Converting 8mm and Hi8 tapes...

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Level 1

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Converting 8mm and Hi8 tapes...

Hi,

I've been meaning to get around to converting some old family 8mm and Hi8 tapes to my MacBook Pro for simple editing, archiving, and burning to DVD. I've read around on the process quite a bit and thought I had an answer in terms of getting my hands on a Digital8 camera that could handle analog conversion, but now I'm learning that some Digital8 models aren't compatible with iMovie and OS 10.5 ...

The basics, as I understand them, are this:

To transfer analog 8mm and Hi8 tapes, first you need something that's going to play them. Yeah, so I have a Canon Vixia HV30, but being a MiniDV camcorder, these are apples and oranges here, and that's not going to help. I don't have access to the original 8mm or Hi8 cameras, and even if I did, they wouldn't be giving me digital outputs. So what I want is a Digital8 camcorder, as they have digital outputs and are backwards compatible with 8mm and Hi8. As I've learned, however, as Digital8 started to become obsolete, the mid-range models got weaker and now half of the used Digital8 camcorders on the (used) market apparently don't do analog-digital conversion.

So the question is thus: does anyone know of a Digital 8 camcorder that will do 8mm/Hi8 analog playback/digital output, that iMovie HD on my MacBook Pro will be able to understand?

Are there any details I'm missing here? Is there different software I could use? I'm willing to spend 200 or 300 bucks, but given I'll probably already have to take a chance on the purchase via eBay or Craiglist, it would be nice not to have to spend more.

Macbook Pro 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Feb 12, 2009 7:59 AM

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Answer 1

Klaus1

Level 9

52,805 points

Feb 12, 2009 10:08 AM in response to andrewrose

I have done loads of such conversions - not least because my video camera IS an analogue Hi8 tape camera! 🙂

So, as an alternative to using a digital camera with an analogue to digital pass-through function, invest in a proper converter such as, for example, the Canopus ADVC110.

The camera connects to the Canopus using standard RCA cables, and to the Mac by firewire - don't forget, iMovie 5 and 6 will ONLY accept a DV stream via firewire.

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Answer 2

andrewrose Author

Level 1

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Feb 12, 2009 10:32 AM in response to Klaus1

I don't see how that helps in my case, though. What's going to actually play the old analog tapes? Unless you can actually pop tapes into the Canopus converters? Forgive my ignorance if that's the case.

I've since learned that my MiniDV machine can do the pass through conversion, which is great. Now I just need a machine that will reliably playback the old analog tapes. Can anyone recommend a good Hi8 or Digital8 model that fits this description which I'd be able to find relatively cheap?

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Answer 3

Klaus1

Level 9

52,805 points

Feb 12, 2009 10:42 AM in response to andrewrose

Sorry, I assumed (one should never do that!) that you still had the camera/s that took the original videos.

You could try to get a cheap one on eBay just to play back the tapes.

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Answer 4

Feb 12, 2009 11:13 AM in response to andrewrose

Sorry, not a techie here, but I think I have a similar (not same) predicament. I "upgraded" from ILife 5 to ILife 6 recently. IMOVIE 5 read my camcorder just fine, but for some reason IMOVIE 6 does not. It is a pretty old Sony 8 mm DV camera, but still takes decent movies. Using firewire.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks.

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Answer 5

Klaus1

Level 9

52,805 points

Feb 12, 2009 11:17 AM in response to richndara

Your problem may not be exactly the same as that of the original poster of this thread, and it can be very confusing for everybody if we try to answer more than one question in each thread.

In order for us to give your problem our undivided attention in order to try to solve it, would you kindly start your own thread, describing the trouble you are having in the fullest detail, including completing your details to show what Mac you are using, what operating system, and what version of the application in question.

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Answer 6

jerseypa

Level 1

6 points

Feb 12, 2009 11:38 AM in response to andrewrose

I am probably th LEAST knowledgeable person on this forum, but ...... I own a wonderful Sony DCR TRV 103. It is dying. It worked fine with imovie and my imac. I actually called and sony will still repair it for about $250. which I may still do, even though I bought a canon HV30. You can sometimes get the Sony that I have on ebay. Sony also sells a high8 player, but that is around $500. About 10 years ago, I wanted to transfer my parents 8mm tapes and what I ended up doing was to sit down with my mom (89 years old) in the dark basement, play the old tapes with the projected and I set up my camcorder next to mom so I could get her recollections on the tape but I also got the click, click, click of the projector.

I know most wouldn't want the sound of the projector, but it's ok... I am so thrilled to have mom's voice explaining who is who in the video. However, I do understand I could use soundsoap to delete that sound.... I don't know.

So,that is my input. That Sony DCR TRV 103 worked great with my imac.

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Answer 7

Feb 13, 2009 12:47 PM in response to andrewrose

My Sony TRV-330 is a Digital8 camcorder which will convert 8mm and Hi-8 tapes by sending the video and audio out through its FireWire connection.

I think that others in the same series (..i.e; TRV-230, TRV-430, etc..) do the same. For more info on these models, Google for their instruction manuals on the web.

There may be some incompatibility between these and the latest versions of iMovie, such as iMHD, iMHD6, etc ..but these are often resolved by putting a clip of DV (digital video) at the start of a project into which you're importing, playing that video clip first, and then starting an import: that tells iMovie exactly what you're trying to import. (..Other tricks are to press Play on the camcorder first, before clicking on the Import button in iMovie, or starting the camera before starting the program, etc.)

(The older the version of iMovie - e.g; iMovie 2.1.2 - the fewer compatibility problems.)

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