Hi8 vcr, better playback than a Hi8 camcorder?

[Knightmessenger]

I've seen Hi8 vcr's on eBay a lot and I've been thinking whether it might be worth it to use that for my captures instead of a regular camcorder.
I have two working Hi8's that can output HiFi stereo audio (TRV 75 & TRV 615, both from 1998 I believe). I can use my computer for any editing. However, with so many Hi8 tapes (I probably have over 200), I'm thinking it might be better to use a device specifically designed solely for playback. Most if not all of my Hi8 tapes are in good condition with only a few being from before 2000.
Do you think a Hi8 vcr would give better picture on playback than a pretty good Hi8 camera? I know a good s-vhs vcr or good laserdisc player can make a big difference in picture quality. I'm wondering if that's also true with Hi8. And what are some of the good Hi8 models if any of you know?

[RickA]

Greetings,

I know little of Hi8's but I do agree with you on the concept that a good player should be designed more for playing back tapes. While the camcorder should be designed more for recording then playing back. A playback deck would also take the extra wear off your camcorder and extend it's life . Good luck on your project.

Cheers,
Rick

[JimboS]

I personnally have never heard of a Hi-8 type player....And I aint young!!!!
Maybe I'm wrong...
Hi-8 was , as far as I know, play back thru the cam to the TV...and that was it...
Please post a place where you "think" you can get a Hi-8 player...

[Marvingj]

I have several Hi 8 decks, Sony EV-S2000 Hi8 VCR. It is a great deck has great picture. The camcorder should be just as effective. The only reason I have Hi 8 decks is because I do alot of conversion for personal & business usage. If you not willing to shell out 600- to 1000 dollars use the camcorder. Plus they are hard to find & get fix. Hope it helps..

[olyteddy]

I have an EV-S9000 Sony deck but the HiFi audio track is mono. If you're shopping for a deck and HiFi Stereo matters to you watch the specs closely...

[kimco52]

Hi8 is Hi8. The playback should basically be the same from the camcorder or deck. Some decks have better processing. I have the Sony EVC100 Hi8 deck and it works great, although the heads are getting worn down and need cleaning often.

I also use a Sony EVS5000, which is a Hi8 editing deck with all the bells and whistles. Don't use them much anymore because I do everything pretty much on the computer. But it is also an excellent Hi8 deck.

What I really need is a Digital 8 deck and a good low cost mini DV deck.

[edDV]

Hi8 decks were made for various purposes. Most were for integration into analog editing systems. Not all have the features you need like HiFi analog or PCM digital audio outputs. Most if not all Digital8 camcorders only see the linear audio tracks for Hi8. The Sony GV-D200 and some higher end player models digitize Hi8 to DV format and can select AFM (HiFi) or PCM tracks for conversion.

[Knightmessenger]

So, based on your responses, it seems that while they may have some interesting features, I won't get much of an improvement in picture quality over a camcorder. Am I interpreting correctly?
They can be found on eBay but some of the features are things I'm not sure I want. I don't know what the point would be of outputting a PCM signal since that's what it becomes when I capture it to my computer. I don't have a Digital8 camera and I certainly wouldn't want to convert it to DV since that will actually lose quality. Most of my captures have been converted into DV format which isn't as good as an uncompressed capture. I recently got the PDI (also called Sweetspot) capture card and noticed an improvement but I have a problem with image cropping. If anyone could help, I would really appreciate it.

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic335815.html

[edDV]

DV is more than good enough to capture Hi8. Depends how you want to process it.

PCM is digital audio (2Ch 16bit same as DV format). Pro Hi8 cameras recorded PCM digital audio in addition to AFM and linear stereo tracks.