I have a G3 mac that look like it have the right ports. it have in and out s video ports...and te 3 (red white and yellow) ports ..... .
okay so I have a g4 runnin mac os 10.
..... .
I have a couple of pcs too compaq pentium 3..but I ent see nowhere to plug in any cables. yeah if yuh could guide mih that go be decent cuz I have the speed and the space.
Building a Digital Video Capture System -Part I
Building a Digital Video Capture System - Part II
dcs, i read thru them 2 articles and he ent say how to do the ting yet (which was supposedly he aim). all he talk about is how hard it is
I am not a Mac expert. A good place to start might be
http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9.
In any case, it appears that you can start to capture with the G3. Connect the output of the VCR to the inputs on the video card and then use the capture software that came with the card. GIven that the card is in the machine, the software is either loaded or on a CD. As you suggested you can also put the card in the G4, which is preferable, because processing video requires a lot of CPU power. That said, you will only be able to capture a short video with a G3, or G4 before running into problems. The experts are all recommending the G5.
The compaq P3 might be an option, if the speed of the processor is higher than 800MHz. If the processor is slower than that, then many of the capture cards would not work and with those that work you will get a lot of dropped frames on capture. Given that you don't see any video inputs then you would need a capture card. And one possible capture card is the ``Pinnacle Studio AV/DV.'' If you have a digital camcorder with firewire, then a better option is a decent firewirecard for example PYRO Basic DV. Then transfer from VHS to the camera and then from camera to the PC. That setup also means that your PC does not have to be near the VCR.
Video also consumes a lot of memory. For example 45 minutes to an AVI file require about 12 GB of space, and if you are working on that video the machine require additional temporary space.
The above articles on ``Building a Digital Video.. ,'' referenced the state of the art in 2001, the scene has changed considerably since then and most of the product mentioned are no longer applicable.
Another good place to look around for info is
http://www.videoguys.com/ but dont't buy untill you are sure.