Comments

prairiedogpics wrote on 10/18/2002, 1:29 PM
The best way to capture Hi-8 footage is through an analog-to-digital converter like the Canopus ADVC-100. It will convert it to 720x480 DV AVI files. You would then render these to MPEG2 DVD files in VV3. Search this forum for the ADVC-100 for more tips.

Dan
Erk wrote on 10/18/2002, 2:15 PM
Sony Digital 8 camcorders will play back Hi 8 tapes. Perhaps someone has one you can borrow. They digitize Hi 8 tapes on the fly for porting out through Firewire. Its worked pretty well with some Hi 8s I've tried.

G
jboy wrote on 10/18/2002, 3:03 PM
Actually, in my experience, Hi8>Digital 8 looks slightly better than the Hi8 tape. This may have something to do with better time base correction in the digital format.
SonyDennis wrote on 10/18/2002, 10:08 PM
Beware the low-end Digital8, it won't play Hi8; it's the only one (TRV120? Something like that). All the rest play 8mm & Hi8 tapes, into the computer, via 1394.
///d@
Caruso wrote on 10/19/2002, 4:18 AM
I have used my Sony Digi8 to play/convert both 8mm and hi8 to digital over the firewire with good results. If you don't have a digi8 camcorder that converts on the fly, you can always dub your non-digital footage to a camcorder via SVHS connections (assuming your hi8 cam has SVHS ports) to a digi8 camcorder, then run the dubbed footage over the firewire to the computer. It's an extra step, but works fine, and, either way, I second JBoy's impression that the dubbed/converted footage looks better than the original non-digital original. Better color saturation? I don't know. It just looks better.

Caruso
jboy wrote on 10/19/2002, 12:02 PM
The TR120 WILL convert hi8 to DV, but the subsequent introductory generational models, (TRV 130 & 140, I think), will not. Sony disabled this feature on their entry level models to force everybody up to higher priced models.
jeffy82 wrote on 10/20/2002, 1:36 PM
jboy & Sonicdennis are both making good points. If you are thinking about buying, you may want to do an "online Chat" with a sony Tech/Support Rep. It's quick & free. They can quickly tell you what the specs didn't. I did this just the other day. And I'm glad I did. I found that the 340 model didn't play Hi8 Analog. The other critical feature you will want is a TBC, which most of the lower models don't have.

I believe only the 740&840 met my needs, but you'll want to get the info from the horse's mouth.

Jeffy82@aol.com
jboy wrote on 10/20/2002, 1:46 PM
I dont think time base correction is a big concern for digital, as the format itself already includes a high level of timing accuracy built in. I believe all digital camcorders have this inherently higher level of accuracy. In effect, any digital device is "time base corrected", or at least outputs a signal that matches the specifications of what used to be considered a time base corrected signal. Any engineers out there may want to correct me on this if I'm wrong. The really important thing is the ability to convert analog to digital, otherwise you must purchase a $250-300 gadget to do this.
DGates wrote on 10/20/2002, 2:35 PM
When I first starting using a NLE, I re-edited a wedding I did 5 years ago just for the heck of it. Back then I shot on Hi8, edited onto SuperVHS, and then made copies from that master. So technically, I started with 400 lines of resolution on the source tape, then after copying to SVHS, I probably lost at least 75 lines of res. And the final copies were most likely no more than 250-300 lines max.

This time, I used a Digital 8 camera to convert the Hi8 source tapes into the computer. After I edited on the NLE (Pinnnacle Studio), I transferred the project back to the Digital 8 camera, than ran off copies from there. So just by doing it that way, the final copies look closer to the original than the old analog approach.

That's what's so great about DVD's. The highest resolution DVD I make looks pretty much exactly like the MiniDV source tapes that I shot a wedding with. No quailty loss.