Hi8 & High Standard tapes

[y_not]

Usually I copy my own Hi8 tapes to DVD but I've been asked to copy a friends High Standard tapes....these are the same shape/size as my Hi8's but when played display a blank screen.

Are these analogue tapes that need an analogue camcorder to play them or am I doning something wrong, please?

[turk690]

There is standard 8 and Hi8. A standard 8-only analogue camcorder will only play standard 8, but a Hi8 camcorder will play both. Then there is Digital 8 (D8), which uses the DV architecture on top of the 8/Hi8 h/w so that we are all afforded digital recording on conventional 8/Hi8 tapes. All D8 camcorders will play D8-recorded tapes, but NOT ALL of them will play 8/Hi8 analogue tapes. As opposed to heavily promoting "will also play your existing analogue 8/Hi8 tape library" a year or two ago, on Sony's current D8 lineup, ONLY the topmost model WILL play analogue 8/Hi8 tapes (DCRTRV350K/356E); all other less fancy models below this (such as TRV147E/150K, TRV250E/K) will only play D8, and NOT analogue 8/Hi8 (analogue 8/Hi8 on the way out??). Sony seems to use the same h/w in its D8 camcorders borne out by that a PAL or NTSC D8 tape will play back comfortably on one or the other camcorder PAL or NTSC, and will output the correct DV signals (720x480 for NTSC, 720x576 PAL) at the iLink terminal. But this IS ONLY for D8. If you play a PAL analogue 8/Hi8 tape on an NTSC 8/Hi8/D8 camcorder you a blank screen, and vice-versa. Could be your case??

[Tihomir]

My "old horse" DCR TRV110E (the oldiest D8 SONY model) plays 8/Hi8/D8 and DV out works perfectly with all tape formats. Analogue ---> DV conversion gives excellent results.
Regards

[turk690]

Which gets my goat: AV in was standard across all models on the Sony D8 TRVx10 and TRx20 lines, but beginning with the TRVx30 to the current line TRVx50/5x they progressively only became available on the higher-end models. I was going to get another D8 and thought about the TRV150K thinking, like the TRV110 and 120, that it has analogue-in. No, it DOES NOT, and I ended up getting the TRV350K, which has analogue-in and pass-through and is NOT bad but it has features like memory stick yada-yada that I'd never use but of course paid for.