Accessing old camcorder tapes

[Ron W]

My late husband recorded many 8mm tapes on a Sony Handycam video8. The camcorder is not repairable. Can I get the tapes downloaded into a format where I could
a) view them and perhaps edit them
b) get the best of them recorded in a viewable state onto CD or DVD.
I have no expertise in this field so need to know where I could get help.

[josie]

same problem

I have several old tapes recorded on various camcorders, all sony. The latest was a trv138. Problem comes in that they are analog. My new camcorder is a trv280. It can hook to the computer and takes the same size tapes, but it can't read my old tapes. I would like to be able to convert my old tapes myself and not have to take them anywhere to pay to have them done.

[rago88]

ok...
the easiest way for me to convert old 8mm tapes to dvd since my old Sony 8mm camcoders died many yrs ago was to go on ebay and buy a used one cheap..
And believe me, it's the digital age so hardly anyone uses them anymore so you can pick one up for under 50.00.
[btw: I was totally surprised to see that the tapes looked as sharp and clear now as they did back in 1990 when I bought mine.]

anyway, you can buy a analog video converter which connects to your computer..not expensive.

you would connect your camcorder via the standard red/yellow/white cables to this device which will bring the 8mm video into your computer.
I use a Plextor convertor for any vcr or 8mm trnsfers.
you can also buy them used on ebay..
you also would need some video software program like Ulead video studio, Pinnacle, or a slew of others that let you view your 8mm on your PC screen and let you edit out anything you choose.
I would mention using a firewire card which you install into your PC but I think that that device deals strictly with digital camcordrs and not analog which is what 8mm and VCR tapes are.
Last but not least you would need a dvd burner in order to burn the 8mm film to a blank dvd..

the sofware I used for analog was Ulead Video Studio 8-SE.
This was the only version of Ulead that was specif for bringing only analog video into your PC.
I use more current version for digital camcorders which are now the norm..

Alot to digest but not rocket science and if your like to spend time on your computer learning new things, video editing is interesting stuff to learn..
or, if your in a hurry and don't want to learn you can always pay a conversion company to do it for you but it will cost much more than a used camcorder and converter..
btw: they did make 8mm vcr's back in the day[ Sony] but they
didn't sell tons of them due to the price back then.
400.00 and up...
I was going to buy a used one when I 1st got into transferring 8mm but they still want at least 400.00 for a working one since they are not rare but close to it..
I decided a cheap used Sony camcorder did the same job.

I also forgot to mention that if you own a digital video camera, many have an analog pass-thru which lets you connect a analog device,[vcr, 8mm camcorder] to it which will convert your old tape to digital form same as the convertor that I mentioned..
more on this method here...

http://www.videohelp.com/dvanalog

[josie]

Thank you so much for your response. I finally got around to hitting ebay and found the converter and it comes with the software you mention. Waiting on the postal service now. Will let you know how everything turns out!

[josie]

Update. The device I bought was a usb video adapter called easycap. I got it all hooked up and loaded the software that came with it Ulead VideoStudio 8.0. I can get video, but no sound. I also tried it in my windows movie maker. Again video, but no sound. I have messed with the default settings so it uses the usb, but am now quite preplexed as what else to do.

rago88- you mentioned you use a different device with no difficulty. maybe your software is and upgrade as you wrote 8.0 SE.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[rago88]

the ulead software is Ulead Video Studio 8.0 SE..[for analog incoming tapes].
[Special Edition] not 8.0....

ok.. I just watched a short video on youtube and they mentioned that easycap comes with ulead 8.0 SE..is that what you have?

what are u using to playback the video?
you mention your camcorder didn't work..

[josie]

yes, I have the SE edition 8.0, I double checked. Sorry I was not clear. I have two camcorders now. I have Sony TRV 138 which I am using to play the tapes to get into my PC. My other camcorder which I got for the sole intention of doing this is a TRV 280 which won't even play my tapes recorded on the TRV138 or two other sony camcorders that I have owned in the past going back to 1993. I do not remember their model numbers, but analog to say the least.

[rago88]

First thing I would check is your audio connections.

I assume you are using the red/white/yellow analog cables.
the white or red or both[stereo] are for audio.
yellow is your video.

Jiggle the audio cables at both ends or un-plug and re-insert tightly to see if that helps WHILE your video is playing...

check to see if your own PC audio is on and the volume slider is up..
[little speaker icon on your taskbar]..

btw: play back your video in the camcorder and make sure your speaker volume is up on the camcorder just to confirm that there is sound on the old tape..

[josie]

rago88 - thanks for your suggestions. have been out of town so just now trying them. they did not help! i am frustrated to say the least. just going to keep playing around and watch a couple more yourtube clips. will let you know if i succeed. do you think having service pack 3 has anything to do with it? say it mentioned somewhere, but can not recall now where? Again, thanks.

[rago88]

do you think having service pack 3 ,,


No... would not matter at all..

I don't know what else to offer other than,
I would use the Ulead Video Studio forum to find others who have your problem..

Many many times with the Software I was at a crossroads and after reading the forum users questions,
found a similiar problem and got it fixed..
Also learned how to really use the Ulead software just by reading users Q&A..

It is now called Corel[ think they took over Ulead but over 300 pages of problems..

http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=791dNero Serial Removed