Capturing video from old Hi 8 tapes

[Michael S. Davis]

Good tip. I will definitely check that opeion out.

Update: I have just looked and the Digital 8 camcorder is by far the best option. I have found several that can do this transfer. Now to find the best one for the job. After I've transferred all my HI 8 tapes to a PC, I can just resell the Digital 8 and get most if not all the cost back. Thanks for that tip.

[Bill Mecca]

yes, what Chris says is true.

I was looking for a Dig8 camcorder but the prices kept climbming, then I found the AdsPyro Avlink for a good price, pluse it lets me take in from nearly any source, including composite.

My main concern was would it work with Avid XDV Pro (I have a Laird Dvora system with XDV 3.5 at work and its stopped recognizing the converter for some reason) but it worked like a charm for me.

[Michael S. Davis]

One problem I'm finding, is that it's hard to tell which Sony will actually transfer HI8 video, to a PC hard drive. Most say they can play back the HI8 video but don't say specifically that this can be saved as a digital file on a PC.

How does one tell which Sony Digital 8 will allow saving the HI8 video to a PC hard drive? Playback doesn't necessarily mean that capability, as far as I can tell.

[Bill Mecca]

It seems the older ones did, it was a feature, some of the newer models dont.

I found the reviews at www.camcorderinfo.com helped figure out which did and which dont.

[Michael S. Davis]

Ok, let me ask about another option.

If I buy a DVD recorder/player, can it record directly from a HI8 player?

I have a Sony HI8 deck that I've had for years. I have a DVD player but was thinking of getting one of the combo boxes that can record as well as playback. I've never used a DVD recorder so don't know of their capabilities.

Will a DVD Recorder/player combo unit be able to record directly from my HI8 deck? Is there anything special to look for in such a device. I assume that if I could do this, that I could then just rip the DVD back to my PC and would have the video on both a DVD and my PC.

[Richard Alvarez]

Michael,

I've reread this thread, and I think you've been missing some points.

The Hi-8 is analogue video.

Your computer edits using digital files.

Somewhere between your Hi-8 player and your computer, you must convert the analogue into digital.

You can capture your analogue video by transcoding it to DV files and importing through a firewire. (Use the canopus converter, or a camera that will automatically convert the hi-8 to digital out, or use a deck that will capture/convert do digital out) and feed this into your computer through the firewire.

OR

Capture the analogue video AS Mpeg-2 files. These are more compressed than DV files. Many 'capture' utilities will do this, and typically send the files to your computer through the USB port. You then have MPEG2 files of your analogue video. Some editing systems will allow you to edit these files, some won't. Ultimately, whatever editing system you use, will have to BURN MPEG 2 FILES to a DVD to playback on your home television DVD player.

If you don't plan to add a firewire input to your laptop, this will be your choice.

Yes, you can buy a 'dvd burner' and plug your Hi-8 camera/deck or ANY OTHER ANALOGUE source such as a VHS deck into it, and 'capture/burn' this source to a DVD file. It's just burning mpeg2 files onto the disc. SOME DVD burners will also export these files to a computer via firewire. You will have to read the specs for each player seperately.

To sum up - two choices. Capture as MPEG2 or Capture as DV. Mpeg 2 is slightly more compressed.

If you don't intend to do any manipulation or editing or complicated 'authoring' then simply buying a DVD burner and connecting your Hi8 deck to it to make 'dvd' dubs of your tapes will certainly be the easiest route to take.

Hope this helps.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by Michael S. Davis

If I buy a DVD recorder/player, can it record directly from a HI8 player?

I guess it's subjective, but to me "DVD burner" sounds like a drive for your computer, whereas "DVD recorder" sounds like a standalone unit. :-)

Regardless, the answer to your question is a simple "yes". If your Hi-8 deck has s-video output then you can plug it into just about any DVD recorder and make a basic DVD (without any fancy menus) that will play on most DVD players.

The better DVD recorders have firewire INPUT, but very few have firewire OUTPUT.

[Richard Alvarez]

What Boyd says... I should have used the term "DVD recorder" instead of burner. Please read my previous post with that caveat in mind. And as Boyd says, the options available for set top DVD RECORDERS varies widely. So read the specs.

[Jim Bechdel]

I'm a newbie at video and have the same request. I need a used Hi8 camera but what is "pass through" and how can I tell if the used camera has it. Also at B&H they have the A/D conveter model api-558 for 135.00. Also on ebay a guy has a Sony CVD 1000 Hi8 Deck for 155.00. I also need a mini DV deck.
jbechdel@comcast.net

[Alessandro Machi]

The Plextor convertx seems like it will take an analog feed and convert it to several different digital file formats and it uses USB 2.0 to do it.

http://www.plextor.com/english/products/TV402UMac.htm

Is this type of encoder rare in that it appears to not need an NLE program to import into a computer?

[Richard Alvarez]

Alessandro
The plextor box is simply a transcoder, which takes analogue or digital feeds and transcodes them to either Mpeg1, 2 or DivX files. It seems to be aimed at Mac owners. There are similar devices for PCs. It is 'rare' only in that it appears to be specifically FOR the Mac platform.

Note, it does not say it 'records it' to your MAC. It says it sends it to your Mac. You will still need some way to RECORD on the Mac. iMovie at the very least... some sort of NLE/Capture program. Though I suspect they may include a rudimentary capture program with the box.

Then you must send the signal, BACK out to your DVD recorder. (Or burner if your computer is so equiped)

[Dearl Golden]

Take a look at these from Canopus.....

http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC110/index.php

http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC300/index.php

[Alessandro Machi]

Originally Posted by Richard Alvarez

Alessandro
The plextor box is simply a transcoder, which takes analogue or digital feeds and transcodes them to either Mpeg1, 2 or DivX files. It seems to be aimed at Mac owners. There are similar devices for PCs. It is 'rare' only in that it appears to be specifically FOR the Mac platform.

Note, it does not say it 'records it' to your MAC. It says it sends it to your Mac. You will still need some way to RECORD on the Mac. iMovie at the very least... some sort of NLE/Capture program. Though I suspect they may include a rudimentary capture program with the box.

Then you must send the signal, BACK out to your DVD recorder. (Or burner if your computer is so equiped)

They have a Non Mac version as well. I am more interested in the Mac version since I have Mac. The Plextor convertx also does MPEG-4. If it transcodes to mpeg-4, then I can upload that MPEG-4 file directly to YouTube, no? It also seems to come with rudimentary software for doing basic titling and editing.

[Richard Alvarez]

Yes, you can send an Mpeg 4 to youtube.

[Dave Campbell]

But the quality stinks!!.

I am going to work with http://zeop.com/ so I can do more control
of quality.

My goal is to completely encode and upload a few hundred hours of
family video so it is all on line. Media is dead.

Dave