Elgato Video Capture allows Macs to record analog video
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 8th 2009 11:31AM
posted May 8th 2009 11:31AM
[Via Electronista]
posted May 8th 2009 11:31AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Jai ho
"if you've got a stack of VHS tapes or something"
Yea, nothing "beats" the classic pron! back then women had real milk bags...
They already make eyeTV, which lets you watch tv and record on your mac... so I don't see the difference.
@Aaron - I don't see any difference either.
I have an eyetv hybrid, and it comes with a connector that looks very similar to the elgato video capture and seems to work the same way (captures analog video). Maybe the bundled software is better than eyetv 3 for analog video capture?
the purpose of this is for A/V connections to record. not Cable/etc...
Old VHS tapes? Old Camcorder stuff? Beta?
^The eyeTV has AV inputs.
Anyway, does anyone know of a good HD capture device for Mac? Like 720p over component?
Also, the elgato website lists the US price as 99 bucks.
http://elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/buy.en.html
Which is better for this sort of thing, this or the Aiptek A-HD Camcorder? The Aiptek can capture 720p and can connect to a TV/VCR/DVD/etc to record video for around $100. I'd like to know as I am looking into buying something to do this.
Anyone? Is the camera better since it can do both (shoot and capture)? Is its video line-in of lesser quality?
you are the epitome of patience
LOL thanks for noticing, it has been literally over an hour since I asked.
Take the capture device over the Action HD. It can shoot in 60fps 480p no problem, but when you connect an input source it drops to 30fps and does its own internal deinterlacing so you end up losing half your frames. Also, it doesn't work well for long videos as it tends to freeze up if you attempt to record while connected to AC power. The battery will only last about 1 hour (which, while respectable for a camcorder doing 720p, isn't necessarily enough for a long capture session).
thank you mausmalone
BlackMagic already has an alternative for sale in the US. It's $150.
When are they going to have a simple HD solution like this?
Never, if the MPAA has their way.
And the blackmagic one does 480p component video too , for the same price
@Aaron:
This would be very useful to a VJ or someone setting up a security cam system on a Mac.
The EyeTV TV tuners do not show up as another video source like iSight in iChat/Quartz Composer/iMovie like this will. TV tuners only talk to the EyeTV software.
Completely different products for different applications.
Take a look at the picture - there is NO silver ipod nano with white wheel.
OMG!!!!
seriously, who cares?
Those who pay attention to details.
I think that's the black nano... oh wait those don't have white scrollwheels either.. uh.. nevermind..
More on-topic...
Where's the Firewire love?... Is it really that hard/expensive to make a Firewire capture device...
Isn't "el gato" spanish for cat?
I don't trust cats to make reliable electronics.
Yes it is. And "thecat" in spanish sounds incredibly cheap.
Especially "Mad catz"
Nothing special here. If you buy one of these for a PC, it comes it comes in a different color and costs less then $50, oh and has been on the market for years.
If someone knows of one for mac that is ~$50 post it here, I would like to have my old mac mini stream security camera feeds.
The elgato eye-tv (at least the previous version) is the same as the hauppage 950 - the same software runs both.
I think this stick uses hardware encoding to convert files to H.264 instead of simply importing to MPEG-2 and using your computer's hardware to transcode. That's the only way it's worth nearly $100. Maybe this is their way of getting a little more life out of the hardware from their turbo.264.
The title appeared as "Elgato video capture allows Macs to record anal..."
Made me do a double-take.
give products at http://daystartechnology.com/videocapture/index.html a try
been using mine for about 1.5 years and love it
... and for a much better HD solution, go pick up Hauppauge's PVR
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html
sure, it's more expensive, but gives you 1080i and OpticalAudio
works like a charm with EyeTV
So no probs on OS X? This thing looks interesting. Can you use it to capture Dolby Digital?
yes, capturing 5.1 off my DirecTV satbox. DTS is not supported.
Thx!
Same crap has been out for years, what's the difference? And "SCART"? It comes with a freakin' ¢50 SCART adaptor. Come again when it supports RGB via SCART. And while we're at it, throw in an optical input for audio and make sure the software properly records a plethora of digital audio signals. It might actually be worth the €100 then.
Don't count on it being an easy alternative to the MPAA's suggestion that you videotape the screen. The MPAA beat you to the punch on this particular idea a long long time ago, with Macrovision, and got it codified into law: the DMCA makes it mandatory that all analog video recording devices detect and inhibit recording when the input signal contains Macrovision.
What companies/products is there doing the same thing but for a PC? Really should do my old tapes but never seen soemthing like this for the PC.
S-VIDEO LIVES!!!
100 pounds for this crap? An ancient 7 series GeForce for 20$ has the same inputs including s-video...
That $20 GeForce probably only has outputs, not inputs.
Depends on the Manufacturer, EVGA and I think a few others had input options as well generally on their higher end or exclusively marketed VIVO capable cards. I have a cable with both sets of leads, forget which Nvidia hard I own that it goes too.
No the cheapass cards have inputs too. Composite, S-Video & Component Outputs. Composite & S-Video Inputs.
I've seen similar products for cheaper. Hopefully with this one, you DO get what you pay for!
What is this analog video they speak of?
The Blackmagic video recorder is only $20 or $30 more and it will give you better quality. Personally I use the HD PVR from hauppauge to capture my xbox live sessions. Check out the HD feed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJwyQL3ivc
I also use my Elgato EyeTV (to capture from coaxial cable at least), and you can totally hook it up to a VCR or DVD player to record from those connections (or buy an adapter for it).
WTF
who wants to record composite and s-video? these guys really cant offer component?
ga-bage.
I capture VHS tapes by hooking a VCR into my MiniDV camcorder and passing it through Firewire to my computer.
Not a bad use for a 5 year old camcorder.
It's a little messy with all the cords... but I already have the stuff to do it.
ohh, good idea. I forgot about that little trick. I was just looking at a stack of VHS tapes and wondering how to transfer them... Now I need a VCR... :-)
Just make sure your camcorder has something called "Analog Pass Through"
Not all MiniDV camcorders do...
Come On, you can get video cards with four video inputs for $30, but this IS for an APPLE!