Top VHS importers are?

[macsys]

Just looking to find out what the users are using to import there VHS tapes. Running 17" iMac w/superdrive.
Datavideo
ADVC 100
Formac
Are these the standard?

[terryj]

yes, with Canopus' ADVC-100 leading the pack.

[Frobozz]

I know this has been amply discussed here before because I checked this forum when doing research about which capture box to buy. But since I haven't written my views yet I'm taking this opportunity now.

I'm sure terryj is right on the money and a smart choice.

My brother mistakenly bought the Dazzle capture device and what a piece of junk! Even the user forum on the Dazzle site rants about it. Fortunately, though, some ingenious user discovered that putting the unit in the freezer for awhile whenever it failed to work seemed to make it usable. My brother attests to truth of this "fix."

I went with the ADS USB Instant DVD for Mac because I didn't want to do anything more than transfer my analog videos to DVD with just a little polishing of the final product. I also didn't want to buy a large hard drive and tie up my computer for hours while it compresses DV to mpeg 2. But I naturally accept compromises for these benefits.

I also like what some users said about getting a DV camcorder and using its digital pass-through mode to transfer the videos. The money spent on a capture device could go toward buying a nice camcorder. Cool. But instead I bought a camcorder for my son as a gift so he can do the work of creating videos of my grandson.

That's my half-cent worth on this topic.

[jazzman]

For the long term and a few extra dollars I have to say the best method I have found is a Panasonic consumer DVD recorder. Not only does it convert your analog vcr tapes to digital but it encodes it to MPEG2 right on the spot (with a number of compression options available). If you require the material for complex editing just transfer it over to the Mac via the DVD-RAM cartridge. If its just the removal of commercials and combining with other material you can can burn your DVD-R right on the recorder without the need for a computer. I spent hours upon hours capturing vcr tapes to my computer via the firewire, then days encoding them to MPEG2 with mixed results. I can tell you it is not worth it. You can now get a basic Pansonic DVD recorder with DVD-RAM transfer for under $400 (pretty close to a firewire input device) or one with the valuable dubbing hard drive for under $600. Try it you'll never go back.

[thorsted]

If you do go for a firewire input device such as the DAC-100, one thing which harly get addressed is making such you have a good VCR to play the tapes from, if the tape is a second generation you may not get a good transfer. Look into a nice SVHS player with a Time based corrector.

my two cents.

-thorsted

[Thargok]

You can also go with a VCR with firewire out (Sony liked to market i.Link for a long time)

[labouas]

i use my miniDV camcorder for that,from the vcr trought it then to the laptop.works great too.no need to buy a box if u have a camcorder.

[MikieV]

... If its just the removal of commercials and combining with other material you can can burn your DVD-R right on the recorder without the need for a computer. I spent hours upon hours capturing vcr tapes to my computer via the firewire, then days encoding them to MPEG2 with mixed results. I can tell you it is not worth it...

You make a great case! I've been thinking of going the DVD-recorder route, and you've done a good job of convincing me that is the best choice, for me.

Thanks for sharing your "Painful Learning Experience", it will save me from repeating it.

Mike

[jazzman]

I don't want to disappoint anyone after the fact so I should point out that although you can edit out commercials and combine programs on the lower cost DVD-RAM/DVD-R versions of the Panasonic DVD recorders, you can't transfer the finished product to DVD-R (because the DVD-RAM is occupying the tray). You can however: 1. transfer your finished product over to the Mac and drag the root m2v and ac3 files into DVDSP for burning/authoring. 2. Leave your material on the DVD-RAM cartridges for playback on any compatible player or your computer. 3. Buy the DMRE80 or DMRE100 that include the valuable dubbing hard drives(best choice). I have really grown quite fond of the 9.4gb DVD-RAM cartridges(type 4 removable), the optical media is physically protected in a very compact package, and the cost is very reasonable (I have been paying about $7 apiece for the dual sided flipper variety). My only problem now is since HDTV is starting to come on strong...............a whole new generation of products is on the horizon.

[MikieV]

You can however: 1. transfer your finished product over to the Mac and drag the root m2v and ac3 files into DVDSP for burning/authoring.

I remember seeing another thread, about this, and it requires some $oftware to read the format? Or is that just for de-muxing the DVD-RAM files??

My only problem now is since HDTV is starting to come on strong...............a whole new generation of products is on the horizon.

Alas, all the "neat toys" seem to be on a 6-month (or shorter) upgrade cycle. It's getting harder and harder to find a point where "good enough" will still be "good enough" a year-or-two down the road.

Mike

[jazzman]

Yeah you need "Read DVD" for mounting udf, and a DVD-RAM drive for your computer. I just picked up (2) LDF311's for about $60 each on ebay. The LDF211's will read and are cheaper but don't seem to want to write in OSX (they do write in OS9).

[MikieV]

But, as you mentioned - right from the beginning:

For the long term and a few extra dollars...

Makes sense for me, because it is not a budget-buster (for me) - and I would like a DVD-recorder to replace my VHS machine, anyway.

Mike