[tonewheel]

Someone told me that there's a peripheral device that will allow me to convert my old camcorder-recorded tapes to digital, allowing me to download them for editing on my new G4 and iMovie. Sound familiar to anyone?

[ddiokno]

Hi Tonewheel,
Sony makes a media converter... Here is a link to the description. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...29.1.9.10.13.0 . You can find it by going to the Apple Store, clicking on accessories, and clicking on others. It is $399. Which would almost make me suggest purchasing an inexpensive DV or Digital8 camera (roughly $500), which would let you transfer your video to iMovie, and allow you to have higher resolution on any new video you take...
hope this helps,
dave

[TrReLo]

Can you actually get a digital camcorder WITH analog inputs for $500?? Most that I've seen don't have analog inputs, so you would be unable to convert your video (but it's been awhile since I've surveyed what's available).

There are also a few alternatives to the Sony converter. Formac (www.formac.com) recently released and analog to DV (via FireWire) converter which also includes a TV tuner in the unit. I believe the price is $399 and only available (for now) directly from Formac. I also say mention of a unit for $299 in a recent issue of MacAddict, but I forget the manufacturer (Hollywood ???). But I've never seen any reviews of converters (including the Sony one) to know how well they work.

Anybody used them or know of a review of them?

Originally posted by ddiokno:
Hi Tonewheel,
Sony makes a media converter... Here is a link to the description. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.wo a/231/wo/p5B3N1yDrd8LPIxwcg/7.5.0.3.29.1.9.10.13.0 . You can find it by going to the Apple Store, clicking on accessories, and clicking on others. It is $399. Which would almost make me suggest purchasing an inexpensive DV or Digital8 camera (roughly $500), which would let you transfer your video to iMovie, and allow you to have higher resolution on any new video you take...
hope this helps,
dave

[Paul S]

I can't comment on other brands, but I know that all current Sony and Canon DV camcorders have analog inputs. Basically, the output ports can be reversed on the camera. I've been able to do this on my 2 year old Sony.

The Hollywood device you refer to is the Hollywood DV from Dazzle. I've heard mixed reviews of that and the Sony as well. I decided to just use my camcorder for this purpose and not buy one.

I'm not sure where to find one of these cameras as low as $500. I've seen Sony's in the high $600 range and not much cheaper than that.

[ddiokno]

The most current Sony's allow you to use the camera as a pass through so that you can play through directly to iMovie... the older versions (like the trv103 that I have -- 2 years old) allowed me to record to tape (for the conversion to dv) and then import into imovie. A great resource for reviews and links to pricing on the cameras is http://www.cnet.com . Click on electronics and then go to digital camcorders...
best of luck
dave

[ddiokno]

Another good place to look at dv and d8 cameras are discount warehouse stores such as Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's. I have seen them there for as little as $499...
dave

A while ago when the Summer 2000 iMac's came out i heard about a
analog to digital cord that connected to a old camcorder and than
to the firewire. i need to buy an old camcorder cause im a cheap
kinda guy and want to know if i could buy this from Apple or if they even make them?

[Paul S]

The device you're referring to wasn't a cord. It was a box with analog inputs and outputs plus FireWire. It's the above mentioned Sony Media Converter. At $300 plus the price of a cheap analog camcorder, you're better off buying a cheap digital camcorder and getting digital quality film.