Mysterious problem with hi8 tape playback!

[cecile]

I'm in the middle of converting old hi8 tapes into digital format. After a long and frustrating hunt I managed to buy a Sony DCR-TRV110, which should have done the job. However when I first tried playing a hi8 tape with it, there was a problem with vertical line interference (i.e. vertical lines running across the screen) and no audio. I was just about to return it, when all of a sudden it started playing the tapes perfectly! I even managed to digitise a couple of tapes, then took a break for a few weeks.

When I wanted to continue the digitising, the same problem I had at the beginning had returned. I bought a head-cleaning tape and cleaned the heads for a couple of times, made no difference. I re-wound and fast-forwarded the tapes several times, no difference. I tried playing about ten different hi8 tapes, but had the same problem every time. Even the tapes that I already managed to digitise (and that played back perfectly well last time) don't work now.

Today, I bought a brand new digital-8 tape and it works fine (i.e. records and plays back fine) so I've come to the conclusion that the camera appears to have an issue of some sort with reading hi-8 tapes. I'm completely baffled, as at first it didn't play them back, then it did, and now it won't again. What's going on? I'm wondering whether I've changed a setting in the camera by accident but I can't work out what it could be. Changing the format to hi8 won't make any difference.

Any tips, suggestions, ideas as to what i could do?

[filmboss80]

Years back, I had a Canon Hi-8 that recorded and played back tapes just fine until one day when the skew slipped and the tracking changed. The tapes shot prior to the slip played back thereafter with horrible tracking problems (also affecting the Hi-fi audio), while the tapes shot after the skew slippage played back just fine. In order to get the old tapes to play back correctly, I had to take the cover off the camera and adjust the skew control (not recommended), but then that messed up playback for the tapes recorded after the slip. It was a mess.

It sounds like you are encountering a similar problem, and unfortunately there is no tracking control on Hi-8 camcorders.

It sucks.

[zoobie]

weird, indeed

did you happen to remove the battery? sometimes the settings are reset when you do...if you didn't, try removing/reinserting it as you've nothing to lose...keeping messing with the settings if there are any

I've a canon hi8 myself...still runs fine

[2Bdecided]

Is the problem visible on the camcorder itself, or only on the PC?

If the latter, could it be the capture software? Are you running it on its own, or with something at the same time?

"Weird lines" might be interlacing. If you run one video program at a time you might get nice automatic deinterlacing, while if you have two running at once, one often stop deinterlacing and displays the frames as-is.

Unlikely, but I've had it happen.

I've also had the problem with heads going out of alignment. You need professional help with that.

Cheers,
David.

[dLee]

I have had, and am still having, the same issues with my Hi8 tapes.

My solution is to play them over and over until they start working and then capture them in their entirety. Some segments still have problems - I go back and play them until they work and then capture - one tape at a time.

While my old Sony Hi8 camcorder was dying, the tapes would sometimes play and sometimes not. I thought it was a tape degradation issue, until it became obvious that it was the camcorder.

After I got a Sony GV-D200, the tapes played flawlessly at first. After returning to capture more of my Hi8 material after a layoff, some of the old symptoms reappeared.

I think playing them is key - the tape is engaged with the heads. FF and RW are good for tape tension issues, but the tape path in those instances bypasses the heads / drum. I never use head cleaning tapes.

Someone here commented that Hi8 tapes are fragile or fussy - they're right.

[zoobie]

I probaby would have bought a cheap "play only" POS hi8 cam off ebay, run them off, then resell it

[dLee]

I probaby would have bought a cheap "play only" POS hi8 cam off ebay, run them off, then resell it

Your way would have been much cheaper, but I've had bad luck with electronics and eBay. It must have been at the top of a wave of interest in Hi8 when I did it because prices for new and used were high and not that much of a difference between them.