Grass Valley Canopus ADVC-55 Analog to DV Media Converter.

2013-02-12T19:00:00

Needed to transfer home movies from a mini-dvd cam and 8mm/S8mm tapes. Mini dvds could be transferred from my disk drive, but some wouldn't copy over although the cam could play them with no problems. This is why I started looking for a way to do this with as little loss as possible. The ADVC-55 seemed to fit the bill. After calling the regional sales rep listed on their website (2 calls, each time with different questions, and always with prompt response) I decided to purchase it from Adorama. This is nothing more than an analog-to-digital converter. It takes the input from any device with either composite or s-video outputs along with stereo sound, converts it to a digital signal, then outputs it to a firewire 400 port. Using it on my IMac took nothing more than connecting a 400-800 firewire cable I had from the converter to my IMac (it comes with a 400-400 firewire cable, and the manual says you should use an optional power supply to power the converter if you use this method), and firing up Toast Titanium (my choice of software). I was brought right to a screen that showed the Canopus ADVC-55 as a camera input. I started encoding in Toast first, then pressed "play" on my camera, and the video was transferring to my hard drive. That's all there is to it. I haven't used it with my 8mm VCR yet to transfer the 8mm/S8mm movies yet, but I expect to have the same results. Output quality looks the same to me as hooking either sources directly to a TV, so I don't detect any loss in picture quality from the ADVC-55. This does what it says it will, and easily too.

VINCENT C.

2013-01-01T19:00:00

Great to connect older video equipment to Mac.

DAVID D.

2012-11-22T19:00:00

This was an excellent product for the right price to do what I was looking for which was take old family videos and put them onto DVD. We used to use a digital camcorder that had a pass-through feature which was damaged after a lightning hit. That camcorder was difficult to set-up. With this device, we essentially plugged all the cables in, turned it on and it worked exactly like it should. We do a lot of video to DVD conversion for my family and have not had any problems with this at all.

hehebebury

2012-07-01T21:00:00

if you are trying to stream live video using adobe flash media encoder on a mac, this is the only solution at the moment... we have a sony EVI-D70 camera going into a new macbook pro retina display laptop... picture is outstanding. was not an easy solution to find. there are much better simpler devices like elgato etc but the encoder doesnt see them, sucks because those have even better picture.

yo m.

2012-01-26T19:00:00

Using this A to D converter is enabling me to put all my old home video tapes onto the computer and then onto DVD's. It's saving memories from 25 years ago for the grandkids.

Dick

2011-10-09T21:00:00

This device is incredible. Set up is a snap, and it works absolutely flawlessly. Anyone who has captured tape media before (e.g. HDV) will find this operation a no brainer. The quality of your VHS tape (or Hi8, etc.) is translated directly with NO loss in fidelity.

BRYAN M.

2011-09-03T21:00:00

I use it to digitize analog media,...and love the ease and quality it produces. I have no problem with the audio,...as I have read other reviews that had some problems.

mikey