NOTE: I am looking for personal experiences here, not tech specs. I can Google devices to get specifications, but I want to hear from people that have actually used this stuff.
I have a collection of old home videos, and I’m getting concerned that I soon won’t be able to use VHS videocassettes. I’d like to load the videos on my computer, where I can edit them and make DVDs. I had devices to do this ten years ago (I don’t know why I didn’t do this back then), but they aren’t compatible with my new equipment.
Back then, I had a lot of problems with frame drops and poor sound synchronization, and the computers were barely able to keep up when digitizing the video at 640x480. I need something that can reliably produce high-quality video on a 2GHz dual-core Mac. Since I don’t have that much video, I don’t want to spend a fortune on it, either.
Side issue: It would be really cool if I could hook this to my DVR and record hi-def video also. There have been quite a few times I’ve wanted to watch a movie or TV show on my iPad when I’m traveling, but I have no way to get it there.
Simplest possible way I can think of: if you have a digital camcorder (or if you can borrow one) you can transfer to that, then from there to your computer. Some have a pass-through mode where you can skip the intermediate step.
In terms of best analog video quality, I’m going to recommend the ADVC-110. It is by Canopus, which has been bought by Grass Valley. You may not know the name “Grass Valley”, but it is one of the top names in broadcast video. If you watch TV, I can guarantee that the image you are watching passed through one or more Grass Valley products on it’s way to you.
It does require a FireWire interface on your computer, and some newer computers have dropped support for FireWire, but it does a great job. I’ve used it on both PC and Mac. It costs more, but that is because all the capture and conversion is inside the box. Cheaper devices depend more on the host processor, leading to dropped frames.
Thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately, my camcorder is older than dirt itself (it’s one o’ them newfangled mini-SVHS units). Some of my home video is SVHS, and some of it is VHS. I also have a few Super-8 movies, but that’s a different story entirely.
I used to work in that industry. I definitely know Grass Valley.
That’s why beowulff and I were suggesting this analog input device. I capture tons of stuff from VHS, S-VHS, LaserDisc, Beta II and 3/4" with one of these.
I would suggest that you mount your Mini-SVHS tapes in a full-size adapter, as most of those camcorders record much better than they play. You can get an excellent S-VHS deck from Mitsubishi for very little - I often pick them up for free.
Thanks, gaffa (I just realized what your name is all about!) – I have a good SVHS deck already, assuming it still works. I haven’t plugged that sucker in for years.