Want to Buy Video8 (Hi8?) Camcorder/Player

Long shot, but I’m working on transferring all of my family’s old tapes to digital and, unsurprisingly, the 30-year-old camera I was using is now toast. eBay prices are a bit high, so I thought I’d try here. I’d be happy renting one too if you don’t feel like selling!

(Marked this as hybrid because it seems halfway between digital and analog to me!)

I faced the same problem -- my Sony camcorder would show 3 seconds of the tape then stop. Reading around the internet showed that this is a very common problem, often associated with capacitors that fail/go way out of spec and other shortcomings of old electronics. There are places that say they can fix them; they often have long lists of fixable models. Here's one place I considered, they only charge a $30 estimate fee if you don't have them do the work after they've looked it over: http://avrepair.com/camcorder/index.htm I haven't used their services so I'm not recommending them per se, just using them as an example. Google something like "Repair old 8mm camcorder"and you'll find more.

The other side of the equation is what hardware and software you would use to convert the images from your newly-repaired camcorder into MP4 -- there are conversion devices for sale, but again you'd have to decide how much you want to spend to get the best audio (stereo? mono?) and video transfer. As coincidence would have it, last week I dropped off 12 8mm tapes at a local shop that specializes in transfers; it will cost me $20 per tape to be transferred, but these are tapes of my kids growing up, so the cost is immaterial in relation to what I'm going to get. One thing I did first: I gave them one tape to see what they could do with it; only after being satisfied did I give them another 12. After I'm done with those, I'll move onto my Betamax tapes....

Coincidentally I was cleaning out a closet and came across the Canon A1 Hi-8 I had purchased when my daughter was a small child. I was considering donating it to Goodwill. I need to try to charge the battery and see if it still works. I know the foam around the mike has completely disintegrate.

I happen to be in Goodwill Hollywood and they’re selling a $15 Sharp vl-ah60, if that’s any use. Condition unknown

Well, I'm an idiot and I realized I need Video8 and not Hi8! Thankfully it looks like those are a bit cheaper!

my memory may be a little fuzzy, but Hi8 should be backwards compatible with Video8 tapes. So you should be fine with either a video8 deck or a hi8 deck for playing back old content. (I ditched my Hi8 when miniDV became a thing.)

I've updated your thread title.

abruzzi said:

my memory may be a little fuzzy, but Hi8 should be backwards compatible with Video8 tapes. So you should be fine with either a video8 deck or a hi8 deck for playing back old content. (I ditched my Hi8 when miniDV became a thing.)

Click to expand...

Yes, Hi8 is backward compatible on playback of Video8.

Oh, and Trask is right about capture hardware and software. No matter what you use, Standard Definition video played back on a HD or (god forbid) 4K monitor will make you cringe.

You can, of course, convert from interlaced to progressive frames and uprez to HD, but you are talking massive data size increase and then you are limited to either BluRay or File only playback. It's a real pain with no clear solution.

Easiest route is to keep it Standard Definition, interlaced and record it to a DVD, but then again, DVD players are getting long in the tooth...

Kino said:

Easiest route is to keep it Standard Definition, interlaced and record it to a DVD, but then again, DVD players are getting long in the tooth...

Click to expand...

There are some upscaling tools out there that are getting good. Here is a sample 320x200 video of Bjork playing with a Sony Trinitron, upscaled.

abruzzi -- that video looks pretty good with the A.I. remastering. I think the important thing -- for me, at least -- is to get the images off my old tapes into a digital format ASAP before the tapes get too old (and some of them are nearly 40 years old now). Then, as technologies improve and become more widely available, this sort of upscaling can improve the image quality.