I've recently recommend the Hollywood Dazzle DV Bridge to numerous friends, as it is really simple to use, takes a minute to set up (with no software installation for the Mac--true plug-and-play!) and is really affordable at around $230. It's the easiest way to convert your analog video into digital video, and you can even convert your digital video to analog.

I decided to create this "How To" page to show you the simple steps for capturing video using the Hollywood Dazzle DV Bridge on a mac using iMovie 2. For this project, I will be capturing a short clip from an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from my VHS tape and convert it into a Quicktime movie.

You need the following to get this to work:

• A Mac
  (This will probably work on any firewire-capable Mac.)
• iMovie 2
  (Usually comes free with newer Macs.)
• Lots of drive space
  (For a full movie, you should have at least 25gb available.)
• A good amount of RAM
  (This clip was created on a G4 with 640mb of RAM.)
• Composite RCA Video and Audio cable (yellow, red and white)
  (You can also use an SVideo cable or a Firewire/DV cable depending on your media source.)

Then you plug in one end of the video/audio cable to your DAZZLE's video/audio in ports. Connect the other end to your VCR out ports.

*Note: You can also plug in your DVD player, Playstation or other game consoles. Or you can use SVideo or DV/Firewire to connect a video camera directly to the Dazzle.

Optional Preview Monitor Step:

If you would like to view your media on a separate TV during capturing, then you can use one of the following two methods:

A.) (As shown here.) Connect an extra video/audio cable from your Dazzle's video/audio out ports to your TV's video/audio in ports.

B.) (Not shown.) Connect a coaxial cable from your VCR out (or DVD or whatever you're capturing from) directly to your TV in.

Launch iMovie 2 and click the "New Project" button.

*NOTE: If nothing appears on the monitor, click the DV button. (See pic below.) It should now say "Camera Connected."

Hit "play" on your VCR then click "play" in iMovie 2 .

You should now have the video appearing directly on your monitor.

Click "import" at the moment you want to begin capturing.

Clips will now appear on the bottom "eyeball" bar. Multiple clips will appear for a long movie.

Just let it capture through the whole length of what you're recording.

Click "stop" when you're done, and hit "stop" on your VCR.

You can now turn off your VCR.

Select "To Quicktime"

*Note: I'm saving this as Quicktime because I have a CD burner, but not a DVD burner. You can optionally click "To iDVD" or "To Camera" depending on what format you want. Quicktimes however are good for making VCD backups of your VHS tapes.

Now you must select your Format which specifies the viewing size in pixels and the video and audio compression rates. For this project I will select "Web Movie, Small" as it is the most commonly found size on the net and the quality is on average good enough for monitor and VCD viewing.

*Note: The higher the quality, the larger the file and the longer the export time. However, the more compression and the smaller the file, the video and audio quality will degrade. Experiment to find your preference.

Now click the "Export" button.

*Note: Depending on how long the clip/clips are for this project will affect the export time. The clip I created is only 2 minutes long, however it took 5 minutes to export. When exporting a full movie, it can take a couple of hours.

Once the exporting is done, that's it!

You can click here to take a look at the clip I created for this project.

*Final Note: Unless you have oodles and oodles of GBs on your computer's drive, I recommend you trash the project folder itself once you're done exporting, as the original iMovie project file can reach up to 30gb or more. Just be sure not to throw out the final Quicktime file!

By the way, here's a couple of useful links if you want to learn more about iMovie editing, creating DVDs and VCDs and other related information.

Apple iMovie 2

Apple iMovie Tutorials

Dazzle Multimedia Video Products

Apple iDVD2

VCDHelp.com

Final Cut Pro