I want to transfer lots of vhs home movies to dvd, need advice on how to do that.

i was looking at a roxio vhs to dvd product for mac, but i'm not sure it's compatible with the new imac i just bought. Any advice?

Rather than the Roxio product, I would recommend that you look at the products from El Gato.
I used the EyeTV Hybrid and it worked great. It attaches to the Mac via USB and attached to the VHS deck through composite cables (rca jacks). The EyeTV Hybrid will import your VHS, but it will also turn your Mac into an HD TV if you add a rabbit ears antenna. You can record and edit TV shows.
If you use this option, you can import the VHS into the EyeTV software. You can them import it into iMovie if you like to do editing. Then transfer to iDVD to burn a DVD.
El Gato makes the hardware (but not the software) for the Roxio product. They also make their own version of the VHS capture product with their own software. I have no opinion on whether it is any good or not, but I have seen posts by others who had a difficult time with it.
El Gato EyeTV website.
If you go up a few hundred dollars in price, a company called Grass Valley makes some Digital Analog Converters which will also capture VHS. You attach via RCA cables to the VHS deck, and attach to Mac via Firewire, so make sure your Mac has Firewire. People have tried the ADVC 300 and the ADVC 110 with good results.
One more thing, if you have a brand new iMac, it may not come preinstalled with iDVD. You may need to purchase iDVD or Toast from Roxio to be able to make DVDs. You can also buy Compressor from Apple to make DVDs. The Roxio option includes a basic version of Toast.
Finally, here is a movie I made after capturing with the EyeTV Hybrid so you can get a feel for the quality. It is not great, because the quality of a VHS is not even as good a standard definition TV, but it still came out pretty good. I would not expect it to look great on a big screen TV, though.

Similar Messages

How to transfer vhs home movies to dvd with my new IMac

I'm looking for suggestions from people who have been successful with any product that is not too difficult to use that will help me get my old home movies (vhs) to dvd and hopefully be able to do some editing in iMovie.

I have done lots of this.
You need, an Analog to Digital converter, iMovie, and iDVD. (You don't need a DVD player, just a VCR.)
VCR -> ADVC300 -> Mac. (DVDs come out of the Mac.)
To get your VHS video into iMovie, 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 09/11 (I have used it a few times with iMovie 09 and 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
For maximum quality here is my procedure: ADVC300 > iMovie 06 > iDVD 11
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 09/11 is a "lossless" combination.

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).

I want to transfer my bookmarks from my old computer to my new computer, how do i do it?

I want to transfer my bookmarks from my old computer to my new computer, how do i do it? can I just find the right file and drop it into the firefox folder on my new computer? I am running win7 and firefox 5 but my old computer is running forefox 4.0.1. Cassandra

See this Apple support document for different ways to copy your iTunes library from one PC to another.
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
B-rock

I want to transfer an audiobook and a movie from my MacBook Pro to my iPhone 4S, and can't figure out how. I went to "Help" and it said after connecting the two devices I should "Click Apps," but I can't find anything labeled "Apps" to click. Help?!!

I want to transfer an audiobook and a movie from my MacBook Pro to my iPhone 4S, and can't figure out how. I went to "Help" and it said after connecting the two devices I should "Click Apps," but I can't find anything labeled "Apps" to click. Help?!!

If you have iTunes 11 on your Mac then you can enable the left-hand sidebar via option-command-S, that might make it easier to navigate.
Connect the phone to your Mac and select it on that left-hand sidebar, and on the right-hand side of the screen there should be a series of tabs which you can use to select what to sync to the phone. If it's an audiobook then it should appear on the Books tab for selecting/syncing, and films will be on the Movies tab. When you've got the audiobook on your phone you should get an Audiobooks option in the Music app (you might need to tap the '...' tab at the bottom of the Music app to see it).

Archiving old VHS home movies

I have a Canon MV500i camera and I am finally getting round to a project of getting all my old VHS home videos into digital format. I have turned on the AV To DV Out, and I have no problem showing the film on the camcorder, but how do I get iMovie show it? If I have no tape in the camcorder, iMovie does not allow import. If I place a tape in and click import - it imports the tape and doesn't show the av import. What am I doing wrong?

Hi Gwyn.
I have just started transferring my old VHS home movies using a Canon MV830i. I don't know if yours will have exactly the same buttons as mine but I assume they are similar.
I recorded the VHS footage onto the DV tape in the camera. I then imported it separately into iMovie. It takes ages but it was easy to do.
My camcorder was set to VCR. The AV terminal was connected to one of the scarts on the back of the video. We had to buy a scart adapter with an input/output switch to connect the cable to. (The adapter only cost a couple of pounds.) There is a button on my camcorder (under the LCD screen) marked "rec pause". We pressed that and it said "pause" on the LCD screen. We set the video playing and then pressed the play/pause button on the camcorder and it started recording. This all sounds terribly complicated but was actually quite easy.
I recorded an hour at a time (as the DV tapes are an hour) and then transferred that into iMovie. I transferred 7 hours of VHS in total so the whole process took 14 hours!
Unfortunately I hadn't set iMovie to limit the length of clips as they were imported and some of them were very long. It made editing difficult and it ended up using huge amounts of my hard drive. I have now reduced my 7 hours to one hour with some heavy editing and we've produced our first DVD.
I'm now about to start on the next batch. Fortunately there will be less this time. (Child number one had 7 hours of her baby years. Child number 2 has 3 hours. And poor child number 3 seems to have hardly any!)
Rachel

I want to transfer my Acrobat X Standard from a Windows PC to a Mac. Is that possible or do i need to purchase a different product?

I want to transfer my Acrobat X Standard from a Windows PC to a Mac. Is that possible or do i need to purchase a different product?

Jon Aleshire wrote:
So although i purchased and own Acrobat X Standard to two other devices (PCs) I cannot transfer those to my two new Macs?
correct.
It appears the options for a similar product are subscription based and my previous versions were purchased outright.
correct, if you want to use on both pc and mac. but you only want to use on mac, can also upgrade to acrobat xi for mac.

I want to transfer iWeb pages from my computer to a friends computer. How do I upload the pages to them?

I want to transfer iWeb pages from my computer to a friends computer. How do I do this?

What is the friend going to do with the website? If he's to edit and publish it follow Wyodor's links on moving the Domain.sites file to the other Mac. If it's just so he can open the site locally you need to publish your site to a folder on your hard drive and move that folder to his computer.
OT

Help!! I can't get my new macbook to print with my Dell 155w OR burn a home movie to DVD

I cannot get my very recently purchased macbook pro to burn a home video to dvd OR connect to my dell 155w printer. I bought a macbook because it was so highly recomended. But I don't want to keep replacing things. I am so frustrated. I wanted a macbook because of its reputation. But I can't seem to figure out anything. I'm dissapointed and thinking I will just return it.

Your problem may be able to be solved but take this from a Long time Windows user and current Mac owner. Macs are not easier to use. Mac break down just as often as PCs, percentage wise as to how many are sold/produced.
They use the exact same hardware as Win PCs.
The learning curve for OS X is greater then for Windows.
Not sure of the age of your printer but it may not be supported in the newest Mac OS, Lion.
We would need a little more info on how you are trying to connect TO the printer. USB cable or Wirelessly.
As far as burning a Home Movie to DVD. Apple use to supply a program called iDVD for this but with the introduction of Lion OS they stopped supplying that program. You could try another burning program. Try Burn or you could buy something like Toast (Burn is free).
Personally I would return your Macbook Pro and stick to what you know with a good PC notebook.
Apple has a 14 day No Questions Asked return policy for Full refund. Take advantage of that policy.

I have my home movies on DVD from Windows. I am trying to import them into iMovie but it won't recognize the files. The movies will play on my Mac but I can't seem to import them.

I have my home movies on DVD burned from Windows and am trying to import them into iMovie. The DVD will play on my Mac but I can't seem to import the movie. Can anyone help?

See my post here for how to do this.

IDVD is not on my system and I cannot download it from the App store. How Do I burn my home movies to DVD?

iDVD is not in my macBook pro and I need an iDVD or a good program to burn my home movies on DVD with menus. I cannot download iDVD or any other professional programs like DVD Studioor ... from App store. Please help me how do I burn my short films to DVD? Also please tell me any other free programs alternate it for burn DVD with putting menus.

Hi
iDVD is not or never been free !
there are up-dates but still You need the original iDVD v. 7.x.x to use them.
Best of program - not sold by Apple any more but on Amazon or e-bay in boxed versions of iLife 11
If there is no iDVD on Your Mac (and it's not on newer Macs as Apple discarded it) then You need a program that can do this.
Your Mac can burn CDs and DVDs - BUT DVD as Data-DVDs not as Video-DVDs - they need a program to be encoded and STRUCTURED as such.
• iDVD is part of the boxed version of iLife'11 and can only be bought outside Apple as on Amazon and e-bay
• DVD Studio pro - Part of FinalCut Studio Pro bundle - this to has expired and can only be bought second handed. (High price and tough learning Curve - but best ever done.)
• Roxio Toast™ - Not as elegant as iDVD - but has many other positive additions (I like it as 10-Pro incl BD-component) (now version 11)
• Burn - only free alternative I know of on Internet. Very simple - Just for doing a plain Video-DVD
Burn http://www.digital-digest.com/software/Burn.html
only You can buy from Apple is
• FinalCut Pro-X which also can burn to DVD but without any nice themes.
AppleMan1958
You can also buy Compressor from Apple for $50 US. It will also create DVD and BluRay but without the nice themes.
Yours Bengt W

I'm not very techy, so be gentle! i am using midvd app to burn home movies to dvd from iMovie '11 version 9.0.9. It now burns the dvd but there is nothing on the disc. its not recognised by the iMac or any other dvd player.

I was using midvd app(i never had idvd) to make home movies on dvd from imovie '11 version 9.0.9 with no problems before xmas 2013. ive just tried to make a new one today and it wont work.
It seems to burn to the dvd (you can see a mark on the back of the dvd as if it has some info on it) but it wont play on imac (just says blank disc) or any other dvd player.
I have tried reinstalling midvd app and also tried 2 other dvd creator apps and the same thing happens the app says its burning and the external superdrive whirs like its doing something but it wont play.
The only thing i have done since xmas is all the updates to the operationg system and updated imovie (i didnt like the new version so went back to using the previous one)
Any ideas - i am new to all things mac!

When you export your movie from iMovie, are you choosing H.264? That is the only compression method supported by this miDVD. Youc an give this a try first:
Use Share > Export to Quicktime > Movie to Quicktime Movie > choose Options and then make your choices in Settings, etc (you can choose whatever size your video is - mine was 720 HD at that time):
If that does not work, I'd suggest going to their support site as they claim to be able to burn to DVD.... I just checked their site and here is their list of supported file types:
http://shedworx.com/midvd-supported-file-types

How can I import a home movie from DVD

I have a home movie on DVD I'd like to get in imovie...can this be done?

You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A/quicktime-mpeg-2-playback-component-f or-mac-os-x
(unless you are running Lion in which case see below))
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.
And from the TOU of these forums:
Keep within the Law
No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.
If you are running Lion:
From the MPEG Streamclip homepage
The installer of the MPEG-2 Playback Component may refuse to install the component in Lion. Apple states the component is unnecessary in Lion onwards, however MPEG Streamclip still needs it. See this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3381
To install the component in Lion, please download MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b7 beta above; inside the disk image you will find the Utility MPEG2 Component Lion: use it to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component in Lion. The original installer's disk image (QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg) is required.
The current versions of MPEG Streamclip cannot take advantage of the built-in MPEG-2 functionality of Lion. For MPEG-2 files you still need to install the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, which is not preinstalled in Lion. You don't have to install QuickTime 7.

How do I import an old home movie on DVD into iMovie with video_ts content and .vob files

Hi, as a new mac user I would appreciate any help to use imovie to import an old home movie on DVD with movie_ts content and .vob

You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A/quicktime-mpeg-2-playback-component-f or-mac-os-x
(unless you are running Lion in which case see below))
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.
And from the TOU of these forums:
Keep within the Law
No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.
If you are running Lion or later:
From the MPEG Streamclip homepage
The installer of the MPEG-2 Playback Component may refuse to install the component in Lion. Apple states the component is unnecessary in Lion onwards, however MPEG Streamclip still needs it. See this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3381
To install the component in Lion, please download MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b7 beta above; inside the disk image you will find the Utility MPEG2 Component Lion: use it to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component in Lion. The original installer's disk image (QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg) is required.
The current versions of MPEG Streamclip cannot take advantage of the built-in MPEG-2 functionality of Lion. For MPEG-2 files you still need to install the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, which is not preinstalled in Lion. (The same applies to Mountain Lion and Mavericks even though they have it preinstalled.) You don't have to install QuickTime 7.

I want to transfer my CS6 licence as I no longer need it, but dont have my receipt.

Hi,
I want to transfer my Master Collection's licence to someone else who would actually benefit from it.
I've read that you need your invoice to do so but I can only find my invoice from the delivery company.
Is there any way around this?
Thanks.

Can i request this kind of info? or am I fresh out of luck.
Thanks for your help!

I want to transfer lots of vhs home movies to dvd, need advice on how to do that.

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