How do You Import Video Signals into Your Computer?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:51:18 +0000

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How am I supposed to get VHS and DVD video into my computer? No matter how I tried to put one of those into the MacBook, it just wouldn’t go. Wirelesspacket even told me on Vent that I better be careful. Geesh. Who knew it would be so hard to do? Thankfully, I have the EyeTV 250 Plus to save me.

EyeTV 250 Plus is a hybrid TV Tuner for the Mac with a powerful hardware encoder for higher quality recordings and smaller sized video files. EyeTV 250 Plus receives both free over-the-air HDTV as well as analog TV, and offers a complete solution for moving your video collection from VHS tape to DVD-Video. EyeTV 250 Plus is future-proof for the upcoming digital TV switch-over in 2009, and is ideal for those who want the flexibility of a digital and analog TV tuner together with a hardware encoder in one device. EyeTV 250 Plus delivers free over-the-air digital TV to your Mac in stunning 720p or 1080i HDTV (MPEG-2) and other digital television standards, as well as conventional analog TV via standard cable or antenna. EyeTV 250 Plus also comes with a break-out cable for composite video and S-Video, enabling you to connect a set-top box directly to your Mac. EyeTV 250 Plus’ powerful hardware encoder also records high quality video from analog sources, compressing audio and video signals to small size MPEG-2 files and freeing up your processor for other activities. MPEG-2 is a premium-quality video compression standard which is the basis for DVD and digital television. Use EyeTV 250 Plus to capture video and convert VHS tapes into high-quality digital files. EyeTV 250 Plus’ easy-to-use VHS Assistant will walk you through each step, from connecting your VCR or camcorder right through to burning a DVD or sending the recording to iTunes. Export clips and entire episodes to your video-capable iPod, Apple TV, and iPhone Store your collection on an external drive, or burn it to disc using Roxio Toast 8 Basic (included) Convert old videotapes to digital files using the VHS Assistant.

I needed to pick this up for my recent Gnomedex 8.0 conference. The reason I needed it was to be able to take the video feed from the cameras into the MacBook. There aren’t many video inputs on a Mac, unless you have some kind of conversion card. So I grabbed this EyeTV, which includes a cable to connect it to the MacBook. It also has a hardware encoder built into the machine, so it was as good a quality as it could be. There isn’t an easier way to get video signal into my Mac. The even better thing is that it will export video signal to an iPod or iPhone.

I also reviewed the Elgato Turbo.264 last year. Basically, this is what sits inside the EyeTV. All around, it’s a great way to do what I need as far as transferring video signals. It works well, and the only drawback is the unit needing AC power. I wish it was USB powered.

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How do You Import Video Signals into Your Computer?

Chris Pirillo » video-signal

How do You Import Video Signals into Your Computer?