STUPIDEST THING EVER!! Please help!!!

[Joseph Hutson]

I just accidentally dropped my clients Hi 8 tape!!! Has anybody done this, or am I the only clumsy kid in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD to do a stupid thing like that.

What I need to know is, "Is it possible remove the actual film from the old cartridge and put it in a new cartridge which has been emptied?"

Has anybody done this, and was it successful?

Joseph

P.S. The worst thing about it is it was for a short video of a 5 yr. old who past away this past monday because of a 2 year battle with Leukemia. I feel downright, UTTERLY stupid and TERRIBLE! :-(((

[Oren Arieli]

Sorry to hear about the mishap. As they say, accidents will happen. If the case isn't completely ruined, you might still be able to play/transfer the footage. If the tape is poking out the front 'door' and wrinkled, you might attempt a splice. I used to do this quite often with VHS tapes, but they were easy to disassemble. I'm not so sure the Hi-8 has screws on the back (haven't used that format since the early 90's). If it does, there is still some hope. Let us know how it goes (and meanwhile, keep that tape as undisturbed as possible).
-Good Luck!

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hutson

I just accidentally dropped my clients Hi 8 tape!!! Has anybody done this, or am I the only clumsy kid in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD to do a stupid thing like that.

What I need to know is, "Is it possible remove the actual film from the old cartridge and put it in a new cartridge which has been emptied?"

Has anybody done this, and was it successful?

I've done it with several different kinds of tapes over the years. What I recommend is taking apart a new one first so that you know what you're getting into and where the gotchas are before opening up the one with your desired material.

Just be patient and you'll be fine.

-gb-