapter that has a cable male on one end and an rca female on the other, so I can plug the cable wire directly into my camcorder. Any help is GREATLY appreciated - even if it's to steer me to another forum.
Thank you!

I have a couple of thoughts. First, is there a tape in the camcorder that might prevent the pass-through?
Second, can you PUT a DV tape in the camcorder and record from the Sony 8mm to it? If so, you could copy all the 8mm tapes to miniDV tapes and then import those into iMovie. I did it this way for all my VHS tapes because I wanted to have them 'digitized' as originals to save.
I also export all my created iMovies back to my camcorder onto DV tapes and save those. You never know if DVDs will become lost, corrupted, broken, etc and I want to have double backups of my movies

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.

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.

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.

How can I convert MiniDV tapes to DVD? I've use a Canon GL 2 and an iMac about 1 year old. I'm trying to use iMovie and I've installed the latest drivers.

How can I convert MiniDV tapes to DVD? I've use a Canon GL 2 and an iMac about 1 year old. I'm trying to use iMovie and I've installed the latest drivers.

MiniDV was a great format, one I still use often. I also still use iMovie HD6 to process it and, for all the iterations of iMovie that followed it, I still believe it was one of Apple's greatest movie software programmes, next to Final Cut Pro, using a timeline method of editing. That was also in the day which Apple put Superdrives into their computers, so that you could not only make your movie in iMovie, but you could render it to iDVD and then burn the DVD. Now you need to buy an external burner.
Since iMovie HD6 and iDVD 6 were "universal" software, it has continued to work through the many OS releases since it came out with Tiger, I believe it was. So, it may still work with Mavericks too and, if you could locate a copy of iLife 06, probably used, you might enjoy the difference that HD6 has over all iMovie releases since then.
Not saying you can't process your MiniDV with current iMovie versions, but I'm not the one to speak about that.

Getting video Hi8 8mm tape into MacBook--via another camcorder??

I offered to take the video from our school's music program and put it through its paces in iMovie to make a DVD for the school.
I figured that this would be no problem. I've used the school's Sony Mini DV Digital Handycam (DCR-TRV18) before and simply plugged the firewire cable into my Mac and imported.
I later found out that the video was shot with a different camera--a Sony video Hi8 (CCD-TRV43) that uses 8mm tapes. I'm not even seeing a firewire connection on the camera--just black and yellow audio and video RCA input jacks.
Is there anyway to do what I need to do with these two pieces of equipment? Can I somehow hook the 8mm camera into the mini-DV camera and then into my MacBook via firewire? Sort of the through-put that I hear about?
Since this is for school and a one-time occurrence, I really don't want to have to purchase any additional equipment.

I really don't want to have to purchase any additional equipment.
You may have to.
To get your Sony Hi8 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 08/09 (I have used it a few times with iMovie 08 and 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.canopus.com/products/ADVC300/index.php
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.
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 '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 08/09 is a "lossless" combination.

Importing VHS & 8mm tapes at highest quality?

I've been using the VHS-to-DVD USB device to import old VHS and 8mm tapes to my Mac (using S-Video cable, then work on them in iMovie. Simple, but I'm wondering if there are alternative means with higher quality results. The mpg files I get are 640 x 480. Are there some professional products that are significantly better, or should I be satisfied with the current results?

I have been using iMovie, since iMovie 02 (and now use iMovie 06 and iMovie 11).
I have been constantly exploring the best way to convert VHS to DVD with a Macintosh.
I like the Grassvalley ADVC300 A/D coverter.
I've played around with countless other conversion systems, ranging in price from $79 to $399. Short verison, this is the ONLY unit to own. No dropped frames at all, even with questionable quality tapes, no jitter, great color, excellent sound quality. Zero setup with iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11.
This is a prosumer deck. The time code function is alone worth the price if you have old analog footage. Absolutely NO "Out Of Sync" audio.
ADVC300 is for anyone who wants to do editing and is concerned about quality of color and speed, for the novice it is an incredible gizmo that will restore VHS tapes to a state close to the original fixing midtones, highlights and shadows on the fly. Not only can you simply convert analog to digital you can actually manipulate the signal going in (if you want to).
A bit pricey but it WORKS.
The program that comes with the ADVC300 has some nice filters that can improve video and audio of the source material.
For maximum quality use iMovie 06, or Final Cut Express. If you don't need to do fancy editing, then there's no reason to have Final Cut Express.
Your 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.
iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11 is a 100% "lossless" combination and my DVD's look like they came from Hollywood!

Is it possible to copy 8mm video to DVD using my MacBook?

I want to copy 8mm vidoe to DVD using my MacBook. How can I tell if it is possible?

Do you mean 8mm film? Or "digital 8" video tape?
There are many services that can convert film to digital formats, but they're expensive. The most reasonably priced service I have found is called "Yesvideo". Google it.
If it's "digital 8" the way to do that is to import it from your "digital 8" camcorder using iMovie. Then you use iDVD to create a DVD.

8MM Tape into iMovie

Been transferring 8mm tapes into iMovie via my Sony TRV350 camcorder and firewire cable. Goal is to convert all of these to DVD via iDVD. 2 questions-
1) Should the "Automatic DV Pillarboxing & Letterboxing" box be checked?
2) On my camera settings, it has a A/V--->DV OUT option, which can be turned ON or OFF in the menu VCR settings. According to the manual, when it is OFF, it is "to output digital images and sound in analog format using your camcorder." When it is ON, it is "to output analog images and sound in digital format using your camcorder." I have tried importing with both settings (ON and OFF), and it imports fine both ways, and I haven't really noticed any difference. Do you think this actually matters? The 8mm tapes are analog and I want to convert them to digital format (DV), but it appears it's doing that with either setting.
Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

My iMovie version 4 doesn't have those options, but I am guessing they are for 16:9 and other widescreen formats. Your old 8mm video is likely standard 4:3 ration, so you probably don't need those checkboxes.
I think the DV Out only matters if you need the video to be present on the analog output jack on the camcorder (looks like a headphone jack like on an iPod). My thinks that that you always get video output present at the Firewire port but the analog port is probably off when you have DV Out set to ON. So as you found, if you are not using the analog port, it doesn't really matter.
Enjoy,
Patrick
p.s. after several years, I am finally up to analog tape #12 with two more after than to finally finish my analog to digital conversion using my old Sony TRV330 Digital8 camcorder.

Converting Sharp VL-AH30 8mm tapes to DVD.

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