Elgato Video Capture – USB 2.0 Capture Card Device, Easy to Use, Convert Analog to Digital, with VHS VCR TV to DVD Adapter, for Mac, Windows or iPad

I found a box of VHS tapes from my deceased father's camcorder in the attic, which had languished there for 15 years or so, and needed a way of preserving them for the family. This device enabled me to run the composite video-out from a VHS player to this device and then to my PC via its USB connection and generate mpeg, mp4 files for storage and play-back on any PC or streaming device. For this purpose, the device did a flawless job: no crashes or capture glitches, just a set of lovely family video memories going back thirty years for the family to enjoy and cherish.My VHS tapes were old and low-resolution and so I don't know how this device would fair with better quality source material (other reviewers have reported poor experiences) but for this kind of material, this device does a perfectly fine job of capture and I thoroughly recommend it.If I had a criticism it would be that the software is very rudimentary; there are no output file settings at all other than aspect ratio (for example resolution) and no facility to pause and then re-start the capture so that parts of the source material can be skipped during capture. One has to essentially capture the entire tape in one go or break it into a bunch of separate files (a bit of faff). There is however the facility to trim the beginning and end of the capture before committing it to a rendered output file.One can of course edit the output file in a video editor but it would've been good to have a few editing tools in the software supplied with the device.The device is very easy to set up and put to use: I had the thing up-and-running and capturing my first family memory in twenty minutes of so.If you have a similar need to myself, buy this device: you won't regret it.

I purchased this product after a number of failed attempts to access my archive of analogue sources including VHS, 8mm and Hi8 tapes. Previously I had attempted this with a capture card in a windows PC which more often that not omitted to copy the sound.There was no such problem with the Elgato. As soon as I opened the box, which itself is designed for storing the item and sits nicely on a bookshelf, it was quite obvious what went where.There is no longer a CD containing the software included. This shouldn’t be an issue for most people and there is a link to a free download of the capture program for the MAC. The Elgato gives an impression of being well constructed and has a well designed and unobtrusive footprint.Once downloaded and installed the legato device is detected automatically.Connections are very simple, USB2 on your PC to component RCA ‘female’ connectors (Yellow for video, red and white for audio) to connect to your source. There is also an RCA to SCART convertor supplied which makes connection even easier to a VHS. There is also an S-VHS connector supplied that gives slightly higher picture and sound quality if your source can supply it.One thing to note is that as there are 2 audio connectors a stereo or dual mono signal is expected. When I connected a mono HI8 camcorder sound was only recorded by the PC on the left channel. To correct this during recording you’ll need to a small convertor that will split the mono signal from one RCA to two to give you a ‘dual mono’ signal.After the simple connections the ease with which you can then make a recording should be no surprise. The capture software helps you check that you have sound, then picture and then you click once to record.At this stage there are very few adjustments to be made except to tell the software whether to record for 30, 60 and up to 180 minutes before stopping. This is useful as otherwise recording will continue until you run out of disk space. Strangely there is no option for a 240 minute recording which used to be a common length for VHS tapes. The amount of disk space required depends on the length of the recording and I found that 180 minutes filled about 1.8GB of hard disk space when saved as .MP4.Once your recording is complete you can trim extraneous material at the beginning or end using a simple ‘slider’ tool. Then all that’s left to do is save to a file or directly into iMovie on the Mac or the downloadable Windows software. Once here you can of course tweak the recording as you see fit!This is not the cheapest solution for video transfer but the simplicity and excellent picture and sound quality make the extra expenditure worthwhile. After all you only back up your memories once and the Elgato lets you do it properly.

I wanted to convert several old family home movie Video Hi8 tapes to digital. I bought the Elgato video capture device after researching on Youtube and reading the reviews here on Amazon. I was concerned that the software wouldn't work with the latest edition of Apple Ventura 13.1 (and asked a question here), and I found a beta update for Ventura on the Elgato website, downloaded it and it worked well.I found using the Elgato (and after watching helpful Youtube videos) straightforward. I quickly and easily converted my old Hi8 tapes to digital format mp4 using a Sony Hi8 video player to my Intel iMac 2020. Elgato does warn that it does NOT work (yet) with Apple M1 computers.The picture and sound quality were on par with the original Hi8 videotape quality (recorded in the mid-1990s). The Elgato software does allow you to alter the brightness, saturation, contrast and hue via the settings Preferences main menu.I don't know if there is a further way to digitally enhance the overall picture quality whilst using the Elgato.Overall I've done what I wanted to do, converted old family Hi8 videos to digital to preserve the memories, I'm happy with the Elgato and consider it worth the purchase price.