hi 8 to digital8 help!

[jimmyscouse]

Hi everyone new to site looks good so far.
Can anyone advise me please . I have lots of hi 8 tapes i would likd to edit and make dvd back up copies ( not hollywood standard , just so me and family can watch on dvd )

i have read in a magazine that one of the best ways to get the signal to digital ,would be to buy a digital 8 camcorder . the sony 480 was mentioned .

i noticed another model 480e ?? are they different i wonder , anyone know any info about these cameras ??

i have a laptop 2.4 processer speed
512 ram
30 gig hard drive & 300 gig external hard drive
firewire socket ??

is this adequate for editing
i saw the 480 on the net for around £250
Does anybody own such a camcorder , are they any good

would appreciate any advice thanks jim

[Toasty]

I have a sony digital 8 camera and it is compatible with Hi-8, so in theory you should be able to do what you want that way. Be aware that video editing requires a lot of PC "Grunt" as it were, or certainly with the tools I've used (mainly pinnacle).

An alternative would be to buy a decent DVD recorder (ideally with Hard drive) and link your current Hi-8 camcorder to this.

[Snubtray]

The 480e is the European model (PAL) and the 480 is for NSTC standards, I believe.

I recently bought a 480e to do just this job; as far as I am aware it is the only Digital8 camcorder currently on the market that will play Hi8 and Video8 tapes. It may well be the last.

As far as I can see the Sony is great for this job - it works fine, and my main reason for getting it was to digitise 30 or so Hi8 tapes.

The camera has a DV iLink (=Firewire) and this works well for capturing video. I use Videostudio 8 - it came with a Firewire card I bought, but Windows MovieMaker (the latest version that comes with the SP2 upgrade to Windows XP) also offers capture and editing capabilities.

However, if you think you are going to make a lot of new movies it might be worth your while getting a DV camcorder and transferring your tapes by connecting the two cameras - the DV camcorder would digitise the input, I believe. There's a small problem in that Hi8 tapes (mine at least) are 90 mins long and DV tapes are 60 mins. I couldn't do this because my old camera no longer works, and I didn't know anyone with a Hi8 model I could borrow.

For HDD storage be aware that 60mins of digitized footage = 13 GB; 90 mins = nearly 20 GB.

I also bought an inexpensive DVD Recorder (Cyberhome CH1600, £70, Asda) and this has a DV input so making straight unedited copies to DVD is a doddle - a 90 minute tape fits easily inside the 2-hour quality setting for DVD recording, and dubbing is not more than a single-button-press job.

[melliott1963]

Originally Posted by Snubtray

However, if you think you are going to make a lot of new movies it might be worth your while getting a DV camcorder and transferring your tapes by connecting the two cameras - the DV camcorder would digitise the input, I believe.

There's no need to do this as the Digital 8 camcorder, being digital, does the analogue to digital conversion.

I'm currently going through all my Hi8 tapes, capturing them on my Sony Digital 8 camcorder. However, once edited, I'm then, in addition to making the DVD's, saving all the footage back onto MiniDV tapes. As mentioned, you won't be able to get all 90 minutes on a MiniDV tape (unless you use long play which I don't), but it's easy enough to split your films so that they will fit. I do this because DVD is not reliable enough to have as a backup media.

[senu]

Digital 8 was developed to get a into "digital" and still be able to play older hi 8 tapes. I had one which is now too costly to repair .
The Camcorders are nice and well specced at the top end. PQ tends to be Typical Sony: More than acceptable.

When capturing ( hi8 material) to PC there is no timecode although there is analogue to digital conversion "on the fly".
Timecode not originally present cannot be added. Time code is useful for non-linear editing ( NLE) software to identify the variuos parts of your captured footage
Note that not all digital 8 camcorders are backwards compatible with Hi8 ( Very silly marketing on Sonys part, I think)
If Editing is not a paramount wish I think that recording to a good settop DVD recorder ( as suggested above) has a lot to commend it.
I did a bit of that myself. I note that you do wish to Edit though!
The PC route is certainly much more flexible and versatile but is more hassle and needs More of a hardware and software layout as well as some Know how.
Your hardware seems OK and Software choices abound .
We could make you a shortlist if you wish. For know how " ask and ye shall recieve"
Regarding your hardware, I have some concern about the capture speed of the external hard drive for video, and the interaction of your edit software program with video clips on an external media. I also think Ram of 1G is desirable.
Since the source is HI8 , PC editing doesnt not really promise better PQ but this method promises less "generational loss"
If you wish to get into the PC route ( I would) , connecting your HI-8 camera to a Mini-DV with analogue in and connecting that via firewire to a PC could enable you do digital capture ( to PC) and also archive the Hi-8 material to Mini DV tape simultaneously.
Even if you cant do this simultaneosly you could do it sequentially.
This is not as complicated as it sounds and may mean you dont need to buy a digital 8 camcorder now and then a Mini Dv later
Good luck