Importing Video 8 Handycam footage to iMac

[Rahsten]

I heard that I could use my new handycam (HDR-HC7) as a bridge from my old handycam (CCD-TR51) to iMovie on my iMac. This would be ideal as it saves me having to purchase an analog to digital converter. I have a ton of video 8 tapes that I would like to import to my iMac. I tried linking it all together but I can't get it to work. The CCD only has RCA output. If anyone knows how to set this up to do what I would like for it to do, please advise. I would greatly appreciate it. Is this even possible?

Thank you in advance.

 

[martinX]

To use a camcorder as a bridge, it would have to have AV in. The HC7 doesn't. What it will do is record via a firewire connection, but if your old camera had firewire, you wouldn't be asking that question.

If you went old camera (RCA) -> DVD recorder then you could rip those DVDs using all sorts of software.

I use MPEG Streamclip, but you need Apple's MPEG2 playback component (about $20, IIRC) for that.

 

[Rahsten]

Unfortunately none of the DVD players I have do DVD recording...I guess I'll hang on to the Video 8's until I do buy a new DVD/BD player that has recording function.

If anyone else has a work around I'd love to hear it. I found an old Canon ZR300 in the bottom of a drawer here...doesn't look like it has AV In though...

I just noticed in the viewfinder of the CCD while playing back a few of the Video 8's that the picture was all scrambled...I'm figuring that's a tracking issue? Is that something I can fix once the footage is made digital? Or have my tapes been compromised and irreversibly damaged?

 

[martinX]

I just noticed in the viewfinder of the CCD while playing back a few of the Video 8's that the picture was all scrambled...I'm figuring that's a tracking issue? Is that something I can fix once the footage is made digital? Or have my tapes been compromised and irreversibly damaged?

Could be dirty heads. Grab a head cleaning tape. If it's a tracking issue, that needs to be sorted before you get the footage in. Digitising footage isn't magical - what comes in is digitised as-is.

See if you can borrow a DVD recorder for a few days. It really is the easiest way. Others may tell you that DVDs aren't good for archiving and MPEG2 isn't an editing format. All valid stuff, but you want to digitise home movies for the least cost and this is the way to do it. Just remember to duplicate the DVDs every few years. Nothing lasts forever.