Hi folks!

I'm curious how you might have done the above or planning too.

I'd like to play back some old video tapes and have them recorded on my Macbook and into iTunes. Would also like to do the same for recordings we have saved on MySky that we wish to keep.

Am planning on purchasing an Apple TV shortly, so once converted, all our old VHS content and recently recorded content will be available digitally.

Have done a quick google search and like the Elgato Video Capture product. However this doesn't seem to be available in NZ:
www.elgato.com/elgato/int/mainmenu/produ...ure/product1.en.html

There is an "equivalent" Roxio product available at MagnumMac but PC World (US) considered the Elgato better quality.

Keen on how you'd recommend getting old video tape recordings and recent recordings saved on mysky into iTunes!

Thanks for your help!

Rich

Do you have access to video cameras at all?

There's two ways to do it....if you can get hold of a video camera that takes a VHS tape and has a firewire output, then you can bring the clips straight into iMovie. I appreciate those sorts of cameras are hard to find these days.

The second option is to find a camera that will take an input from a standard VHS player and has firewire output. Then you can just use the camera as a bridge, with this sort of approach...

VHS player - firewire camera - firewire cable - Mac

I've heard of people in this instance copying from the VHS onto the camera and then into the Mac, but you don't need to do that...you can use the camera as a live bridge (ie, play the VHS straight through into the Mac).

Not the nicest of setups but it saves on any hardware outlays

Phil

Hi

I would recommend getting an Elgato Hybrid. It is essentially the same unit as the video capture device but has a digital and analog TV tuner in it as well.
Whist I have not used it as you are wanting to, It will certainly do what you are asking and give you the ability to watch (and record) freeview into you macbook.
Hope this helps

Hi folks!

Thanks for your replies!

Phil I do not have any video devices with firewire.

Thanks for the recommendation apdv1. I did purchase an Elgato hybrid which recorded beautifully from the Sky HDMI box. However I'm having an issue with recording from the video player as the recordings are jerky and skip. (Although play back fine on a television)

I'll do some more research, but keen on hearing from anyone who has some experience in these areas. (I'm using a Macbook 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4 GB RAM).

Cheers

Hi

The problem may be that it has much to do with the way the video is being processed. Normal television uses an interlaced pattern where there is two scans for each frame. This is is the PAL system (Phase Alternate Line). Computer monitors CRT and LCD use a progressive format. Modern LCD and Plasma TV's are also progressive. Your recording off VHS will be interlaced. The jerking you are getting is caused by the computer "seeing" only the first scan but the TV interprets the signal okay and hence the smooth video.

Copying VHS tapes is not that easy and the quality will still be quite poor compared to DVD or even normal TV.

What you need to do is convert the interlaced video to progressive. If you use Roxio Toast it will do this for you, but a free option is to use MPEGStreamclip or Handbrake as an encoder. If you do not want to encode, use VLC rather than iTunes. It will play almost any video that is thrown at it. I use it all the time for my training courses where I have copied VHS to my HDD. The files are all in MP4. I capture through my DV Video camera to iMovie. I export to MP4 through MpgStreamclip.

MySky is in Mpeg-2 which is a progressive format so that is why they copy through okay. You cannot though copy Sky's HD content due to it being encrypted.


Handbrake
MpegStreamclip
VLC

A few points I think are worth correcting there, cassiachatte.

First, PAL doesn't refer to the interlacing of the video, but the way in which the colour information is encoded.

Second, the problem is not due to interlacing. Almost all broadcast TV systems use interlacing, except for HDTV systems based on 720p (such as Freeview HD's TV1 and TV2). So do VHS tapes and DVDs. The output from the MySky is almost certainly interlaced for at least some channels. I've recorded analog TV from TelstraClear cable and standard UHF/VHF broadcasts using an EyeTV Hybrid and it didn't exhibit jerkiness. That video was also interlaced.

Third, MPEG-2 is not necessarily a progressive format. It is able to hold either progressive or interlaced video as determined by the source. DVDs use MPEG-2 and the video is interlaced.


Rich - some possible explanations as to the actual cause of the problem:

1. Are you trying to record commercially produced VHS tapes? If so, you are probably encountering MacroVision copy protection. This works by distorting part of the video signal, in a way which is ignored by a television, but completely stuffs up recording it with another video recorder. The EyeTV Hybrid is likely to be affected by this. One symptom I've seen with MacroVision is the video fading in and out.

2. The signal from the VHS may be low quality and not good enough for the EyeTV Hybrid to maintain a good signal lock, resulting in it dropping out. I never tried my EyeTV Hybrid with a VHS source so I don't know if this might have been an issue (my one died so I can't try it now). If this is the cause then the only solution is likely to be to use another video capture device which is more forgiving.

Hi

I agree with your points but I was trying to keep the reply simple.

Having had years of successfully converting videos and old 8mm movies I have found ways of getting very good copies using both Windows and Macs. It would take too long to explain this but there is heaps of help on the internet.

I have the Eye TV Hybrid - great for getting Freeview and using as a PVR which is far cheaper than any of the stand-alone Freeview PVR's, but I haven't used this for VHS.

Most tapes are copied these days using the pass-through on my JVC DV camera. Although this does give large DV files I can use FCE or iMovie to edit. iMovie is excellent for outputting to iTunes.

A very good site good site that explains the whole process is Matti Haveri'sVHS copying