Transferring HI8 tapes into my iMAC..?

R

Robstene

Active member
Hello...

Can anyone tell me what I need to do in order to transfer hi8 tapes into my Final Cut Express (and even if it is possible?)

I have a feeling it is, and i'm hoping all i need to do is plug in the hi8 camera via Fire wire and start to capture the footage..?

Is it true HI8 tapes are in fact digital video tapes?

And if I can do it...will the capturing take up more hard drive space than when importing mini dv footage..?

Thanks in advance,..

Rob :)
 
Hi8 tapes by themselves are neither digital or not. It depends on what was recorded onto them and how. Some TASCAM decks can record 8 tracks of digital audio onto a Hi8 tape and some video cameras, namely Sony's D8 series of TRV cameras. BUT if your camera is/was Hi8 then no... there is no 'digital' signal on those tapes.

When you record them they will indeed take up as much space as mini DV footage (and should be recorded onto an external HD and not your system drive).

Here's how to do it...

Since your Hi8 camera won't have a FW port on it (unless it is one of the SonyD8 cameras) you will need a pass-through device. This can be (but not always) as simple as using a miniDV camera that has RCA inputs. If you can find INPUTS on your miniDV camera then hook your computer's FW to the miniDV camera and the Hi8 to the RCA of the miniDV. There may be a menu switch to make sure the video passes thru, but usually it should be simple.

Then, in FCE make sure your capture settings are using NON-CONTROLLABLE DEVICE. This way it won't be looking for any timecode.

Then just use CAPTURE NOW and you'll be good.

If you don't have a miniDV camera that will do this for you you'll need an AV/DV bridge like something from Canopus. Google and you'll see the prices.

Good luck,

CaptM
 
Thanks Captain!

I am thinking about buying a Sony HI8 camera off ebay shortly...

Why do you say record onto an external hard drive? If i capture the footage , edit it, then delete then surely it will be ok or is there something I don't know about,..?

Thanks again

Rob
 
The issue is that you don't want the access to the media on the drive limited by simultaneous access to both the system and final cut software. That's why you want it on a separate drive.

I'd look for a Sony D8 camera. It will play both Hi8 and D8 tapes.

CaptM
 
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