Have any Digital8 owners been able to archive Hi8 tapes to DVD-R via Firewire? (1 Viewer)

[John Pine]

I have a library (40) of Hi8 home video tapes that I would like to archive to DVD-R using my new Pany DMR-E95H which has S-Video & (IEEE 1394) Firewire inputs. I’m trying to maintain reference picture quality before these 10 year old tapes start to deteriorate. My old Sony Hi8 is running ok but it only has an S-Video out. I was considering buying a Digital8 camera to replace my Hi8 and also use it to archive these tapes to DVD-R. But, the manual on the Sony DCRTRV480 says, “You may not be able to create a DVD from an 8mm tape if it contains pictures recorded in a format other than Digital8 format”. Has anyone already tried this?

 

[Dave Crane]

If the camera outputs match the DVDR inputs, I can't think of a reason when they wouldn't work. What's worst case? Use S-Video.

 

[John Pine]

The problem is none of the Sony Digital8 cameras have an S-Video output. I was hoping to use the FireWire connection so as to maintain the highest resolution possible. I've been slightly disappointed with the resolution I'm getting going from my old Hi8(S-Video out) to my new Panny S-Video in. The picture looks fine when the camera is held still or nearly still, but when panning slowly or quickly you can see slight pixelation. I'm already recording in XP mode, which is the highest resolution. I'm also using good media, Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-R. I could continue to use my old Hi8 for transferring via S-Video to DVD-R. If I can’t use FireWire to transfer to DVD-R, than why bother with a Digital8 camera at all? I would just skip the Digital8 and get a MiniDV camera.

 

[Adam*M]

You can only transfer Digital 8 tapes over FireWire, since they are recorded digitally. Hi8 tapes are analog, so they will not transfer over FireWire, unless you use a DV bridge to go from analog (s-video/composite) to FireWire. There would be no advantage in doing this, since the source is still s-video, and your recorder can already accept an s-video input.

 

[John Pine]

That's what I wanted to confirm. Guess I'll be skipping the Digital8 format after all. Hope my Hi8 camera holds up till I can get everything transferred to DVD-R. Thanks Adam!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

What do you mean?

1. My D8 camcorder has S-Video output. Does Sony got rid of it now? (my camcorder is 6 years old)
2. I can use my camcorder as a bridge AND I can play Hi8 and Video8 tapes and automatically converted to iLink. Does Sony got rid of this feature too?

If they do, then it's ridiculous of them!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I just checked Sony's DCR-TRV480

1. It has S-Video input and output (using special cable)
2. It plays back Hi8 and Video8 tapes and can be converted directly into iLink.

Here's the quote:

"(8mm backwards compatibility lets you easily convert analog 8mm & Hi8™ tapes to digital)"

"Video In/Out (Special, S-Video and Composite)"

They may be wrong, so make sure you can find a manual before buying the unit.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

PS: according to camcorderinfo.com however, the DCRTRV480 does NOT have S-Video option.

 

[John Pine]

Thanks for checking Kelly. Instead, I bought a Panny DVD-R burner that I'm happy with.

 

[arsh]

Is there any VCR to DVD recorder, Digital, high 8 to dvd?

 

[Mark Tranchant]

I'm a bit late on this, but the old Hitachi VMD-[89]65 D8 camcorders will output DV over Firewire from a Hi8 tape.