It can’t output to a television, nor be used as a second Mac display. Vidbox is an input-only device, designed expressly for one-way conversion of analog tape signals to the digital format. The device is made of plastic and the build quality feels a little on the cheap side, but the quality of the captured video and audio was representative of the original source material, with no visible degradation from the encoded MPEG-4 files with AAC 128Kbps 48KHz audio. Weighing less than two ounces, the box connects to (and is powered by) a free USB 2.0 or 3.0 port on your Mac with the included cable the manufacturer recommends a direct connection, but I used it with no problems attached to a hub. The straightforward Video Conversion for Mac software walks users through every step of the process. (Higher quality S-Video is also supported, but you’ll have to supply the cable.) That’s because the package includes a small box and with a three-foot RCA cable for capturing video and stereo audio.
Vidbox Video Conversion for Mac ($70 on Amazon makes capturing footage from old VHS, S-VHS, 8mm, and Betamax players as easy as digitizing home videos shot during the Mini-DV era.
