Home movie transfer (Super 8, VHS, and Hi-8) and new camcord

Bottomless pit maybe?

Review http://www.film-to-video.com/tutorial.html but the bottom line is the originals are never tossed until they are hopelessly degraded.

Bob

variable speed projector and a digital camcorder. The variable speed ability is needed to synch the projector with the camcorder so that the camcorder will see the movie properly. There are web articles on how to do this although I can't point you to one right now. Try using Google. You will, of course, also need a good video editing package to put everything back together the way you want it.

I just sent four Super 8 50' rolls to
http://www.homemoviedepot.com/
but can't comment on the quality as they have not come back yet. This company (for a fee) will let you add limited info like titles, music, etc. to your movies (on line) before they burn them to a DVD. They also will output your movie to a Mini DV or Digital 8 tape that you can load into your own computer then edit. It is my understanding pulling the files directly off the DVD may be a problem but my son "the hacker" says, "No problem" so we will see...
I was also told if the movies are really old they may have shrunk so DON'T play them on your projector as the sprocket holes may rip out. I was going to use my variable speed projector to copy them myself but, 1. it was dirty and I could not get it clean without taking it all apart; 2. the films would not stop "jittering" maybe due to shrinkage; and 3. the bulb burned out after 15 minutes. So I decided to let someone else do it. Send me an email in a week or so and I'll let you know how they came out with Home Movie Depot.

I am transfering VHS, 8mm video tape and Mini DV on to my computer. I, like others who replied, would recommend having a professional transfer 8mm film to another medium. I would first buy a good mini DV camcorder. I don't know how easy one of the new DVD camcorders would be to navigate while uploading to your computer, but I like Mini DV because the tape records digital video, is easy to navigate, ie fast forward, rewind, etc. Whatever new camcorder you choose, I would have the 8mm film transferred to this medium.
My mini DV camcorder connects to my computer via fire wire. You should have this capability on both your computer and your camcorder. Windows will know when you are connected and turn your camera on, and will either select a program for uploading or give you a list to choose from. I like to transfer my video in scenes rather than dumping the whole tape or whatever to my computer. This way you can give each scene a name describing what the clip contains, and a date if you know it. The software I use is one that came with my DVD writer called "Sonic My DVD" I like this program because I prefer a DVD that has navigation capability. I can choose which scene I want to watch, or just choose the first one and let the whole thing play. It also allows you to select up to one minute of video and seperate audio for the background while providing full motion video screens and titles for each scene, and the ability to cut the beginning and end of each scene. I have several video editing software programs that have all kinds of fancy title and transition effects from one scene to another but use them rarely because the whole thing has to be replayed while storing it on your computer after modifying it, which is time consuming, and the finished DVD has to be played from start to finish without any navagation capability. Maybe there is a software program that allows both navigation capability, and titles and transitions but it seems to be an either or proposition and you have to decide which is more important to you.
You will need a GOOD Video card in your computer. I have a Radeon all-in-wonder with a TV Tuner. This card has a plethora of input/output capabilities. I have a VCR connected to this card (not difficult) for transferring VHS. If you don't have a HI-FI VCR with four heads, and S-Video out I would reccomend buying one. I also connect an older 8mm camcorder using the connectors that came with the Video card. Any chance you have to use an S-video input to your video card, do so. The Video is significantly better than RCA connection. All I have to do to record video from either 8mm camcorder or VHS is click on "TV" on my ATI bar, and click what input I am using and click on record, and type in a name and location. Video editing and writing is time consuming, but worth the effort to preserve your family memories for the far distant future. Good Luck, Brad