In this guide I’ll walk through converting a VHS tape to Apple TV (H.264 @ 720 x 480).
I purchased the Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus Digital TV Recorder from an Apple Store for about $200. I’ve had a great experience with this device. I’m sure there are far superior solutions out there (especially for the Mac), but in the “bang for buck” category this is a great option!
This device can also be used for hooking-up just about any video source. I’ve recorded straight from camcorders, HD antennas, PS2, etc. Anything you can get into a set of composite cables or S-Video will require just about the same steps as recording from a VCR.
Converting an old copy of Happy Gilmore from VHS just happens to be what I was doing when I felt inspired to share. 
Hardware Used:
- MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo w/ 4 GB memory) running OS X 10.5.6 (Leopard)
- EyeTV 250 Plus (Elgato) (Connected via USB 2.0)
- Hi-Fi Stereo VCR (Connected via Composite cables or RF Adapter)
Software Used:
- EyeTV 3.1.1 (included with the Elgato)
- iTunes
The following assumes that you’ve properly installed / setup and tested the Elgato and EyeTV Plus v3.1 or higher:
- Plug-in the power for the Elgato, once the blue light comes on, plug-in the USB connector.
- Start the EyeTV program
- Switch the input source to Composite (Ctrl + V)
- Power-on the VCR and insert the VHS tape.
- Let the tape play until it’s at the spot where you want to record.
- Rewind the tape for about 5 seconds.
- Reset the timer for EyeTVÂ (Command + L)
- Start the recording in EyeTV (Command + R)
- Press play on the VCR
- Sit back and enjoy the show (or you can hide EyeTV without disturbing the recording)
- Stop the recording when ready (Command + R)
- Press STOP on the VCR
- Open the EyeTV Programs Window (Ctrl + P)
- Edit the Info for your recording
- Ctrl-Click (or right-click) the recording in the list and choose “Export…”
- Set the Format to “Apple TV”
- Choose your “Desktop” as the location to save the file, then click “Save” and wait a while.
- Once the export is finished, open iTunes
- Drag the file into your library
- Voila!
Convert to Apple Universal for playback on all apple devices using HandBrake:
HandBrake is a free application available here. This program can be used to convert the .eyetv file to an Apple Universal format file which iTunes will convert to play on iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, etc. The following steps assume you’ve already downloaded and installed HandBrake.
- Complete steps 1 – 12 above
- Quit EyeTV
- Open HandBrake
- Select the .eyetv file generated by EyeTV (located in “~/Documents/EyeTV Archive” by default)
- Once HandBrake has finished analyzing the file, click the “Toggle Presets” button at the top right of the window
- Selected Apple -> Universal
- Click “Start” in the toolbar at the top of the window
- A 1.5 hour recording will take about 1.5 – 2.0 hours to convert
- Once the conversion is finished, follow steps 18 – 20 above
Random tips:
- If the picture appears darker than it should be, the brightness can be adjusted in Preferences -> Devices. Click on the “Picture” tab to adjust various elements. I’ve had good results around +35 brightness).
- An Encoding of “Standard (DVD 120 min)” produces a good enough picture to capture the “quality” of a VHS tape. This is adjusted in the Preferences -> Devices panel under the “Encoding” tab.
- If you want to hide EyeTV and do other things while recording without hearing the audio, the sound can be disabled when EyeTV is in the background and/or in the Dock via the Preferences -> Sound panel.