How do I transfer Digital8 / Hi8 footage in full resolutio..

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
am open to any better ideas as far as software.

Thanks so much for any help you can give.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On 16 Jul 2004 12:17:34 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:

>I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
>format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
>a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
>a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
>to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
>them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
>data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
>am open to any better ideas as far as software.
>
>Thanks so much for any help you can give.


40 tapes at 13gb per hour will take a considerable ammount of
hard-drive space.

dvd as data can hold approx 4.3gb , so 3 for every hour of dv footage.

you would be better buying the minidv cam , copying the tapes from
digital 8 to the mini dv camera by firewire and storing the footage
on minidv tapes.
then sell the digital8 camera

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On 16 Jul 2004 12:17:34 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:

>I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
>format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
>a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
>a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
>to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
>them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
>data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
>am open to any better ideas as far as software.

Some possibilities:

1) Copy to miniDV tapes. Costs so much you could as well keep your old
cam. Also, tapes are mechanically delicate. I had enough trouble with
that.

2) Copy to DVD in DV format. About 3 per hour, still cheaper than
tapes.

3) Cncode to DVD (MPEG2) format at highest quality setting. Do not do
this with Pinnacle, get a very good MPEG2 encoder instead. I would
recommend Cinema Craft Encoder Basic at about 9000 kbps (CBR) which
will store about 1 hr per DVD, encode in about real time on a 3 GHz
CPU, and retain almost 100% of the quality.
Even including the price of the program, maybe the cheapest way.
Studio9 BTW can do edit jobs from MPEG2 quite well.
If you take the time for some authoring, you may include chapter marks
every minute or so and have much better access to anything than with
tape.
With some advanced filtering, you may even get DVDs that look better
than the original footage, but this takes several times as long and
may drive you mad with 40 hrs of material. Anyway, I did this once
with 20 hrs, it is possible.
Check my web page for more detail.

Cheers


http://www.codecpage.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Hi

One way to do this is:
1) Buy a new digital video camera and a firewire card.
2) Plug your Sony Digital 8 camcorder (analog out port) into the new
digital video camera (analog in port)
3) Connect the new digital camera (firewire out) to the PC firewire
card.
4) Capture the video using Pinnacle.

This is the method I've been using to convert my old video into
digital format - using the new digital videocam as a analog-to-digital
converter.

Gary
www.desktop-video-guide.com

codecpage <nospam-codecbox@email.com> wrote in message news:<8hmgf0djru5677oh969jb87u6i2sd1h6hd@4ax.com>...
> On 16 Jul 2004 12:17:34 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:
>
> >I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
> >format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
> >a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
> >a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
> >to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
> >them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
> >data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
> >am open to any better ideas as far as software.
>
> Some possibilities:
>
> 1) Copy to miniDV tapes. Costs so much you could as well keep your old
> cam. Also, tapes are mechanically delicate. I had enough trouble with
> that.
>
> 2) Copy to DVD in DV format. About 3 per hour, still cheaper than
> tapes.
>
> 3) Cncode to DVD (MPEG2) format at highest quality setting. Do not do
> this with Pinnacle, get a very good MPEG2 encoder instead. I would
> recommend Cinema Craft Encoder Basic at about 9000 kbps (CBR) which
> will store about 1 hr per DVD, encode in about real time on a 3 GHz
> CPU, and retain almost 100% of the quality.
> Even including the price of the program, maybe the cheapest way.
> Studio9 BTW can do edit jobs from MPEG2 quite well.
> If you take the time for some authoring, you may include chapter marks
> every minute or so and have much better access to anything than with
> tape.
> With some advanced filtering, you may even get DVDs that look better
> than the original footage, but this takes several times as long and
> may drive you mad with 40 hrs of material. Anyway, I did this once
> with 20 hrs, it is possible.
> Check my web page for more detail.
>
> Cheers
>
>
> http://www.codecpage.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On 16 Jul 2004 12:17:34 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:

>I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
>format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
>a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
>a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
>to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
>them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
>data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
>am open to any better ideas as far as software.

DV tape costs less than DVD -- though it is getting closer. You
need 3 DVDs per hour of DV tape (or D8 or Hi8), but only one miniDV
tape. So the obvious least expensive way to transfer to DV compatible
format is to MiniDV.

That means you're best off keeping your old camcorder until you get
the new one. Or borrowing one to make the copies to MiniDV.

If you're digital 8 model plays Hi8, copying is very simple. Hook
up the cameras using firewire, copy from one to the other.


Another option depends on just how much you expect to get for the
old D8 camcorder. You'll need at least 40 tapes (Hi8 two hour
recordings would need more than one 60 minute tape, obviously). The
cost of those will cut into whatever you make from selling the
camcorder. A second camcorder can come in quite handy, so you might
consider simply keeping it. No cost for new tapes, no time spent
copying them. No worries about erasing all of that material before
you try to sell off the used tapes.

--
*-__Jeffery Jones__________| *Starfire* |____________________-*
** Muskego WI Access Channel 14/25 <http://www.execpc.com/~jeffsj/mach7/>
*Starfire Design Studio* <http://www.starfiredesign.com/>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Jeffery S. Jones wrote:
> On 16 Jul 2004 12:17:34 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:
>
>
>>I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
>>format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
>>a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
>>a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
>>to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
>>them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
>>data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
>>am open to any better ideas as far as software.
>
>
> DV tape costs less than DVD -- though it is getting closer. You
> need 3 DVDs per hour of DV tape (or D8 or Hi8), but only one miniDV
> tape. So the obvious least expensive way to transfer to DV compatible
> format is to MiniDV.
>
> That means you're best off keeping your old camcorder until you get
> the new one. Or borrowing one to make the copies to MiniDV.
>
> If you're digital 8 model plays Hi8, copying is very simple. Hook
> up the cameras using firewire, copy from one to the other.
>
>
> Another option depends on just how much you expect to get for the
> old D8 camcorder. You'll need at least 40 tapes (Hi8 two hour
> recordings would need more than one 60 minute tape, obviously). The
> cost of those will cut into whatever you make from selling the
> camcorder. A second camcorder can come in quite handy, so you might
> consider simply keeping it. No cost for new tapes, no time spent
> copying them. No worries about erasing all of that material before
> you try to sell off the used tapes.

There are some obvious advantages to that approach. But you should also
consider that the digital 8 will eventually die. When that happens, it
may be difficult to replace, and your old tapes will no longer be useable.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Gary Hendricks said:

>>1) Buy a new digital video camera and a firewire card.
2) Plug your Sony Digital 8 camcorder (analog out port) into the new
digital video camera (analog in port)>>

Why would you use the analog port since both cameras will have firewire? yYou
can copy to the new camera with no loss if you use firewire.





Dave
http://members.tripod.com/~VideoDave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 16:26:21 -0400, Ed Anson <EdAnson@comcast.net>
wrote:

>Jeffery S. Jones wrote:
>> On 16 Jul 2004 12:17:34 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have about 40 recorded tapes (some in Digital 8 and some in Hi 8
>>>format) that I would like to transfer to my computer. I currently own
>>>a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, but I will be selling it soon and getting
>>>a new MiniDV camcorder. Because the footage on these tapes is valuable
>>>to me and I will no longer be able to access them, how can I transfer
>>>them unedited in the highest quality to my hard drive and eventually a
>>>data DVD? I have Pinnacle Studio 8 (thinking of upgrading to 9), but I
>>>am open to any better ideas as far as software.
>>
>>
>> DV tape costs less than DVD -- though it is getting closer. You
>> need 3 DVDs per hour of DV tape (or D8 or Hi8), but only one miniDV
>> tape. So the obvious least expensive way to transfer to DV compatible
>> format is to MiniDV.
>>
>> That means you're best off keeping your old camcorder until you get
>> the new one. Or borrowing one to make the copies to MiniDV.
>>
>> If you're digital 8 model plays Hi8, copying is very simple. Hook
>> up the cameras using firewire, copy from one to the other.
>>
>>
>> Another option depends on just how much you expect to get for the
>> old D8 camcorder. You'll need at least 40 tapes (Hi8 two hour
>> recordings would need more than one 60 minute tape, obviously). The
>> cost of those will cut into whatever you make from selling the
>> camcorder. A second camcorder can come in quite handy, so you might
>> consider simply keeping it. No cost for new tapes, no time spent
>> copying them. No worries about erasing all of that material before
>> you try to sell off the used tapes.
>
>There are some obvious advantages to that approach. But you should also
>consider that the digital 8 will eventually die. When that happens, it
>may be difficult to replace, and your old tapes will no longer be useable.

Eventually is likely to be a very long time. Sony has too many Hi8
users out there who can use digital 8. By the time Digital 8 is no
longer made at all, the tapes may be unusable simply due to old age.

If it looks like D8 is going to vanish, then you can transfer the
stuff. I'd generally assume that it will get transferred well before
that in editing, to DVD or whatever (DVD being the most likely current
candidate for final form).

--
*-__Jeffery Jones__________| *Starfire* |____________________-*
** Muskego WI Access Channel 14/25 <http://www.execpc.com/~jeffsj/mach7/>
*Starfire Design Studio* <http://www.starfiredesign.com/>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Thanks so much for everyones great suggestions. I really appreciate
the input.

I am not planning on selling any of the used tapes, but I want to
transfer them to DVD anyway. I am not concerned so much with the Hi8 /
Digital8 format disappearing (which I believe it will eventually) but
with the tape deteriating over the years of storage. I realize that
DVDs can deteriate as well, but I wouldn't think nearly as bad as the
tapes.

The cost of MiniDV vs. DVD is not an issue. I ran across a great deal
a little while back on blank DVDs and bought a ton of them.

A still have a couple of questions:

What is the best way to actually copy the material over from the
camcorder?

Can I edit the material on these tapes a bit with Pinnacle Studio 9
(remove the dead parts, put titles at the beginning of sections) and
still save it in the original quality DV format? Do I lose a
generation this way?

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On 20 Jul 2004 09:05:35 -0700, elvisman@gmail.com (Elvisman) wrote:

>What is the best way to actually copy the material over from the
>camcorder?
1)Playing Hi8 and D8 with a D8 camera anc capturing with a firewire
card.
2)Playing Hi8 with a Hi8 camera and hook it to a D8 or DV camera that
can do analog in/ digital out conversion.
I tried both versions, usually the first one should be marginally
better, but that depends on the devices used.

>Can I edit the material on these tapes a bit with Pinnacle Studio 9
>(remove the dead parts, put titles at the beginning of sections) and
>still save it in the original quality DV format? Do I lose a
>generation this way?
You don't, as long as you only cut and add titles.
Anyway, once digital, generation losses are almost invisible.

Cheers


http://www.codecpage.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Elvisman" wrote ...
> What is the best way to actually copy the material over from the
> camcorder?

I agree with "codecpage" that using a D8 camcorder seems like
the best way of capturing Hi8 to DV for transfer/storage/editing.
Be sure and get a D8 camcorder that bills itself as playing Hi8
as I have heard rumors that some are not backward-compatible.

> Can I edit the material on these tapes a bit with Pinnacle Studio 9
> (remove the dead parts, put titles at the beginning of sections) and
> still save it in the original quality DV format? Do I lose a
> generation this way?

Once it is converted to DV, you will likely see no further visible
deterioration.

 

[burnz22]

40 tapes at 13gb per hour will take a considerable ammount of
hard-drive space.

dvd as data can hold approx 4.3gb , so 3 for every hour of dv footage.

you would be better buying the minidv cam , copying the tapes from
digital 8 to the mini dv camera by firewire and storing the footage
on minidv tapes.
then sell the digital8 camera[/quotemsg]



How do I copy the tapes from digital8 to the miniDV camera. Do I keep the tapes inside both cameras. The Digital8 camcorder that I used does not have a USB port. What do I do. Please help.