I have finally found the optimal solution, and still being able to use the Elgato Video Capture i bought (see previous entry about Playing & recording 8-bit and 16-bit consoles on you Mac / computer). While the Elgato / DVD recorder combination worked excellently with all my PAL systems I still couldn’t get it to work with my NTSC NES and my japanese Famicom, since the DVD recorder was PAL region it messed up the images.
I had to buy rca y cable splitters since the Famicom only had one output of composite image and video cords, now being able to split the signal to two places I can play through connecting the Famicom to a TV while also having it connected to the Elgato, which actually captures the video and image perfectly however generates a black image (“no signal”) while recording. The rya y cable splitters might not be necessary for the regular NES since that console already has two outputs, one for the antenna input in a PAL television and also the composite on the side, however it is more nimble not having to search for the channel and just playing through the AV channel ^_^
If anyone has any questions about this topic feel free to ask me, I’ve been researching into it and going through a lot of trial/error phases to know a thing or two about it by now ;D
Retro Video Gaming 
in my head all your machines are plugged into about 12 adapters.
haha, it’s not that bad ;D one for the Mac, one for the Famicom, one for the DVD recorder and now one for the TV. If I’m playing PAL I only use the Mac, the console and the DVD burner, so three. And if I record Famicom or NTSC I only use the TV, the console and the Mac so three there as well ^_^
/mE
ya I have my consoles hooked into the tv, and the tv out goes to the DVD recorder, seems to work pretty good :)
do you record on DVD’s then or is the DVD hooked up to a computer? =)
/mE
I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind! I’ve been struggling to make this work correctly and don’t want to spend money (most devices are $100+) if Im not doing it correctly. I’d appreciate any help you could possibly give.
I have a japanese famicom with only the 1 analog quaxial cable on the back, none of those red/white/yellow ports. I am trying to figure out the best way to record the gameplay from the TV onto a computer, PC or mac doesnt matter. It appears your elgato device doesn’t have a quaxial port. Do I just hook up the famicom to the TV with the quaxial, then use the triple red/white/yellow ports from the TV to the mac via the elgato converter?
I’m not quite sure about that one..
My Famicom has been modded to have a yellow and white output (composite), which makes eeeeverything a lot easier ;D
However I did try to connect an old Atari 2600 to record recently, and I plugged it into my DVD burner which had an antenna input and the Elgato between the DVD burner and the computer and I got and image. I’m not sure that would work through a TV though, since the antenna input and the composite which Elgato uses are on different channels.. Also with the Famicom you will probably need two different inputs, one for sound and one for image.
Is your TV NTSC or PAL? Are you able to connect the Famicom to the TV and play on it? I’m not quite sure what the original Famicom cords look like or how they work. Do you have a picture of the outputs? There might exist some kind of converter transforming the analog quail cable into a composite cable, have you checked for that?
/mE