I need some help from a Video God.

[thumper]

ive got over 20 Hi8 tapes that i want to Edit(with iMovie) and make into a DVD.

How can i get the video on my mac???
im a super noob with this stuff

this is my Hi8 camera
http://www3.shopping.com/xPR-Sony_CCD_TRV46~RD-2821230212

and i have this MiniDV camera
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/canon-optura-10-camcorder-review.htm

is there a way to kinda daisy chain my cameras to get it on my mac???

 

[yoak]

Hi
There are 2 ways, both similar and depending on your MiniDV camera.
Many mini DV cameras can work as a kind of "bridge" to digitize analoge video.

1.You hook your Canon up to your mac with a Firewire or USB
2 You connect your Hi8 to your Canon, cables should be provided. I have only done this from my VCR with old VHS so I´m not sure what cables you need. Connect the Hi8 to your Canon as you would connect it to a TV.
3. You should now be able to see the Hi8 footage on the small screen on the Canon.
4. Now try to capture from iMovie. I think you have to have the Canon in rec mode. If you have your manual, it should say something about this there
5. If this dosen´t work you have to copy the footage over to MiniDV tapes first. Then play them off your MiniDV and capture with iMovie. Takes twice as long as you probably understand.

Please feel free to ask as it´s probably not too well explained here as I´m doing it off memory.

Good luck

 

[thumper]

Hi
There are 2 ways, both similar and depending on your MiniDV camera.
Many mini DV cameras can work as a kind of "bridge" to digitize analoge video.

1.You hook your Canon up to your mac with a Firewire or USB
2 You connect your Hi8 to your Canon, cables should be provided. I have only done this from my VCR with old VHS so I´m not sure what cables you need. Connect the Hi8 to your Canon as you would connect it to a TV.
3. You should now be able to see the Hi8 footage on the small screen on the Canon.
4. Now try to capture from iMovie. I think you have to have the Canon in rec mode. If you have your manual, it should say something about this there
5. If this dosen´t work you have to copy the footage over to MiniDV tapes first. Then play them off your MiniDV and capture with iMovie. Takes twice as long as you probably understand.

Please feel free to ask as it´s probably not too well explained here as I´m doing it off memory.

Good luck

thank you very much!!


i just need to find the right cables, then ill
tell you how it goes.

 

[yoak]

Your welcome.
I couldn´t see from the picture of the Sony camera what kind on connections it have.
From my VCR I used a "3 phono to minijack" not sure what one call that cable. I then had an scart adapter I plugged the phono side into, and plugged the mini jack side into the DV camera

On my old mini VHS camcorder I had those "phono" out connections. With that camera I could have used the same cable without adapter

 

[thumper]

on my canon camera.. i dont think it has a Video in

i thought that it was a video in on the side but i think its only for
connecting the canon to a TV(a Video out)

should most cameras have a video in? maybe ive over looked it?

are there any other options?

 

[3dit3r]

on my canon camera.. i dont think it has a Video in

i thought that it was a video in on the side but i think its only for
connecting the canon to a TV(a Video out)

should most cameras have a video in? maybe ive over looked it?

are there any other options?

According to the link you provided for your Canon camera, you have a Firewire port. Use that port to connect the camera to your computer. Your camera should have come with the proper cable. Re-read the link you provided to see where the port is located on the camera. Daisy chain your Hi-8 to the Canon using RCA cables (yellow is video, red and white are audio). Your Canon will probably have to be in Record (no tape inside) while the Hi-8 is playing in order for the computer to receive the signal.

If all else fails, you can transfer your Hi-8 tapes to mini-DV using RCA cables...time consuming though...

 

[virus1]

video in is a somewhat rare feature. especially for low end cameras. you will most likely need to buy a analog/digital converter
like this.

 

[3dit3r]

video in is a somewhat rare feature. especially for low end cameras. you will most likely need to buy a analog/digital converter
like this.

Nope. Maybe before, but A/V I/O is fairly common in consumer cameras. You have to go into the Menu to toggle In or Out.

 

[virus1]

Nope. Maybe before, but A/V I/O is fairly common in consumer cameras. You have to go into the Menu to toggle In or Out.

it may be becoming more popular, but i still struggle a bit to find a suitable camera with it.

 

[thumper]

if i used an RCA to S-Video
(Old Hi8 camera to MiniDV)

would i get a video?
just wondering if Hi8 would work thru SVideo

 

[spacepower7]

Camera I/O

Nowadays, alot of the cameras use the same analog output as the connection for the analog input. There usually is a menu item that allows the camera to switch between using the connection for input or output.

 

[weldon]

What I did was to rent a Sony digital-8 camera from a local store. These digital-8 cameras are backwards compatible with the Hi8 analog format and will do A/D conversion in the camera. All you need to do is hook up the Sony Digital-8 camera to your Mac via firewire, pop in your Hi8 tape and then capture using iMovie.

The two models of Sony digital-8 cameras still being sold are the DCR-TRV280 and DCR-TRV480.

It worked great for me and I think it was the simplest and cleanest way to get the video into my Mac. Granted this was a few years back when MiniDV was still new, but I only paid like $20-30 to rent the camera for 48 hours. I'd recommend calling around to see if you can find a place that will rent a Sony digital-8 camera by the day.

 

[Gmaster]

re: I/O for camcorder

Yes, spacepower7 and yoak are correct.

I have a Canon Optura 20, about the same as the 10, and have used it to get old video into iMovie.

Just use the yellow a/v port with the included cable that has a mini yellow striped plug at one end and the three RCA plugs at the other end.
Mini plug on the Optura, RCA into the Sony. Power them up and you should see video in iMovie. (I think the Optura needs to be set to "VCR", not "Camera".)
Give it a shot and good luck.

 

[eRondeau]

I have a Canon Optura 20, about the same as the 10, and have used it to get old video into iMovie. Just use the yellow a/v port with the included cable that has a mini yellow striped plug at one end and the three RCA plugs at the other end. Mini plug on the Optura, RCA into the Sony. Power them up and you should see video in iMovie. (I think the Optura needs to be set to "VCR", not "Camera".) Give it a shot and good luck.

Ditto -- I've also got an Optura-20 and I've done the same thing with a collection of old VHS-C tapes. Works surprisingly well. Just make sure you've got LOTS of HD space available. I edited about 2-hrs of VHS-C into a 45-minute finished iDVD and I needed around 40GB all told. The final iMovie file alone is 18GB. I use a Lacie 160GB HD for video editing storage and it's not nearly enough. But the final DVD quality is surprisingly good, even starting with VHS.

 

[rjphoto]

The two models of Sony digital-8 cameras still being sold are the DCR-TRV280 and DCR-TRV480.

I'm pretty sure the TVR280 will do NOT the A/D conversion.

It is only listed on the TRV480 spec sheet. (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...gital8HandycamCamcorders&ProductSKU=DCRTRV480)

I borrowed a TRV280 for that specific purpose and ended up bashing my head against a wall trying to get it to work. I thought something was wrong with the tapes I had been given to edit. Ended up getting the owner to bring me her 8MM camcorder to use with a Digital Conversion Box...it worked, but it was a last minuted edit for the event.

Edit: Most of the Sony's I have used will do pass through conversion. (Not sure about that TRV280).

 

[thumper]

****h A P P Y*** D A Y****

Thanks for all the input guys, i WAS able to get it to work!!!

i just had to use the right cable from the sony to the canon camera and its
like MAGIC!!!

Now my big proble is SpAcE!!! 80gigs on my PB and 120 on my firewire...
its still not enough!!! when im capturing in imovie it drops almost 10MB a sec!

every 9Mins = 2Gigs

if i compress this to MP4 will it still look as good on the TV???
how much can i compress it before it starts lookin bad?

 

[yoak]

Unfortunatly, MiniDV takes up around 13gig per hour.
Just wait until you go HDV, then it piles up.
I have never tried to go from Hi8 to dv to mpeg 4, so I don´t know.
I suggest you do a quick test. Probably good enough quality for home video is my guess.

Happy that it worked out for you

Good luck withh the capturing, 20hours of soo much fun

 

[thumper]

Unfortunatly, MiniDV takes up around 13gig per hour.
Just wait until you go HDV, then it piles up.
I have never tried to go from Hi8 to dv to mpeg 4, so I don´t know.
I suggest you do a quick test. Probably good enough quality for home video is my guess.

Happy that it worked out for you

Good luck withh the capturing, 20hours of soo much fun

i just tried exporting the movie to mpeg4.. took 20mins :S and
in the end looked REALLY BAD
it went from 2gigs to 25mb

so, i guess this isnt the right compression.
any ideas???

my Hi8 tape is about 60Mins of stuff
id like to be able to have everything on that tape on a DVD
but at 2Gigs every 9mins... i run out of DVD room FAST.

i feel such a noob, its not even funny

 

[plastique45]

Unfortunatly, MiniDV takes up around 13gig per hour.
Just wait until you go HDV, then it piles up.
I have never tried to go from Hi8 to dv to mpeg 4, so I don´t know.
I suggest you do a quick test. Probably good enough quality for home video is my guess.

Happy that it worked out for you

Good luck withh the capturing, 20hours of soo much fun

HDV and miniDV uses EXACTLY the same amount of space as they both use a 25mb/sec codec (MPEG2-TS vs miniDV25).

 

[rjphoto]

i just tried exporting the movie to mpeg4.. took 20mins :S and
in the end looked REALLY BAD
it went from 2gigs to 25mb

so, i guess this isnt the right compression.
any ideas???

my Hi8 tape is about 60Mins of stuff
id like to be able to have everything on that tape on a DVD
but at 2Gigs every 9mins... i run out of DVD room FAST.

i feel such a noob, its not even funny

Don't panic yet.

60 Minutes will fit on a DVD using iDVD with no problem and maintain good quality.

How much free space do you have on your hard drive(s)?

Finish editing the iMovie footage and then click on the iDVD button right above the end of your time line. This will launch iDVD and start the preparation for creating your DVD.

Let us know if you need more help.

 

[yoak]

HDV and miniDV uses EXACTLY the same amount of space as they both use a 25mb/sec codec (MPEG2-TS vs miniDV25).

My bad
I was thinking of the new Panasonic and that is NOT HDV, but DVCPro at 50mb/sec.
I´m not considering buying anything HDV, so that´s why I think of more storage space
(I know it can do 25mb/s as well as 100mb/s)

 

[aloofman]

Don't panic yet.

60 Minutes will fit on a DVD using iDVD with no problem and maintain good quality.

How much free space do you have on your hard drive(s)?

Finish editing the iMovie footage and then click on the iDVD button right above the end of your time line. This will launch iDVD and start the preparation for creating your DVD.

Let us know if you need more help.

iDVD is the way to go if it's important to be able to watch them on a TV. The downside is that, depending on how many of the tapes are only partially full, he'll end up with a lot of DVDs to archive all of them. (Or maybe he could edit down the total amount of footage in iMovie before burning it.)

If watching it on a TV isn't critical, it would take less space to keep them as MP4s and he could probably fit them all on one or two DVD-ROMs.

 

[aloofman]

i just tried exporting the movie to mpeg4.. took 20mins :S and
in the end looked REALLY BAD
it went from 2gigs to 25mb

so, i guess this isnt the right compression.
any ideas???

my Hi8 tape is about 60Mins of stuff
id like to be able to have everything on that tape on a DVD
but at 2Gigs every 9mins... i run out of DVD room FAST.

i feel such a noob, its not even funny

You've compressed it too much. At 25 MB, it's only 1-2% of it's original size. Increase the data rate, frame size, and frame rate, and see what it looks like at, say 250 MB instead. My guess is that it still wouldn't look very good on a full-size TV, but it might be watchable.

Don't feel like a noob. Even people who do this for a living (like me), find themselves baffled by conversions and compression at times. You can have rough guidelines, but still end up relying on trial and error.

 

[eRondeau]

I have a limited -- but working -- knowledge of how digital video compression works, and I've been wondering about whether or not it is inherently less efficient to digitize VHS/8mm sources compared to originally shooting the same scene on DV. It seems to me, that the graininess and jitteriness that you just can't avoid with analog recording formats would probably be hell on the compression algorithms. With DV source material, you'll at least get the odd "color block" that will be stored very efficiently. But when A-->D'ing VHS (for example) there's so much video noise everywhere (especially in red saturated areas) that it must be just about impossible to find such efficiencies.

Also thinking -- you should just use the iMovie default output for "Full Quality DV" and then let iDVD or Toast figure out the best way to squeeze it onto your DVD media.

 

[aloofman]

I have a limited -- but working -- knowledge of how digital video compression works, and I've been wondering about whether or not it is inherently less efficient to digitize VHS/8mm sources compared to originally shooting the same scene on DV. It seems to me, that the graininess and jitteriness that you just can't avoid with analog recording formats would probably be hell on the compression algorithms. With DV source material, you'll at least get the odd "color block" that will be stored very efficiently. But when A-->D'ing VHS (for example) there's so much video noise everywhere (especially in red saturated areas) that it must be just about impossible to find such efficiencies.

Your basic idea is true, but for practical purposes, there are so many variables that can affect picture quality. A VHS copy of a well-shot video can look better than a DV video shot by an amateur. There ARE noise issues with VHS, but the higher-end compression software handles them surprisingly well. My experience with trying to process VHS footage has been that video sync can be really awful, audio levels tend to be too low, and the top and bottom edges are often so glitchy that you have to crop the frame.

Don't make the mistake of lumping all analog formats together when it comes to picture quality. A lot of broadcast television is still shot on analog tape formats and it looks great. A lot of amateur video is shot on DV and looks like crap. (And, all of them are trumped by 35mm film, which is, of course, analog.) What it comes down to is that the better the production value of the footage, the better it will compress.