can non digital video be transfered to digital?

[matt_dup4]

i have a sony hi-8 recorder and was wondering if it is possible to transfer it into the digital domain? if so how?

[KenElevenShadows]

One way to accomplish this is, I believe, through a video capture card on a computer. I don't have specifics because I don't do this. Someone else can jump in and give you more details, but at least you'll know where to look now.

[dave64o]

Yes, it's possible. I've been toying with the idea myself (I also have a Hi8 camcorder) but have just started looking into it. You primarily need two things. First is a capture device of some kind. You can get one that connects via a dedicated PCI card, via USB 1.x or 2.x, or via FireWire. Then you plug your camera into this device. Since you have a Hi8 camera, I'd suggest looking for one that has an S-video input. Another useful option is having video and audio outs so you can record your compliations to an external video recorder (such as a VCR) The second main piece is editing software, which you'll use to compile your capture digital video clips into a single video. You can also do effects, titling, etc. in software and sometimes these capabilities could be built into your editing software and sometimes they're supplemental packages. Of course, you'll also want either a CD burner for burning VCDs and/or SVCDs or a DVD burner. The only problem I've noticed with DVD burners is that there are too many formats right now and it still seems hard to find one that does them all. I don't remember off the top of my head which format is the normal DVD you can watch in your home theater player - DVD-R? Maybe someone else can help answer that one. Assuming you're doing this for home use rather than professionally, the two most common names are probably are Pinnacle (http://www.pinnaclesys.com) and Dazzle (http://www.dazzle.com). When I've searched for reviews I've seem a wide range for almost every product, from "It's SO easy to use and best of all it's 100% stable" to "This is the most unstable piece of crap I've ever used and I'll NEVER buy another product from again!!!!!". I've found it hard to get a concensus on anything other than Adobe Premiere is THE software package. Just be prepared for sticker shock though, it's expensive. Funny thing about Premiere is that it's up to $600 by itself, but you can buy bundles that include Premiere, a card of somekind, and lots of other software for $300 to $400. Go figure.

[BP3]

The Sony Digital8 camcorders can play back hi8 tapes, and they come out of the firewire output digitally. You can get some of these camcorders pretty cheap. If you have a large analog 8mm library, it would be a good dual-use investment.

[Throatsinger]

Yeah, I need to get one o' them Digital 8s. My hi-8 got trashed at a recent Big Sky gig :( However, I used it to make a slew of QT videos, which you can see examples of here: http://khoomei.com/vids.html They were mostly done with hi-8, often with an external cheap Tascam stereo mic, straight into a Mac 8500, which has av connectors (component and S-video). There are also cheap av digital converters that work with any video signal, to firewire or USB. Steve Sklar/Big Sky

[Henchman]

Canopus makes a firewire capture box. It's $300,-. Mark