[ale] OT: 8MM -> VCR?

[aaron]

On Wednesday 05 November 2003 15:12, Robert L. Harris wrote:
>
>   A friend of mine is in a panic, her Camcorder died, it's a Sony CCD-FX
> that uses 8mm tapes.  She wants to put them in a VCR to watch or
> capture.

I'd second the recommendation that she consider a Digital 8 camcorder as a 
replacement. Digital 8 camcorders will play her analog Hi-8 tapes just fine, 
but anything she records will go onto the same tape media in digital format, 
I believe at compressed DV rates of 20Mb per second (same as the more 
expensive mini-DV camcorders).

I believe all the Digital 8mm models include IEEE-1394 connections (branded as 
Firewire & iLink by Apple and Sony) so she can easily capture DV from both 
analog and digital format 8mm tapes to her Mac OS X or Linux system for 
editing, conversion to disks, etc.

The features and image quality of current Digital 8 cameras are sure to be 
considerably better that her old camera or any Hi-8 analog replacement, 
though analog Hi-8 cams can presently be found for under $200 while Digital 8 
will range $350 and $550.

The main downside of Digital 8 (and Hi-8) is that these are Sony ONLY 
proprietary formats; you can't get a JVC or Panasonic Digital 8 camera  An 
up-side over mini-DV is that the cassettes are a little cheaper and hold up 
to 2 full hours at full DV quality. The slightly larger tape is also a little 
more physically robust and easier to handle.

Useful camcorder features to look for include:
-- large ANALOG zoom range (digital zoom just blows up the limited video 
resolution and the image goes blocky and/or grainy real fast)
-- the capability to record external ANALOG input to Digital format  (or even 
better, to do real time conversion of ANALOG input to the IEEE-1394 
connections).
-- TOP side Tape Loading ( I recently shopped mini-DV camcorders and could 
find very few consumer level models that didn't load from the bottom. A REAL 
hassle when you have the camera on a tripod and need to quickly change 
tapes.)


> My grandfather used to have what looked like a VCR Tape that
> popped open and he put a 4mm tape in and he could watch it on his VCR.

Never heard of anything remotely like this. To play in a VHS deck it has to be 
1/2" tape recorded in VHS format.

> She's looked for those and has only found some for "VHSC" but not for
> 8mm.  Has anyone seen anything that might work for an 8mm solution?

With VHS-C, the "C" simply denotes "Compact Cassettes", a form factor that 
allows for smaller camcorders. The actual tape format is still 1/2" VHS, 
which is why you can simply use a larger adapter cassette shell to play VHS-C 
tapes on a standard VHS decks.

As someone else pointed out, 8mm video is a whole different format. And Hi-8, 
which is what I think  your friend's CCD-FX camera is,  is actually an 
extension of 8mm that uses metal partical tape and records Y/C (Luminance / 
Chromanance) information seperately on the tape, allowing for better 
reproduction quality by applying the bandwidth where it's most needed.

> 
>   One for you AV buffs, she's looking for a new digital camera but
> doesn't know what's good.  Her top budget is $400, suggestions?

Go with Digital 8

peace
aaron