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General discussion

Where to begin. Home movie transfer (super 8, VHS, and Hi 8)

Jan 9, 2005 12:46AM PST

AND GOING FORWARD WHAT MINI DV CAMCORDER TO GET???

My hope is to convert 30 years of different home movie tapes (about 37 50 foot super 8, 40 VHS/and C, and 12 Hi Cool. Digitize all and be able to edit. And make DVDs for other family members.

And then, buy a Mini DV camcorder to be able to have digital recordings and computer edit.

Please help with specific recommedations? Suggestions. I have a PC...P4 with XP.

Have looked online for transfer services the pricing and end product seem to vary.
Super 8 anywhere from .08 to .30 cents a foot.

I think I am entering a world with many potential pitfalls...?
cwda1@yahoo.com

Discussion is locked

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Suggestions re VHS and Hi-8
Jan 12, 2005 7:05AM PST

I can't help you with the 8mm tape capture, The prices are high but there maybe few alternatives. Make sure the prices include cleaning the tape, fixing breaks and providing you with at least two copies of the DVD in a standard format.

I have tried several capture and editing programs for VHS and Hi8 to DVD and they all have their pluses and minuses. First, you will need a device to capture the analog signal to digital. This could be a external USB device or an internal card. If you have room, I would recommend a pci card. For starting out, you should consider the Pinnacle AV/DV pci card. That comes with Pinnacle Studio software. Since both are from the same manufacturer, there should be no compatablility problem. You can also make slide shows on DVD from your old pictures. You'll find yourself doing this a lot.

If you have some old records along with the videos, consider an all in one suite such as Roxio EMC-7. If you end up doing a lot of special effects to the videos, look at Cyberlink Power Director 3.

I think that the Roxio product is the most stable once it is installed correctly. The other two may have a little more crashes but, as I said, they offer a lot of special effects. I believe that all of these have a free 30 day trial.

Since you have XP, you may want to save a lot of money by just starting with Windows Movie Maker which you laready have on your computer. You can get a USB capture device starting at around $30 on up. Check to make sure it is compatable with Windows Movie Maker. All the above programs should work with the type of device. Go to their web sites and you should be able to find a list of devices that work with that software.

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Home Movie Transfer
Jan 31, 2005 3:34PM PST

I too am just starting to look into transfering lots of old Super 8 film to DVD. If you get any other ideas, pls send them along.
wbrandenburg@charter.net. Thanks,

Semper Fi

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http://www.timwerx.net/odds/pcfile.htm
Feb 1, 2005 12:15AM PST