Hi8 to DVD Please Help!

[toobusytoobroke]

Okay I have been reading a lot of posts for the past week or so and They all seem to say the same thing and I dont understand any of it...I have a Hi8 sony camcorder and a dvd burner, now of course I want to put the Hi8 tapes to dvd and I dont really know anything about it. From what Ive read the pass-through method is best, but Im confused: if I buy another camcorder with pass-through to play my Hi8 tapes do I still have to buy a capture card? Im sorry this is probably a stupid question but I really am confused at this point...if you do still have to buy a capture card what is the point of the pass-through? Its only like ten Hi8 tapes, but they all have a variety of stuff that would need to be separated...you know like we didnt change tapes for every camcorder occasion so basically i need to combine scenes from different tapes to dvd. I do have firewire and usb2...I looked into getting an all-in-wonder but i dont have an agp slot, only pci...Anyones help is greatly appreciated, and like i said I did try to research this stuff before postring but its so confusing I just need some direction. Thanks

[ZippyP.]

You need some sort of capture device to convert your analog hi-8 footage to digital. There's a number of options.

1. Digital camcorder which will play the hi-8 tapes and output dv via firewire to your pc. Alternatively, get one with video pass through which will connect your analog camera through the digital camera then to the PC via firewire

2. Set top DVD recorder. Take the disk and edit it on your PC.

3. Capture card installed into your PC, must be pci for your system.

4. External capture box connected via usb or firewire.

If you can borrow a camcorder then #1 is your best bet. #2 is good because you don't need to learn anything to get great results and you end up with a great replacement for your VCR. #3 and #4 are for only if you wish to spend the time to learn about capturing video and it would be difficult to match the quality of 1 and 2.

Hope that helps.

[thecoalman]

The only thing you need to connect a digital cam to a computer is the firewire port. No capture card needed. If you get a D8 cam I'm pretty sure you can just put your hi-8 tapes right in it and push play. You might want to make sure of that.

The point of the pass-through or a capture card is it converts your analog hi-8 tapes into a digital format.

[toobusytoobroke]

Okay so lets say I get a Digital8 Camcorder...I put the tape in the camcorder, which most if not all play hi8 tapes, I connect the camcorder to the computer via firewire, then what?....

[handyguy]

Use;
https://www.videohelp.com/capture

If you want the easy route, get a dvd recorder.

[edDV]

A Digital 8 camcorder will play your Hi8 tapes at 1x, will realtime convert them to DV format and also will realtime transfer the DV stream over IEEE-1394. All this happens when you press "play". Look at the monitor and adjust tracking for optimal quality. The Digital8 cam will not support stop motion or picture during shuttle for an analog 8mm or Hi8 tape. It will just play it 1x.

You can borrow or rent the Digital8 camcorder. You don't have to buy one.

At the computer end, you need first a IEEE-1394 port. Then you need to choose a program that will intercept the IEEE-1394 DV stream and convert it into a DV-AVI file.

The simplest program to do that is WinDV *. It will use XP to manage the IEEE-1394 transfer and deliver you a simple DV-AVI file of the resulting transfer. For a 2Hr Hi8 tape, this will be a 27GB file (~13.5GB per hour). WinDV does not have machine control like most commercial programs, you will need to press "play" on the camcorder when you want to record in WinDV.

After transfer, you can then edit this DV-AVI file with any DV compatible software and encode the result to one or two DVDs depending on the quality desired (Mpeg2 encoder settings).

If the tapes are important home videos, I would also buy some blank Hi8 tapes (2 per Hi8 original) and record the DV back to the Digital8 camcorder and record in Digital DV format at one hour per tape.

This will give you DV format for future use. The digital tapes will degrade slower than the Hi8 originals .

I wouldn't record over the Hi8 originals in this case. Just keep them and store them in a cool dry place, just in case.

*Other programs can be used for this step if you wish.

[toobusytoobroke]

IEEE-1394 port...um...thats firewire? My sound card has a firewire port...is that what you mean? sorry im a little new to all of this.....

[ZippyP.]

IEEE-1394 port...um...thats firewire?

Yup.

[edDV]

It may be a fully functional IEEE-1394 port. See if it exists in the XP device manager as a "OHCI Compliant IEEE-1394 Host controller" Sometimes audio card ports operate from special drivers outside of control by XP.

Otherwise buy a PCI OHCI 1394 card. They are cheap.

Of course you will also require a IEEE-1394 cable like these (usually the middle one) http://www.cwol.com/firewire/1394_cables.htm

[thecoalman]

IEEE-1394 port...um...thats firewire? My sound card has a firewire port...is that what you mean? sorry im a little new to all of this.....

Just a quick note, for some reason my computer vendor had one of my external firewire ports connected internally to the soundcard firewire port. Anyhow it wasn't able to handle the data rate and the cam would keep disconnecting, if you have similar problems suggest you get a regular firewire card.

[toobusytoobroke]

eddv...in the device manager under IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers there is one listed as a subcategory...but how do i know if thats the soundcard? if it is a ohci complianthost controller then should I be okay as far as what thecoalman is talking about? The sound card is a creative soundblaster audigy 2 ZS

[thecoalman]

That's the card I have.... Don't know why it wouldn't work properly on my system beause others have used it with no trouble. Probably a system issue, I didn't pursue it since I had an open firewire port on my Mobo.

[toobusytoobroke]

Well I really appreciate all of your help, I think I have decided to buy a digital8, Id rather go ahead and buy one instead of having to borrow one every time I tape something.I checked on ebay and the sony digital 8s are going for about 150! As long as its a digital 8 with firewire, or ilink i think sony calls it, i should be fine right???

[Quantum]

Make sure the Sony Digital8 will do analog pass-thru. I know the Sony DCR-TRV460 does. I use it to convert old 8mm tapes to DVD as well as old VHS tapes using an SVHS VCR connected to the camcorder and using it as a pass-thru device.

[edDV]

Analog pass-thru and analog inputs are very useful.

You can use the camcorder to record from your VCR and tv tuner (cable box etc.) to the computer in very good quality this way.

These features are probably not on the cheapest models but worth paying more.

[thecoalman]

Well I really appreciate all of your help, I think I have decided to buy a digital8, Id rather go ahead and buy one instead of having to borrow one every time I tape something.I checked on ebay and the sony digital 8s are going for about 150! As long as its a digital 8 with firewire, or ilink i think sony calls it, i should be fine right???

Yes Ilink is the same as firewire, 1394. As quantum pointed out make sure it has pass-thru. Not all D8 cams support that.

Are those new in the box D8 cams for that price? If there used I'd look at purchasing a new one, they are fairly cheap even new if you don't get one with all the bells and whistles..

[offline]

Why pay $$ for a D8 when for less than $100
you can get a cheap analog capture card. Simply
hook the Hi8 video out to the capture card and
save using a codec like huffy or mjpeg.

[Sweetow]

Most D8 camcorders play Hi8, but some low end D8 camcorders, even Sony, do not play Hi8.

[Quantum]

The DCR-TRV460 will play Hi8 too.

You can actually use the camcorder to record video rather than just capture like a capture card. Analog pass-thru is just a bonus.