The analog inputs on my camcorder don't say in or out, you just plug into them and if you're trying to input, they're inputs. If you're outputting, they're outputs. Are you positive yours only output? Even the camcorder I had from the 80's could do this.

Sonic, I'll check again at home. If I can play to the mini-dv camcorder from my old 8mm, and record on the mini-dv, will I lose any quality?

Well yes,
the MiniDV camcorders don't have a TBC or DNR, not so much a quality issue as they cannot compensate for the timing errors you get in analogue. This leads to things like 'flagging' of the image.

To answer your previous question, as far as I know the TRV280 will do the job nicely, yes firewire into the computer from you Hi8 tapes.
You just put the Hi8 tape into the camera and the camera plays it back and you capture via firewire, you even get transport control.

This was the whole concept behind Sony developing the Digital 8 format. Digital 8 is a superior format to MiniDV, I've yet to see a dropout on Digital 8, wider tracks, higher write speed, wider tape.

Bob.

2 options the way I see it:

1. conect 2 camcorders are record from one to the other. Then use digital camcorder to upload to pc

2. use digital 8mm to upload to pc

what's the better option in terms of quality? Will one way be considerably better than the other?

Option 2

With option 1) the signal has to go through either a composite or S-Video connection which will loose some quality, might not be noticeable using S-Video but certainly nothing is gained. Also with option 1) you loose the ability to control the 'VCR' from VidCap and of course you have to deal with and power two devices.

Bob.

I have a Sony DCR-TRV120 that continues to work great for me. I've captured many an old 8mm tape with it. I can also pass a VHS tape through it as well. It sounds like you should be looking for a used Digital 8.
Here's a start:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-DCR-TRV120-Digital-8-Camcorder-W-ACC-LOOK_W0QQitemZ7607757528QQcategoryZ48512QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

(Perhaps I need to search for that thread that explains posting hyperlinks.)

(Perhaps I need to search for that thread that explains posting hyperlinks.)

To create a link, you type this:

<a href="http://www.google.com">Google Main Page</a>

and that creates this:

Google Main Page


To open that link in a new window, you type this:

<a href="http://www.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Main Page</a>

to get this:

Google Main Page


How do I include HTML characters in my post so that they show up as chacters rather than generate HTML code?

You use the HTML ampersand (&) codes in place of the character itself. For instance, to get the

<

to appear, but not be interpreted as HTML, you type

&#38

If you type this, and then submit your post to the Sony forum, all you will get is the

<

character, and it will NOT be interpreted as HTML code. You then do this for every other special character in the HTML syntax.

Now, don't even think of asking me how I got &#38 to appear above instead of just the < character.

Here are many of the codes

 &#38 &

 &#34 "

 &#47 /   slash 

 &#48- 9  digits 0-9 

 &#58 :   colon 

 &#59 ;   semicolon 

 &#60 <   less-than sign 

 &#61 =   equals sign 

 &#62 >   greater-than sign 

 &#63 ?   question mark 

 &#64 @   at sign 

 &#65- &#90;  uppercase letters A-Z 

 &#91 [   left square bracket 

 &#92 \   backslash 

 &#93 ]   right square bracket 

 &#94 ^   caret 

 &#95 _   horizontal bar (underscore) 

 &#96 `   grave accent 

 &#97- &#122;  lowercase letters a-z 

 &#123 {   left curly brace 

 &#124 |   vertical bar 

 &#8226 bullet

OK...this is driving me crazy!

I picked up a new digital-8 camcorder (Sony DCR-TRV280). Tried my old 8mm tapes in the camera and they don't play. Screen shows up as blue with no video and no sound. Tried connecting to Vegas and camcorder is recognized, however screen is blue.

What now? Can this camcorder play old 8 mm tapes? Can I use pass-through on this one? Am I missing something simple?

Well it would seem Sony have dudded us on this one!
The TRV 280 will not playback 8 or Hi8 tapes, i.e. they violated their own spec! The TRV 480 will playback 8 and Hi8!

If you're not planning on using it for much more than playing back 8mm tapes I'd be checking out a second hand older model. All the models that play Hi8 have a Hi8 sticker on them.

Piece of sh-- Sony camera!

guess I'm looking for another one

I went through this hassle at one time. The main objective was to save money. Well, let's see.....1st I bought a video card with S-video inputs, although I could get a signal recorded to the computer, I had audio and video sync problems. Then I thought I'd save money by buying the 'datavideo DAC-100', much like the Canopus ADVC100, it was great for cable and satellite signals, but had major drop-outs on some VHS and S-VHS tapes when trying to copy (no TBC or DNR), Then I decided to check into the used Sony Dig 8, which meant I had to dig into Sonys website to find the info on which models could do this. It's mostly the older models with the model numbers ending with 30 or 40 and some older 20's. (ie: TRV-140 or TRV730) Even researching, not all models can play 8mm or Hi 8, but only provide pass-thru. (and not all models have pass-thru)
I bought a used TRV-730 and it's a great A/D converter. Yes, buying used can be risky, like if you buy from Ebay, just insist on using a seller with a very high rating (like 99.5 or higher)
It's mostly other camera shops trying to sell these, and they usually charge a little more. You can get better deals from a private party but you'll get some competition from other buyers when the prices get cheap.
I usually don't put in my bid until about 3 minutes before the auction runs out. That's when the action really happens.
My original point was, I ended up buying a VIdeo card with inputs ($200. at the time), then the 'datavideo DAC100' was $180. and I paid a little too much for my used Sony TRV-730 when I paid $300 for it.) But remember, besides a great converter, I also have a very nice camera that has a lot of features that all seem to work fine. I bought a 2nd used Sony TRV-320, this time I got lucky and got it from a private party for only $113.50 and it was like brand new and has been doing a great job now for about 6 months.
When researching models, you have to dig through the instruction manual to see if it has all the features you want. This takes some time.
Just remember, you're getting both a camera and a converter and you can't expect to get both for $100. very often.

Are you sure that camera doesn't play Hi8? Just to be safe, make sure you checked "on" for A/V to DV in the menu. If you have that set to "off" you'll get a blue screen even though Vegas recognizes the camera.

where do I find the "a/v to Dv" option?

Skanji,

I'm not familiar with that model but there should be a menu button somewhere. Scroll through the menu until you find A/V -> DV. Make sure it is set to "on". If there is a blue screen in the viewfinder when you play a tape then the assumption that it doesn't play Hi8 sounds correct.

checked the menu and found nothing. Also checked the manual and it says that camcorder does not play 8 mm tapes recorded on non-digital cameras.

Bummer. You are just having a heck of a time with this. Sorry.

Hate to say this but a bit of research elsewhere would have saved a lot of grief. Just type the model number of any camera into Google and you'll almost certainly find some usefull info somewhere.
In general I think ANY of the Sony D8 kit that'll play 8/Hi8 has big ugly stickers on it saying "8mm" and "Hi8" so all you need to find is a review of the camera with a photo of the thing.
I must admit I'm staggered that Sony have omitted this feature, I was under the false assumption that ALL their D8 gear did 8/Hi8, anything to save a nickle I guess. I've also read that the mechanical quality of that model is pretty appalling AND it's a bottom feeder.

Bob.

Planning on picking up the Sony DCR-DVD405 this weekend. As farss mentioned, I'm doind a bit more homework first this time. Reading on-line, this camera does support pass-through:

"The ports on the left side of the camcorder are directly beneath the LCD screen. The most forward port cover wraps around the bottom and front edge of the LCD and is opened via two tabs located on its back and bottom edge. This port cover is massively oversized, with over half of the cover masking nothing but the body of the camcorder. It’s connected to the camcorder via a hinge that is hardly durable. Beneath the cover are two ports, one for the Remote/LANC and one for a Hi-Speed USB connection. The port cover directly behind this port and fully beneath the LCD screen is opened via a tab on its back edge. This port cover has a hinge on its bottom edge which makes accessing the two ports beneath it problematic if the camcorder is on a flat surface or a tripod head. The ports beneath this cover are an A/V-in/out and a DC-in jack. Since the A/V port is capable of supporting both in and outward video and audio signals, the user can engage in analog to digital pass-through. This is a great feature to have when recording from external playback devices which don’t have a digital interface option."

My question is as follows. What will I need to connect the 2 cameras together in terms of wiring? also, the camera advertises a high-speed USB port, but no firewire port...can this be true?

I'll warn you right now, you do not want to use USB for your transfers. The USB port is for either poorly encoded Mpeg recordings the camera can make or for using the camera as a web-cam. You will have nothing but problems trying to make an .avi using a USB port. Firewire is the only way to go.
I don't know of any new Sony Dig 8s that have pass-thru or play 8mm or Hi-8 tapes.
The one piece of good news I can tell you, is most used cameras are really hardly ever used, and I've had good luck, so far. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but most people just don't use them very often.
Forget about USB unless you want a nice web-cam.
Get on Ebay and search for used Sony Dig 8s, then research the models. If it's made out of plastic, you probably don't want it. Like I said earlier, the models starting in the high hundreds and ending with 30 or 40 and some older 20's. (as in TRV-*30....like 730, 830,) be sure it is NTSC, if you're american as there are some for sale that are PAL. (I think, but not sure, they end with a 5 in the model number.)

Heavens above, that's a DVD camcorder so no wonder it will not do pass through OR have a firewire port. Completely and utterly useless piece of junk, don't know why you're even looking at this.

Trust me, buy the TRV 480, I believe that will do what you need.
Note in this review:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-DCR-TRV480-Camcorder-Review.htm

half way down the page there's a photo of the camera that shows a sticker with "Hi8, 8mm" on it, that's what you have to llok for.

It seems it's a pretty crappy camera and as said by many of us eBay would be a good place to look if you're after a better camera.
I've got the old TRV320 which is built like a tank, survived many overseas trips, freezing cold, boiling hot, sandstorms etc. There's other models from that vintage that are also quite nice cameras, nothing compared to the newer HDV gear of course but you're after a camera that you can use as a converter, for that role even if the lens is broken doesn't matter.

Bob.

I've found a good deal on the following: SONY CCD-TRV138 HI-8 20X CAMCORDER
My initial assessment is that it will do the job, however I wanted to make sure I was right this time...any input???

Did you assess how you were going to get the signal to your computer?

Were trying to get through to you. You've just listed a Hi-8 cam. That couldn't possibly have a firewire output.
Listen carefully:
sony DIGITAL 8, that can play 8mm or Hi-8 (it's that simple)

It must be a digital 8....they are the ones that have the built in converter and may be able to play 8mm or Hi-8 and have FIREWIRE output.
If you buy just a Hi-8 cam, then you're going to need the Canopus ADVC-300
DIGITAL 8
DIGITAL 8
DIGITAL 8
When you use a search..., type in, Sony Digital 8, then go thru the manual to see if it can play 8mm or Hi-8