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/>
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