Importing VHS using ADVC-110

I have a Canopus ADVC-110 to import my VHS into the iMovie 3 program. I have done this successfully before. Today, however, the computer will not recognize "camera connected". I have checked that all wires are connected properly. I tried unplugging all other firewire and USB port cables except the ADVC-110. I have tried both firewire ports on my Mac OS-X 10.3.9. They both produce different (albeit both unsuccessful) results. Here is what happens:
1. On one firewire port, BOTH the digital in and analog in lights light up and the status light IS lit up. Clicking the input select button does not do anything. The computer still says "camera not connected".
2. On the other firewire port, the status light is NOT lit up, and I can click the input select to go back and forth between the digital in and analog in being lit up. The computer still says "camera not connected".
I am quite frustrated---please help! I'm halfway through a project, and have no idea what has gone wrong!

Hi
One can press in the FireWire connector (6-pin) 180 deg wrong.
This is destructive and the Camera or A/D-box needs an expencive repair.
(the connector on the Mac can also be broken by this)
Test Your Canopus on another Mac with another FireWire Cable just to see that it
still is OK and working.
Else read ( Camera = A/D-box )
*When Camera doesn't connect*
Test another FW-Cable.
Test Your Camera on another Mac so that DV-in still works OK
Toogle in iMovie pref: Play-back via Camera (on<->off some times)
Other ways to import Your miniDV tape:
Use another Camera. There where tape play-back stations from SONY
but they costed about 2-4 times a normal miniDV Camera.
If Your Camera works on another Mac. Make an iMovie movie project here and move it
over to Your Mac via an external hard disk.
(HAS TO BE Mac OS Exchange formatted - USB/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange WILL NOT DO)
(Should be a FireWire one - USB/USB2 performs badly)
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin FW one ?
Using WHAT ? :
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie 8 (7.1.?) ?
• iMovie HD 6 (6.0.4/3) ?
Free space on internal (start-up) hard disk ? (Others don't count)
Does Your Camera work on another Mac ?
Sorry to say it is to easy to turn the 6-pin end of the FW-cable 180 deg wrong.
This is lethal to the A/D-chip in the Camera = needs an expensive repair.
(Hard to find out - else than import/export to another Mac ceased to work
everything else is OK eg recording and playback to TV)
Delete iMovie pref file may help sometimes. I rather start a new account, log into
this and have a re-try.
from LKN 1935:
Hi Bengt W, I tried it all, but nothing worked. Your answer has been helpfull insofar as all the different trials led to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my iMovie software. I therefore threw everything away and reinstalled iMovie from the HD. After that the exportation of DV videos (there has not been any problem with HDV videos) to my Sony camcorders worked properly as it did before. Thank you. LKN 1935
from Karsten:
in addition to Bengt's excellent '9 yards of advice' ..
camera set to 'Play' , not rec/computer/etc.?
camera not on battery, but power-line?
did your Mac 'recognize' this camera before...?
a technical check:
connect camera, on, playback, fw-connected...
click on the Blue Apple, upper left of your screen ..
choose 'About../More..
under Firewire.. what do you read..?
Yours Bengt W

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Welcome to the forums.
Since you have experience in this process, can you pinpoint anything that's changed since your last success? (software or system upgrades, new brand of DVD media, different burning speed, etc.)
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VHS to DVD through ADVC 110 - Distortion at bottom of screen & more ?s

Hi everyone, I've searched through most of the discussions, which have helped a lot, but haven't had any luck finding a few answers. So here we go.
I am converting about 20 hrs of old home movies to dvd. I want to edit out a lot of the boring scenes so I plan on using iMovie 06. I bought an ADVC 110 to convert the analog to digital (I have been using RCA cables for video but it doesn't give the greatest video quality so I am going to try an S-video cable) and I run it into iMovie 06.
1-When I watch it in iMovie there is some distortion at the very bottom of the video and I'm not really sure what to do about it. I've heard of people having this problem before, but I'm not sure how they resolved it.
2-When I have clips in iMovie, where are those files saved on my computer?
3-I plan on making multiple dvds in iDVD. Is there any suggestions on the best way to do this. If I import in DV format and edit in DV format (in iMovie) how long, or how large, can I make the videos before I import them into iDVD so that they will fit on a DVD?
4-Do you have any other recommendations to make before I dive in?
Thanks everyone for your help!

First of all you have got the right equipment for the job - exactly the same as mine, and I had 60+ hours worth to convert!
Make sure that playback from the VHS is as good as it can get: clean the heads, and run the tapes on fast forward/rewind to remove any 'stickyness' before you start to copy.
Make sure you have enough spare capacity on your hard disk. DV streams run at 13GB per hour, and iMovie uses a lot of swap files. Don't even start this unless you a minimum of 25GB free!
If your VHS has an S-video output socket, well and good, as not many have. That only covers the video, so you will still need the RCA cables (white and red) for the audio.
The Canopus does of course have to be connected to your Mac by firewire.
1. That distortion is the timeline on the VHS video, which you never see on your TV. Once you have it all on DVD you probably won't see it on your TV either. iMovie reveals more of the actual video frame than a TV does.
2. Save the imported video in 5 minute clips, or your project file will bloat as you start editing. The clips (video) are stored within the iMovie project folder, the one in your Movies Folder with a star on it. When you come to editing SAVE THE PROJECT OFTEN - every two or three edits.
3. When you have finished editing (and try to keep each project to under 90 minutes, although 60 minutes will give the best quality) save the project and close iMovie. Open iDVD and start a new project. From the File menu in iDVD choose Import/Video. That opens the Movie Folder and you can select the project you want to work on.
When you have done what you want to do in iDVD (Theme, Titles, Chapters, Transitions etc) save the project, then 'save as Disk Image'. Why? Because rendering the video, particularly the audio, takes ages, and you only want to do it once. You can actually burn to a DVD from the disk image, so if you want more than one copy you don't have to wait for it to render each time. Also, you can play the disk image in DVD Player to check everything is OK and therefore not waste a DVD.
Post back with your next set of questions - if you are new to this there will be more!
Personal advice: experiment with a short 15-30 minute project, just to get the hang of it and build up a workflow you are comfortable with, then just go for it!

Importing VHS tapes w/ADVC-300 help

Please help, I'm converting a large number of VHS tapes to DVD using a ADVC-300 Analog to Digital Converter and a Sony VCR. Everything imports fine but everytime the signal hits a break in the tape (the old VHS snowstorm) iMovie stops importing. Since most of these tapes were made by my mother in law, nearly every couple minutes there is a break in the tape and I have to constantly hit import to begin again after a break.
While I enjoy being glued to 45 VHS tapes of my wive's childhood, I rather set it and forget it! It might be a function of the ADVC-300 but I was hoping there is a way to configure iMovie to import till disk full or stopped regardless of the signal coming in.
Thanks!

Hi Tom
I have an ADVC 100. I've imported VHS video through a panisonic VCR snow and all with no problems into imovie 5. The problem could be with the VCR or the ADVC 300.
A possible work around could be to set the VCR to play the video through to a mini DV tape camcorder. It should record one continueous video on a single time code. Then you should be able to import directly to iMovie -- snow and all!
It's an extra step, but you don't have to baby sit the VCR.
Good luck
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Conapos ADVC 110 or DV camera for VHS capture

Hello, I am looking to capturing old family VHS into my Mac Pro and make DVDs. I've been reading a little on the ADVC 110 and it seems like a nice analog converter. I just wanted to get your opinions.

I have used my ADVC-110 for years, with excellent results.
Yes, the ADVC-300 is a step up and can especially help clean up degraded video recordings; it includes noise reduction and image stabilization capabilities. But it's also 2x the price of the 110 and you have to learn how to set & adjust its features to obtain the benefits.

Using lion, will it now work with ADVC 110 to do editing for iMovie

In the past using operating systems prior to lion i have been able to use my ADVC 110 to edit dvd material and transfer the edits to
my iMac, and wonder why it doesn't seem to work under lion. should it work?

In the past using operating systems prior to lion i have been able to use my ADVC 110 to edit dvd material and transfer the edits to
my iMac, and wonder why it doesn't seem to work under lion. should it work?

Canopus ADVC 110 - picture split in two, black and white, distorted sound

Hi there - I've just recently bought a Canopus ADVC 110 - unfortunately I cannot get the picture to display properly - I've spoken to Apple and to Canopus, but neither seems to be able to help me sort this out.
Basically my imovies does receive a visual and an audio signal from the ADVC 110 ... but the picture is split in two (top half on the bottom, bottom half on the top), its black and white when it should be colour, and the sound is heavily distorted.
The help people at Canopus tell me that this appears to be an issue with PAL and NTSC settings and that there have been reported problems with importing analogue signals from combined VHS/DVD players (which is what I have). They've suggested that the box (ADVC 110) is being 'confused' by multiple signals coming from the VHS/DVD player (this doesn't help me much though). They talked me through arranging the settings so that the Video cassette, the ADVC 110 and the VHS/DVD player are all set to PAL, then have changed the setting in imovies to also read PAL - imovies then tells me that the camera connected is not using the same format (despite the letters 'PAL' on the front of the thing) - changing the imovies setting back to NTSC allows the signal to be received, but in the way described above ... OK, then its the issue with the combined signals from the VHS/DVD player ...
... but, I've now tried it with 2 other VHS players (not combined with anything else, but both supporting both PAL and NTSC ) and the result is exactly the same - I've tried it with every combination of the relevant switches on the bottom of the ADVC 110 - either the picture is as above or imovies will not import (or allow me to view) the picture or sound.
I've tried different cassettes - I've used both SVideo and 3 phono (red, yellow, black) as well as scart connections on th eback of the various VHS players - I've tried restarting the computer, the ADVC 110 and the VSH player - I've disconnected the ADVC 110, and quit imovies, between each attempt - the result is the same each time.
I've tried to find more about this on the internet, but this specific problem doesn't seem to come up - maybe I'm missing something or phrasing my searches badly.
Has anyone any suggestions on where I go from here (rather than bringing it back to the Apple shop and asking for a refund)?
And sorry for the length of the question!
Stephen
ibook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) using imovies 4.0.1

Hi Estaphin
Welcome to discussions. I use a Canopus ADVC 100. It's similar to yours. I've never had a problem with it. I've used it connected to a VCR and an analog video camera. Then imported the video into im for various projects.
Try this. First clean the heads on your VCR. Connect an RCA cable to the L/R/ V out on the VCR. Next, connect it to the Canopus front panel - in. Connect the fire wire out on the Canopus front to the firewire in on the Mac.
Put the VHS tape in the VCR. Don't start it yet.
Open im. Set im for a new project. Turn on the Canopus from the on off switch at the back. From the input select button on the top left front of the canopus, select analog in.
Press play on your VCR. im should recognize the signal. In im select import. Your video should begin importing fine. The qulaity of the images on your computer screen will appear to be poor -- dark, faded, etc. This poor quality is for two reasons. First, analog tape can degrade fast depending on how often the tape was used previously, and how it was stored and at what tempertures.
Second, im will display the image darker because of conversion. But, don't worry. Once you burn the finished product to DVD, you'll be surprised how clear the picture is compared to what you viewed in im.
Make sue your DIP switches on the bottom of the canopus were/ are put back to the original settings.
Try that. I hope it helps
Carl
imac 17 superdrive, 1.25GHz Power PC G4 1.25 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.2) Airport Express, 180 GB Maxtor external HD, Dell Latitude lap top Windows XP

Import VHS into Final Cut7?

To edit a Sample Reel in FCP7 I need to capture many VHS cassettes into my iMac computer and FCP7, as QuickTime files. I bought a Blackmagicdesign Video Recorder at Tekserve. But when I read the box it says: H264 Encoding : "it records H264 Video to iTunes/ iPad&iPhone/AppleTV/ YouTube."
In this Forum I was told once that H264 is not fit for FCP. Should I look for another Converter? (to Quick Time if it exists?), or convert to H264 and then to ProRes in a 2nd step via StreamClip for ex? I also will be importing DVDs for that Sample Reel. I would be grateful for any tip from someone with experience in this process. Thank you very much in advance

Hi
Me Guessing a bit
Guess - .H264 is not that good and by converting it to ProRes or AIC - it will work but the quality lost in H264 coding is not there (and as far as I get it can not be restored)
If this is true - then my way of doing it is the best one I seen
• I use an A/D-box - Canopus ADVC-300 (Grass Valley ADVC-300)
An expencive box but as it has some to me very vital functions - worth it
• It has TimeBase Corrections
This is important if VHS tapes are a bit old or can have Drop-Outs as it tries to mend them = Program Importing DO NOT STALL (Halt) - Meaning You need not to Babysit
- My tapes are new to >> 10 Years old = Drop Outs
- Recorded on various brands (most of them too cheap) = Drop Outs
- Recorded in LP-mode = Drop Outs
• And if there is Drop Outs then with ordinary A/D-boxes - Audio goes OUT OF SYNC. And this is a night mare to correct by hand ! !
Ny notes on this:
Analog to Mac (digital)
Analog to Mac/Digital
From
• S-VHS, VHS, VHS-C - Camera or VCR (VHS-C needs adaptor cassette - SVHS/VCR in such cases)
• Video 8, Hi8 ...........................................( Camera / Digital8 Camera or special VCR-player )
Can be done via
• Camera and tape or video trough (if present) (miniDV or Digital8)
• A/D-box
    Several brands (Must be FireWire)
        Canopus ADVC-55 (now Grass Valley ADVC-55) - (only on way)
        Canopus ADVC-110 (now Grass Valley ADVC-110) - (two ways)
        Canopus ADVC-300 (now Grass Valley ADVC-300) - (Timebase/code-correction)
        EyeTV
• VCR --> DVD (result needs conversion to be of use)
Captured/Imported by
• iMovie 1 to HD6
• iMovie’08 & 09 & 11
• FinalCut Express or Pro
• Final Cut Pro - X ( iMovie’11 Pro? )
• QuickTime Pro
• iDVD
SCART - Must use an SCART-adaptor with in and out switch. The one that came with Camera is one way. Camera ----> VCR/TV - not other way around.
RCA - Connect right way around
USING the S-Video out than RGB-video (Composite) from SCART will give a significantly better result !
Why
• Want to do a DVDs
• Want to edit
Connect VCR to A/D-box via SCART---RCA (EU) or via RCA---RCA (US) and set SCART switch to out (if used). The A/D-box may have an in resp. out side. Connect to in-side. Set A/D-box Input selector to Analog in.
My ADVC-300 has two sets of dip-switches on bottom - for PAL they are set to
Left one number 6 is set to on - all others in off state.
If 6 in off state then it is NTSC
From A/D-box via FireWire 6-pin to 6-pin or 9-pin end to Mac FW port.
Now turn A/D-box or Camera ON
Start iMovie or QT or FinalCut
Select Import or Capture
Re-wind tape in VCR or Camera
Start - Play on VCR or Camera
Import or Capture Now
See that the saved movie is collected on a hard disk with sufficient space
1 hour needs 13.5Gb
8 hour needs 105-110Gb (e.g. a 240VHS tape recorded in LP-mode)
How to store the material
• As is - Icon with a Star on it (iMovie HD6)
• As a set of DVDs
• Collected in a folder - FinalCuts Scratch folders + Movie document on an external/second hard disk
• As DiskImages
• Back to miniDV tapes
Do not use LP-mode with miniDV tapes. Two major problems.
a. When Camera dies - so does the tapes - Can’t be play-backed securely on other Camera even if
brand and type number is the same - the tolerances are to small
b. Audio goes out of sync due to 12-bit recording and/or drop outs in video makes video and audio
not walk in pace / parallel. Resulting in a very tough re-sync problem.
Yours Bengt W

No audio in FCE with Canopus ADVC-110

Working in FCE HD 3.5, when I try to capture VHS from my VCR through the Canopus ADVC-110, the video is captured, but no audio. No audio appears on the audio tracks. When I do the same in iMovieHD, both the video and audio come through clean and clear.
I have the easy setup in FCE set to DV NTSC DV Converter. (Same thing if I have it set to DV NTSC). Any suggestions? I'm on an iMac 2.16 Intel 2GB, with a 500GB external hard drive.

I'd try shutting everything off completely, removing all cables and then start from scratch.
FCE should be able to import using the DV Converter option.
I suspect some king of weird fluke like cabling that the audio didn't arrive.
If that does not work then try trashing the FCE Preferences. Otherwise, I'm stumped as well.
Al

How to make iMovie to read ADVC-110???

I'm struggling how to make iMovie to recognize my Canopus ADVC-110 so I can transfer my VHS tapes to iMovie..
Pleease help

Hi s
< When I open up iMovie HD - which video format do I use? >
• DV
• Go down under the viewer window and You can select Camera or a pare of siccors.
Camera should have a black triangle and let You select iSight or ADVC. If not it doesn't detect the
ADVC
• Most probably it is. 6-pin end is about double the size and is rectangular eccept on short end that
are curved to prevent wrong turning
4-pin end is smaller and has an indent on one of it's longer sides for same reason.
If it is not dectected on either of Your Macs it indicates a problem with either the ADVC or the FW-Cable.
• The Cable is far more often the problem. Try to borrow another one and test.
HERE Comes my long long list. Use it with care - not all apply to Your situation.
I would print-out and cheque off those that are usably. No guarantee at all.
Capture/Import problems:
a) File-Vault is on - turn it off
b) don’t Daisy chain camcorder - external hard disk - Mac
(except for some Canon-Cameras)
c) Slow hard disk (fragmented: repair permissions, repair hard disk, use a faster hard disk)
d) Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
e) Bad RAM-chips
f) drop outs on the miniDV-tape - make a camera to camera copy on a tape which You have previous recorded with a time code (dummy recording).
g) FW-wire cable OK?
h) Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is prerecorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
i) defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC !
j) remove bookmarks in iMovie project
k) Do You have desktop pictures or screen-savers active? Try turning them off.
l) Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good)
OS X.4.0-2 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
m) Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first)
QT v.7 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
n) Have you tried the crazy fix:
Open GarageBand, play a few notes, close it and reopen iMovie. The camera should import fine now. (Sue/SDillini)
o) NEW (from Sue/SDillini):
Trash the Font Collections Folder.
These files are found:
/YourUserName/Library/FontCollections folder.
Drag the folder to the trash and launch iMovie. iMovie will create a new FontCollections folder containing the files it needs when it next opens.
p) or thrashing the com.apple.imovie.plist file (Rodney Brown2)
q) - Other programs interfering like Flip4Mac
r) - Third party or old plug-ins
May be You find some help in my list:
Mac:
• hardware
◊ Slow hard disk (fragmented: repair permissions, repair hard disk, use a faster hard disk)
◊ I wonder how full your Mac's hard disc is. (David Babsky) A near full hard disk prevents Import/Capture.
10% free is recommended + space for Import/Capture + work space (about 4 to
5 times the amount needed for Capture) eg on a 200Gb hard disk You need 20Gb + (one hour tape)
13Gb + 50Gb = about 80 to 90Gb free space.
◊ Disconnect all other ext devices (FW and USB) exept Camera (and keyboard + mouse) and try again
◊ Rebuild Desktop (Tech-tool or fingersetting during start-up) (System up to 9)
◊ Reset PRAM (Tech-tool or keyboard finger settings alt-cmd-P-R ??)
◊ Reset PMU ( Restting the PMU...is the the alt-ctrl-shift and powerbutton shortcut? ) (Sue)
PMU: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86760
PMU/SMU are essentially the same in the PM G5.
◊ Reset SMU
SMU: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300341
◊ Bad RAM-chips
◊ disconnect Mac from powerline (not just switch off, really plug out) for a few minutes to reset FW ports
• software
◊ File-Vault is on - turn it off
◊ Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
◊ Do You have desktop pictures or screen or energy-savers active? Try turning them off.
◊ Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good) OS X.4.0-5 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
◊ Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first) QT v.7.0.0-4 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
◊ Have you tried the crazy fix: Open GarageBand, play a few notes, close it and reopen iMovie. The camera should import fine now. Sue/SDillini
◊ Running iDVD at the same time as iMovie can cause problems: (Lennart Thelander)
◊ If You also have installed FinalCut Express/pro there are possibly problems with this
◊ Other programs that interferes like Flip4Mac
◊ Codecs added to QuickTime
◊ Old plug-ins to iMovie or third party alike
iMovie:
◊ remove bookmarks in iMovie project
◊ Trash: com.apple.iMovie.plist and com.apple.iMovie3.plist : files (Xinram)
Connection:
◊ don’t Daisy chain Camcorder <--> external hard disk <--> Mac
◊ FW-wire cable, is it OK?
◊ USB/USB2 is NO GO !
◊ Cheque FW connection at Camera end. OK? (Adam Smith1)
◊ Cheque FW connection at Mac end. OK?
Camera:
◊ The Camera is set to VTR ? (not as when You ”film” record with it)
◊ You may be need to go to the Camera menu and select digital out.
◊ defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC ! (if the A/D chip in the camera is harmed then it will say in iMovie that the camera is connected and You can forward resp. backward the tape but there will be no picture or sound just the blue screen).
◊ connect camera to power-line, not battery-only....(Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Canons don't allow daisychaining on firewire, make it "only device" on port (Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Cheque the menu on Your Camera so that it communicates with the FW digitally to Your Mac
◊ Date and Time is correct on Your Camera ?
Tape:
◊ Drop outs on the miniDV-tape - make a camera to camera copy on a tape which You have previous recorded with a time code (dummy recording).
◊ Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is pre-recorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
◊ If You recorded in LP-mode (90 min on a standard 60 min tape with 12-bit sound). Try to change in iMovie pref. to import but not as individual clips. If this doesn’t work You have to make a Camera to Camera copy with the receiving Camera set to SP-mode and 16-bit sound.
More:
◊ follow advises here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000
◊ follow Grandmaster Dan's advice for Sony cameras here: http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/usage/5020.shtml
NEWS: Jerry Harris writes:
I know that in a lot of the new Sony HD cameras, iMovie requires that you turn i.Link Conv off. I would look for a similar setting for your camera. This setting has to do with shooting a movie in one format, and using the camera to import as a different format. For instance, if you shoot HD footage and have i.Link conv on - the camera will send DV to the computer etc...
So, case in point: look for a setting on your camera that has to do with the video format and see if that helps.
Yours Bengt

Importing VHS into iMovie

I just bought and hooked up a Canopus ADVC-110 between a TV/VCR combo and my computer. Several questions:
1. When I first hooked up the canopus, the iMovie project I had been working on began displaying this message when I would open the project: " The camera you have connected is a different video standard from your project. You can edit but you will not be able to capture any new clips or export to camera". It didn't seem to affect importing digital video clips or still photos, so I just continued without worry.
2. Now that I am TRYING to import VHS tape, when I am in my current project, nothing happens with I click the camera button and turn on my TV/VCR combo. I didn't know WHAT was wrong....until....
3. I opened a new blank project. Suddenly, I could import video just fine. So I thought I'd try editing the clip in the blank project and then just copying it into my current project. When I tried that I got the following message: The DV file Clip is the wrong video standard and cannot be imported into this project. What is going on!?!?
4. Lastly, I just noticed that at the top of my iMovie project it says the title and then says (PAL). Is that normal? Is that going to burn to a DVD okay? I thought North America had to be NTSC instead of PAL.
thanks for any suggestions/advice!

1. When I first hooked up the canopus, the iMovie project I had been working on began displaying this message when I would open the project: " The camera you have connected is a different video standard from your project. You can edit but you will not be able to capture any new clips or export to camera". It didn't seem to affect importing digital video clips or still photos, so I just continued without worry.
I think there are small switches (DIP-switches) on the Canopus. Make sure the switches are set to NTSC.

Importing VHS tapes to iMac on the cheap?

Is there a way to import a VCR tape to the iMac on the cheap? I guess some type of cable convert from a composite out on the VCR to an input on the iMac? These are just tapes of tapes and such and do not need to the quality output of either the Canopus ADVC 110 or Elgato EyeTV 250. I copied a VCR tape to a mini-DV and was able to output into iMovie with no problem. But that seems a bit tedious!

I have this device. I don't know if $89 will be considered "on the cheap."
http://daystar-store.com/xlr8xtraview-theeasytousevideo-insolutionforthemac.aspx
It takes RCA composite or S-Video input and sends it to the Mac over USB 2.0 (must be a direct connection). It comes with software to convert that input to MPEG-4 or other compression format. It also has audio input (a pair of red/white RCA connectors); you can use that for audio or the iMac's built-in audio input.
I mostly use it to watch the output of my old TiVo box on my iMac's screen.

Elgato Video Capture vs ADVC 110 / ADVC 55

Hello everyone.
I'm looking for some guidance if possible. Like many, I'm looking to convert my old VHS and 8mm home videos into digital format and/or DVD. After a failed attempt with a Canopus 100 which is too old for my machine, I started to explore the possibility of the Elgato which is cheaper than a Canopus ADVC 110/55.
Does anybody have any experience or thought?
Any help would be appreciated.

I have used the ElGato EyeTV Hybrid, which will capture video from Composite video and also enable you to watch and record TV over an antenna (like rabbit ears). It uses EyeTV 3 software, which is great. I am not familiar with the ElGato video capture that you refer to, but if it uses EyeTV 3, it should work fine. If not, pay a little more for the EyeTV Hybrid.
The EyeTV has worked great for me.
Here is a sample video that was VHS, captured on EyeTV Hybrid, and edited in iMovie.

How can I import VHS video into my macbook pro

I am trying to import VHS tapes into my macbook pro. I want to use them in iMovie. Any suggestions.

You will need something like this

Importing VHS into iMovie - Communication Error

Hi
I have just got a new iMac with iLife 08.
I am trying to import VHS tapes through a Canon camcorder into iMovie. I have done this many times before using Final Cut Pro on my old computer. My old FCP isn't compatible with OSX 10.5 so I have to use iMovie for the first time.
My problem is when I connect everything up, I get a 'communication error'. I can play the VHS and see it playing on the camcorder but it won't play on the import window in iMovie. i have tried importing it anyway and it does capture a couple of seconds and then stops.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks.

I have the same problem, used the info from the above link....
Live import workaround #2: Put a tape in the camcorder and put it into CAMERA mode. Launch iMovie HD 6.0.2 -- its import mode should show the live feed from the camcorder. Remove the tape -- iMovie HD should continue to show and import live feed from the camcorder. The drawback with this approach is that it produces wear and tear to the camcorder. If you keep the tape in the camcorder, it may also go into standby mode if the tape is paused.....
But then switch from camera to play (VCR) on my canon MV500i
imac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Importing VHS using ADVC-110

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