- IF I WATCH A DVD WILL THE VCR RECORD IT MOVIE
- IF I WATCH A DVD WILL THE VCR RECORD IT PROFESSIONAL
- IF I WATCH A DVD WILL THE VCR RECORD IT MAC
One low-budget option is to project the movies onto a wall or screen and use a tripod-mounted video camera to record the image as the movie plays. If your family memories are preserved on film rather than on videotape, you’ll need a little extra help getting them into iMovie and onto a DVD. Once everything is connected, turn on each device, open a new iMovie project, and begin importing your footage. If you’re using a MiniDV camcorder to convert your video, you may need to adjust a menu setting to activate its pass-through features.
IF I WATCH A DVD WILL THE VCR RECORD IT MAC
Finally, connect the camcorder’s or converter box’s FireWire jack to the FireWire jack on your Mac C.
Next, run audio cables from your VCR’s audio outputs to the audio inputs of your camcorder or converter box b. If your hardware supports an S-Video connection, use that instead of composite video. To set up your transfer station, connect your VCR’s video output A to the video input of your camcorder or converter box. To import the footage from old videotapes into your Mac, you’ll need a MiniDV camcorder with pass-through features or an analog-to-digital converter. It also serves as an excellent archival medium for completed projects. A 200GB external FireWire hard drive costs less than $300 and will give you enough room for hours of video. If you don’t have that much space to spare, consider purchasing an additional hard drive. This means you’ll need around 12GB of space for every hour of footage you import. Digital video inhales disk space at a rate of about 200MB per minute. You have two options here: a MiniDV camcorder or an analog-to-DV converter box.Īn Extra Hard Drive The last thing you’ll need is a place to store your digital data. Have the tapes transferred to MiniDV format, and then use a MiniDV camcorder to import the footage into your Mac.ĭigitizing Hardware You also need a device that can convert the analog signal coming from your VCR or old camcorder into digital data.
IF I WATCH A DVD WILL THE VCR RECORD IT PROFESSIONAL
However, you’ll get better results by sending your tapes to a professional transfer service (see below for “Transferring Film and Other Relics”). If your tapes are in an obsolete format, such as Betamax, and if your old camcorder no longer works, you can try looking for a replacement on eBay. If possible, get a VCR that supports S-Video output this option is more expensive, but it produces a sharper picture than the alternative, composite video. The improvement in video quality will be worth the investment. If your VCR is showing its age - for example, if it suffers from poor playback or frequent tracking problems - consider springing for a new one. Here’s your equipment list:Ī Video Deck The first thing you need is a VCR or a camcorder that can play back your original tapes. Before you can transfer footage from an old videotape to your Mac, you’ll have to convert the tape’s analog signal into digital data that iMovie can use.