is there a way to watch hi 8 tapes using a vhs player

youtube!

hi,

i recently found dozens of old hi 8 tapes in my attic which i would like to view, old holidays birthdays etc.

the problem i have is i dont have the old sony handy cam that was used to originally record them ( lost when we moved many yrs ago)

anyway i seem to vaguely remember when the very first handy cams came out they used full size vhs video tapes to record and when the format changed to hi 8 there was a way you could still use your old video camera by inserting the hi8 tape into the vhs somehow. (this is a vague recollection so i could be well wrong:o )

if these old vhs tapes were still available could i put my hi8 tapes into them and then play them on a standard vhs video recorder?


i use digital nowadays obviously but would love to be able to view my old hi8 tapes also, i have looked around to buy a hi8 camcorder but they are very hard to come by!

SouperComputer

Most if not all digital8 cams will play back your Hi8 footage. As a bonus many of them will allow you to capture the Hi8 tapes via firewire, just like a DV tape.
Grab a D8 camera off eBay and you should be fine.

youtube!

Hiya,

thanx for your reply, one thing i cannot figure out how a digital 8 camera will play my old hi 8 tapes,i mean they are quite large compared to mini dv tapes (i dont have a mini dv camcorder but always assumed they were smaller and therefore would not play my hi8 tapes) is a digital8 camcorder actually the same thing as a mini dv camcorder or is there a difference?

thanx again!

SouperComputer

Hi8 and Digital8 use identical tapes. The difference is how the video is written to the tape.
DV tapes are something totally different and are smaller as you rightly say.

I bought a Digital8 camera to capture all of my Hi8 tapes over firewire. Worked flawlessly, the camera does the analog-digital conversion for you.
I posted a thread with a lot info on this, have a trawl and you should find it.

As dublin writer pointed out, you are not going to be able to watch the Hi8 tapes at all on a VHS, unless you copy the footage over to a VHS tape of course. Yuck!

DublinWriter

The short answer is no.

I think you are thinking of JVC's short-lived compact VHS system (VHS-C) . This was used in their early camcorders, the tapes were designed so that you could use a full-sized VHS cassette adaptor and play them in regular VHS players.

Video 8/Hi8/Digital8 is a Sony format and is altogether different. It's technically superior to JVC's VHS-C, but it totally incompatible with that format.

Your best bet is to get a cheapo secondhand Hi8 camcorder with a Digital Out socket and connected via Firewire to your PC - you'll be able to keep all your footage digital.

I coverted a load of my old Hi8 tape last year - if you run into a dead end then send me a PM.

SouperComputer

Heres the thread I posted about my experiences of converting Hi8 to a digital format: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055648658

youtube!

Ah so thats it!:) I was under the foolish impression that mini dv (small cassette) was actually what was used in a digital 8 camcorder, DUH! anyway I love the idea of being able to actually "digitise" (dunno if thats the right term) but basically getting great quality transfer over this firewire you speak of. I am on the lookout now for a Sony 8 to do the job. Again people thank so much for filling me in!:)

DublinWriter

youtube! wrote: »

Ah so thats it!:) I was under the foolish impression that mini dv (small cassette) was actually what was used in a digital 8 camcorder, DUH!

DV is another, newer format.

You should be able to pick up a camcorder fairly cheapish. You'll just need to ensure that you've got a Firewire I/F in your PC. The requisite software is all available freely in the public domain.

As I said, if you're stuck, give me a shout, I went through all this myself last year.