Roxio Mac Software
Easy VHS to DVD for Mac comes bundled with a USB 2.0-based audio and video converter. The USB is bus powered, so it doesn’t need an external power supply.
Roxio Mac Software
A separate breakout cable provides plugs for connecting or, as well as two RCA jacks for grabbing analog stereo. (Easy VHS to DVD for Mac is strictly analog, with no digital inputs of any type.) Roxio also includes a USB extension cable, which allows you to move the video converter closer to your gear. Not included are any audio or video cables to connect the converter to your equipment; you will need to provide those cables yourself.
Send to ToastThis option launches either Toast 9 Basic or the latest full version of Toast, if it's installed. Once it's open, Easy VHS to DVD for Mac will add the captured video to a new DVD-Project in Toast. You can then use Toast's tools to burn a DVD copy of your video.
Toast Roxio Mac
Edit with iMovieiMovie is launched (iMovie 8 or iMovie 09 must be installed), a new movie event is created, and the video you captured is added. Importing the video into iMovie converts it to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) format. This conversion can sometimes take a little while.
Once you finish making any edits, you can send your completed movie to iTunes, a video-capable iPod, or other devices. Send to QuickTime PlayerWhen this option is selected, the video will first be converted to and stored in the same folder as your original video. The original MPEG-2 video is not affected, and will remain in your Movies/Easy VHS to DVD Capture folder. Conversion to MP4 can take a good deal of time. A two-hour tape I recorded took just under an hour to convert to MP4. A simple USB device that captures analog audio and video into MPEG-2, the native DVD format. There are other video converters available, but most of them save the video file in a different format, requiring you to go through hoops to convert or encode your videos for storage on DVDs.
Inclusion of Toast 9 Basic. After all, this product is designed to archive all of your analog movies to DVD format. Toast is by far the best DVD authoring tool for consumers and prosumers on the Mac.
Simple setup and preview ensure the hardware is set up and working before you press the ‘Record’ button. It’s a basic idea, but it’s funny how often the basics are overlooked.
Video Quality selection lets you decide whether size or quality is most important. Simple one-click sending of captured video to iMovie, Toast, or QuickTime. You have to go through the step-by-step setup each time you use Easy VHS to DVD for Mac. After the first time or two, it gets a bit old. Custom time input. If you know the video I am recording is 38 minutes, you should be able to enter that time, and not be forced to either select the next highest time (one hour) and record 22 minutes of nothing, or have to wait around to manually stop the recording.
Easy VHS to DVD for Mac should have its own basic editor. This is important so you don’t have to go through re-encoding processes that take lots of time and can degrade the final version. No converted video library management. If you record a movie and forget to ‘Send to iMovie’ or ‘Send to QuickTime,’ you're stuck. You can’t launch the application and load an existing converted movie.
Sure, the MPEG-2 file is in my Movies folder, but as far as Easy VHS to DVD for Mac is concerned, it doesn’t exist. You're left to look for a third-party application to do what Easy VHS to DVD for Mac should be able to do on its own.