Suggestion for VHS to digital conversion on Hackintosh?

As the title says, I have numerous home videos of family events over the years that I need to convert to digital format (to burn to DVD, Blu-Ray, or whatever). I want to use my Hackintosh for this, you can see build in my profile. I don't want to break the bank on buying hardware / software, and I don't need ultra HD / 3D with Dolby 7.1 surround sound either (that's a joke, partners). Will also convert some High 8mm tape as well.

So I have the VHS player, and the 8mm player...but what should I buy? Again, will be on the Hackintosh computer.

Thanks in advance.

Anyone, anyone? Bueller?

Tailgate77478 said:

Anyone, anyone? Bueller?

Click to expand...

I've watched the thread to see if anyone had better ideas, but what I use is a little complicated, and I haven't tested it in a hackintosh yet. I use a blackmagic intensity pcie card in a mac pro. It records to uncompressed sd/hd unless you install a few of the codecs from final cut. Then it records in apple prores and I think another. The quality is great as long as the tape doesn't have dropouts. If it has dropouts or weak signal, you may get black flashes.

My routine is to record to prores and then use handbrake to make an mp4 using the decombing filter to get rid of the interlace artifacts that dont look good on computer. Once the result looks good, ditch the monster prores files.

The card isn't too bad, about $200 and it does HD as well. Hooking up composite and component is easy, svideo needs an adapter cable. It will not record hdcp ecrypted hd btw... Well, not without a gaming adapter.

Ohh, and dont get the wild idea of getting the USB3 external version. As far as I know, the drivers still dont support usb3 on the mac side. And I'm not sure they support the thunderbolt version under windows... The card is the only crossplatform option.

WOW...that does sound complicated. Probably a lot more work than what I am wanting to do, as I have a bunch of old family videos I need to convert. But I suppose it's an option. Much appreciated on the input.

Anyone else have a simpler method that is good enough?

Ohh, forgot about the Hauppage hd pvr. Records direct to h.264(mp4) but requires a third party mac program purchase unless you get the hd pvr 2 gaming edition plus which comes with a key for the mac software.

That is one I can test, I have the older hd pvr 1212.

Ohh, be warned the higher end models of the pvr 2 dont come withe the component/composite adapter cable... Go figure.

Edit: I'm not sure which PVR 2 models come with the component/composite cable.

Edit 2: Works just fine on a hackintosh. Recording from VHS right now with hdpvrcapture and the HD PVR 1212 (its an old box, but still works well.) Software is from here: http://www.hdpvrcapture.com

Another confirmed solution- this Elgato adapter does analog to digital conversion, and it works on Mac/PC.

http://www.amazon.com/Elgato-Video-Capture-Device-10020840/dp/B0029U2YSA/

The only thing is the transistion is obviously in real time so it will take a long time to transfer all video . as long as the vhs is of course

basically i use an easycap usb device . they cost less than 10£ and work for me . there are two versions one is white and specifies use for mac and windows . whereas the older one is black in colour and cheaper . i suspect they are exactly the same other than the driver . i use mine for all sorts of av

i actually have a black one and will test it for you rite now in my hackintosh .
the two models are only a few £ in difference but if you are like me a few £ is a lot

i will report back within the hour

EDIT* .....around 2 hours later and i have returned

CONFIRMED . success . working

ok first a bit about the device .
they have been around for a long time and there are mixed reports. the device is known to have chinese clone copies which should be avoided . the real ones can be identified by a green led on the base and having small holes in the case . there are two versions of the original. the dc60 and the dc60+ you can tell the difference by the colour of the font on the case . the one you want is the one with white font (not silver) this is the dc60. see following link
Easycap USB 2.0 Audio Video VHS to DVD Converter Capture Card Adapter

after navigating my way through the various forums videos and developer pages i found a simple to follow video with some added information
HOW TO: Setup EasyCAP on a Mac [UPDATED] - YouTube

i followed this video guide to no avail .i went to the site given in the video
which was EasyCapViewer – bentrask.com and downloaded the
(quiktime component) and (the application version 0.6.2, 614KB)

The problem was when i started the easycapviewer application the device was not found .
So checking the error log i noticed the device info that told me the manufacturer was fushicai

i wound up back at the same site i had just downloaded from .
scrolling down the page i discovered an experimental release

this one worked for me first time . configuration was a bit of a mess around and at first my video was displayed with no colour . but none the less its now all working

so if you want a very cheap option i can confirm easycap will work. i checked all connection types to

google results did yield reports of it working at first glance but i think its better to speak from experience. Hence the testing......... it is just an excuse really. i love it

oh and before i forget some people use a phono to headphone jack if they have trouble with sound



another edit*
seems i was a bit wrong about the clones and copies as all of the easycap brand are some variation of a cheaper chinese version. i am reading a lot of mixed information at the moment Easycap - LinuxTVWiki - LinuxTV.org . oh well just to summarise it is cheap and it works with some messing about .

Just a confirmation that the Blackmagic Intensity works fine in a hackintosh... even when connected to an Amfeltec half-mini PCIe to PCIe adapter.

Just for grins, here is a video of A Mac recording a Mac recording a Mac.... wheeeee!

http://youtu.be/lpN48C63R5E