Hi8 camcorder

[singleshotbuff]

Gentlemen,

Not sure where to post this question, so please move it and forgive me if this isn't the right place. I'm not sure if anyone here can help me, but hopefully so. Here goes:

I have a newer Sony model DCR-TRV260 Digital-8 camcorder that I have been using to shoot, import and encode home movies for digital output.

This camera is a replacement for an older Sony 8mm camcorder that died on me a few years back. I have several 8mm tapes left over from the older camcorder.

Can this camcorder play these older style 8mm tapes? I would like to dump the contents ofthem onto my computer and burn it on to CDs as mpeg-1 for safe storage.

The tapes look the same shape and so forth, but when I put one in the camera and try to play it, nothing shows up.

Hope someone can help here.

Thanks in advance.

SSB

[tigerman8u]

I could be wrong but IIRC the digital and 8mm tapes are non-compatible. do you know somebody that has an 8mm that you could borrow.

[shulthise]

Short answer:
Yes - the camcorder will most probably play the older 8mm tapes.

Longer answer:
Let me start by saying I own a DCR-TRV340 Digital-8 camcorder (NTSC). I'm not familiar with the TRV260. I assume they are similar.

Sony created the Digital-8 camcorder line for people that have stocks of standard 8mm and hi-8 tapes (who doesn’t?), want to go digital, but don’t want to bother with or pay for converting the old tapes to digital video, DVD or whatever format/media (this is THE problem with the digital media world, every other week you got to transcode and adapt your home videos to new standard X, codec Y, version V9000.b1 blah blah..)
And why should people bother with conversion ??? It’s time consuming – bit time – and you have to keep doing it and constantly learn about it, troubleshoot it, waste money, when the optimal and best format is the original.

(ok.. I'm done bitchin')

Anyway, I have a TRV-340 Digital-8 camcorder (NTSC), and I use it to play my old 8mm and hi-8 tapes (NTSC as well). The output is always good quality digital video as if it was played from a digital-8 tape.

But why am I writing too much – Just put one of the 8mm tapes into the camcorder and press the “Play” button. If it works – it works. If not... my bet is that it will work.



Cheers,

[shulthise]

One more thing:

You can also record on the old 8mm and hi-8 tapes with the digital camcorder.
The recorded video format is always digital video no matter what tape goes in the camcorder; Digital 8, hi-8 or 8mm. Meaning - you don't need to buy the expensive Digital 8 tapes to tape home videos - you can settle for hi-8 and 8mm tapes.

So why do you need digital-8 tapes ? Recording time..
If i'm not mistaken, you can record only 60 minutes of digital video on a 90 minute hi-8 tape, and even less on an 8mm tape.
Digital-8 tapes go up to 120 minutes.

Cheers

[feedback10K]

Yes it has backwards compatibility for 8mm and Hi-8mm tapes.

Regards,

P.S.There have been pass-thru problems reported though.