hi all. if possible could i have some advice on the following.

if i bought a tape high definition camcorder would it be able to play my old digital standard definition mini dv tapes as my old standard definition cam doesnt work anymore.

also my old analogue camcorder doesnt work so i cant access my old 8mm tapes.

i would like to really put all my old footage onto dvd/hard drive so i could edit and burn to dvd.

i suppose i could buy 2nd hand machines or go to a professional to do it all for me.

any advice much appreciated

have looked on ebay for 2nd hand analogue cams but there dont seem to be much about at the moment

[senu]

All HDV camcorders can play SD tapes

For 8mm you would need
a Hi 8 ,
Digital 8 ( which is backwards capable, not all are)
or
an
old video 8 machine:
as such there is a range of camcorders which widen your choice

For analogue the easiest thing would be to just record to a setop DVD recorder
If you dont have one to access to one you may need to use a pro service, depending on how many tapes you have.
If they are quite a few, you may be better off buying a camcorder and selling it off later
A set top DVD recorder need not be sold off as it will always come in handy

many thanks for your reply senu.

it looks like i might as well go for a hdv camcorder so i can play all my old minidvtapes although i was edging on the side of hdd/ms/sd.
i might just go for a fairly cheap one for now and look to upgrade in 18 months.

i do have a dvd recorder so will probalby look for a 2nd hand analogue camcorder.have been looking at the Sony CCD-TRV228E Hi8 Handycam on ebay which is £63 at the moment and has Audio (RCA), Composite (Video), S-Video outputs.

any more advice much appreciated

martin

[senu]

You are welcom
Rather than a cheap HDV ..just get any old MiniDV for £100 or thereabouts
As it happens unless you get a secnd hand HDV. , There are only 2 curren models . Canon HV 30 ( HV 20 is the one before) or Sohy HC 9 the chioce for consumer HDV is really very small
Even MiniDV ( SD) hasnt got a great range of current models although models from 2006-2008 will ensure a reasonable range
For shooting, shop carefully. for just viewing or transferring you can be a bit less fussy

just ordered a VHS-C MOTORISED CASSETTE ADAPTOR which i am hoping will enable me to play my old 8mm analogue tapes through my video recorder then on to dvd possibly.

also looking at purchasing the Sony Handycam DCR-HC19E Mini DV Camcorder so i can play all my old minidv tapes and again convert to dvd.

i think the dcr-hc19e also has dv in which could come in handy.

off to research more high definition camcorder now. oh what format shall i go for ? it is such a hard decision

[senu]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by mart62

just ordered a VHS-C MOTORISED CASSETTE ADAPTOR which i am hoping will enable me to play my old 8mm analogue tapes through my video recorder then on to dvd possibly.

It will not work. 8mm and VHS-C are different tape types

also looking at purchasing the Sony Handycam DCR-HC19E Mini DV Camcorder so i can play all my old minidv tapes and again convert to dvd.
i think the dcr-hc19e also has dv in which could come in handy

Fair enough.

off to research more high definition camcorder now. oh what format shall i go for ? it is such a hard decision

Threads with these abound!

what are vhsc cassettes then

thanks

martin

[senu]

Originally Posted by mart62

what are vhsc cassettes then

thanks

martin

They were a rival analogue format to Video 8 .. mainly developed by JVC. they had the advantage of being albe to play on full sized VHS players with the adaptor
Video 8 could only be played back only on its own camcorder

[MarkE19]

VHS-C camcorders record onto the same tape as VHS VCR's and also in the same format. The VHS-C tapes were just in a smaller case.
The VHS-C to VHS adapters just held the small case and pulled the tape into place so a standard VHS VCR could load and play back the recording.
No other analogue camcorder format (other than SVHS-C) can be put into these adapters as they use different recording formats and narrower tape and therefore can not be read by a VHS VCR.

Mark.

ok i get it now. oh well i will try and return it or try sell it on

i am in for an anologue cam on ebay at moment.

thanks for all the tips lads

recieved my analogue camcorder today off an e-bayer. i have tried about 10 8mm tapes and they are all just fuzzy. they are between 8-14 years old and just wondered if they would deteriote that much.

could i possibly need a head cleaner for the camcorder.

any advice much appreciated

martin

recieved an email from the guy and he said he recorded some footage and replayed the tape before he sent me the camcorder. am i using the wrong tapes he said.

the model is a sharp VL-E610 and the tapes are 8mm.

my original camcorder which i used to record and play the tapes on was a sony ccd-tr550e video 8 handycam

any advice please ???

martin

[Peter Brereton]

Are your tapes recorded in SP (standard play) mode? The Sony was designed to record in SP & LP speeds but the Sharp VL-E610 will not play tapes recorded in LP (long play) mode.
Try making a recording on the Sharp, if it plays it's own recordings correctly it is unlikely to be faulty.

Peter

Originally Posted by Peter Brereton

Are your tapes recorded in SP (standard play) mode? The Sony was designed to record in SP & LP speeds but the Sharp VL-E610 will not play tapes recorded in LP (long play) mode.
Try making a recording on the Sharp, if it plays it's own recordings correctly it is unlikely to be faulty.

Peter

thanks peter for that

how would i be able to tell if the original recordings were in short play or long play. i will ask the wife she may remember

martin