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+--- Thread: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? (/showthread.php?tid=30168)
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Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - PeterB - 03-21-2007
I know this question has come up before, but maybe worth asking again...
If I want to get video in on a machine running X, what is the cheapest/best way to do it? I'm just talking maybe composite video, *maybe* S-video, nothing more complicated than that.
If this were OS 9 we were talking about, I could use any of a number of dirt-cheap cards and, say, Apple Video Player. Since this is OS X, it seems my choices are more limited-- the Miglia AlchemyTV card will do it, but it's not cheap ($90-100+); and of course various digital converters, ditto. There are also cheap compression devices that will convert video to USB, etc. but then you usually get lousy video.
Ah, to harken back to the days of my old Beige G3's Wings card and its nice video and sound in jacks... why did they remove these features? Ugh.
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - The Grim Ninja - 03-21-2007
There are plenty of devices you can use, but the main question is why?
Why do you need to import the video? To edit in Final Cut Pro? To archive an old VHS tape to DVD/VCD? For to put a video on the intraweb?
Why you want the device and what quality you want out of it will be a major factor in which device to get. If this is a one-time deal, you might consider asking someone else to do the transfer for you.
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - michaelb - 03-21-2007
Borrowing a digital camcorder that has passthrough, like most Canon's, would be free and pretty easy to do. You could possibly buy one on ebay used as well.
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - PeterB - 03-21-2007
Grim -- this is for real-time recording of a biological specimen. What I've used before, which worked, was (don't laugh) an old ixMicro TV tuner card plus BTV or Apple Video Player under OS 9. (Input was a digital camera with video out.) Resolution was 640x480, which is fine for most purposes. Video might eventually go to the intarweb, but not necessarily. Occasional but routine use (e.g., I would want to do it myself).
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - BigGuynRusty - 03-21-2007
[quote PeterB]If this were OS 9 we were talking about, I could use any of a number of dirt-cheap cards and, say, Apple Video Player. Since this is OS X, it seems my choices are more limited-- the Miglia AlchemyTV card will do it, but it's not cheap ($90-100+); and of course various digital converters, ditto. There are also cheap compression devices that will convert video to USB, etc. but then you usually get lousy video.
Ah, to harken back to the days of my old Beige G3's Wings card and its nice video and sound in jacks... why did they remove these features? Ugh.
Compared to now, they were not that good. I still have some video clips, even at the best settings, pretty crappy.
Since you don't want to spend money, your choices are pretty non-existant.
From top to bottom.:
Digital Camcorder.
Analog to FireWire convertir
Any of the hardware compression boxes that EyeTV supports.
Even the first EyeTV USB1 box converts video much, much, much better then the "Wings" card did.
BGnR
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - BigGuynRusty - 03-21-2007
What type of camera?
BGnR
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - incognegro - 03-21-2007
remember the old adage:
PICK ANY TWO:
Fast ~ Cheap ~ Good
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - JoeH - 03-22-2007
Unless you can find a closeout, or one on eBay, the Alchemy TV/DVR card has been discontinued. A shame, it works pretty good. I was thinking of getting one for my son's 2.0 DP G5, but they disappeared from the usual places to buy before I bought one. Well, maybe the one in my machine will end up in that later on.
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - GrumpyOldMan - 03-22-2007
We use this to record video from a Dage Newvicon camera on a microscope:
http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC110/index.php
It works with iMovie or BTVPro, or any normal video software.
It's about $200 from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/CANOPUS-77010150100-Canopus-ADVC110-Converter/dp/B00030ATTO
For other projects, we used an iSight camera, but they're really hard to find now (and very expensive).
For $100 (but less resolution), you can use this:
http://www.xlr8.com/Apple_Mac_Products/XLR8_Macintosh_Products/Mac_USB2_Video_Capture_OSX_PS.html
Or even lower resolution for $80:
http://daystar-store.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=61
If you really require free, as someone suggested above, find a friend with a video camera with FireWire output that you can borrow. Many parents get them when their child is new, but rapidly grow tired of shooting video. If it allows video pass-through you can use it that way with your own video camera, or if possible just use the borrowed video camera directly.
Re: Cheapest/best way to get video in onto an OS X machine? - GrumpyOldMan - 03-22-2007
Addendum:
I just found this, which gives many options:
http://www.bensoftware.com/help/devices.html