Audio capture problem with video8 tapes.

[Dutchyyy]

Hello guys,

You are my last resort in the fix of my problem. I hope you guys can help me.

I am currently capturing my old video8 tapes to my pc using the ION video forever.

The camcorder i use is an old Sharp, the one used to record those video8 tapes.

I have installed the drivers and software that came with the ION. But theres only video and no sound.
Then i installed CyberLink powerdirector. Also only video and no sound.

The tricky thing is, the camcorder has only 3 lines, 1 yellow video, 1 white audio and a 2.5mm jack.
Ofcourse i can only use the white (or red, i tried) with the ION capture device. I tried both and no sound.

Here some pics of the setup:




Now the strangest thing is that this camcorder came with this:




So this is bassicly an adapter with Video, Audio and Jack audio.

Also when i press Start > Devices
I see the VIDBOX AUDIO FW (No supported drivers) <- I have searched for it but theres no way i could find them.

So, if you guys see this, is there any way to get audio from these old tapes?
I was thinking of buying this;


With an 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter.

I hope you guys can help me!

Thanks in advance!

[hech54]

That audio adapter might not work.....the adapter is stereo and your camcorder mono.

[Dutchyyy]

Okay thx, i hope someone can identify whats the problem, why im not getting audio, and if theres a fix

[hech54]

Do you get audio when you hook it up to a TV?

[hech54]

One of the reviews on your ION Video Forever says that they also could not get audio to work.
I hope you didn't pay a lot of money for that thing. For the prices i see online you could have bought
a Hauppauge USB|Live2 capture device.

[Dutchyyy]

I have no audio if i plug the video/audio in my TV

[smrpix]

I have no audio if i plug the video/audio in my TV

That lets the capture device off the hook for the moment. The issue is in your camera or the tape. Assuming you've tried different tapes with similar results, can you get your hands on another camcorder? Even digital 8 should work.

[KarMa]

Can you hear anything with the headphone jack?

[Dutchyyy]

If i use a 2.5mm to 3.5mm and put my headphones in the camera i only hear noise but no sound.. The tapes are 20years old. Im afraid the sound is lost.. And atm i cannot get my hands on another camcorder

[orsetto]

You may be misinterpreting that 2.5mm minijack connector on the camera. The one under the flap, between the standard yellow video and white audio jacks, could be a power supply for the RF adapter you show in your pictures. Those converters needed power to provide a channel 3/4 RF signal to old TVs. I had a very similar adapter dongle for my LaserDisc player, and it definitely used the minijack as a power connection. If it is indeed a power connector that doesn't have additional audio functions, you would get nothing but noise when plugging headphones into it.

Have you checked all over the camera for another audio minijack of standard 3.5mm size? I can't locate a user manual for the Sharp N1, but old reviews of it imply it has an external microphone option and headphone jack. These might be located elsewhere than the little panel you show in your photo. A long shot, but check anyway. If there is no other distinct headphone jack, and you cannot get sound out of the white line-out audio jack even when connected directly to your TV, the internal audio circuits might be dead (not unusual after 20 years- cold solder joints can develop that break the circuit). Its also possible the person who originally made the videos had the camera set up wrong (set to external mike but no mike attached, etc) which might mean there never was any sound on them. Have you run thru all the menu options using the side buttons and camera display screen? Maybe audio settings are buried in there somewhere.

I suspect you won't be able to solve this for certain without testing the tapes in another deck. You may need to drop some money on eBay or Craigs List to buy another 8mm camcorder. Before doing that, try one last audio test: find a blank spot near the end of one of your "silent" tapes, and make a new recording of yourself talking for a minute. Play it back: if you can hear sound thru the camera speaker or via connection to your TV, the problem is in the old recordings and not the camera. In that case, you'll have to settle for soundless video or create your own music soundtrack.

[JVRaines]

Have you confirmed that your RCA audio cable works with other equipment?

I note that the same phono jack is used for audio input and output. Is there a menu setting to put it in the correct mode?