I have an older Sony camcorder that records to Hi8 Analog tapes. I am planning to purchase a new camcorder and would appreciate any input....I am thinking of a hard drive (Sony had a couple with good reviews), but I am also hoping that I can purchase one with the ability to connect the old Sony camcorder via analog input, and record the old Hi8 tapes to the hard drive, etc. I would then have the analog to digital transfer complete and could edit, burn to DVD, etc. This is how I assume I can do this....any opinions greatly appreciated. Any recommendations regarding camcorders or how best to get the transfer of the old Hi8 analog would also be valued.

One method is connecting your HI8 up to a DVD recorder and just copy directly onto a set of blank DVD's. If you want to do editing though then you can connect the HI8 upto 'your new' digital camcorder using the S-Video and audio connections and then connect the digital camcorder to the computer using Firewire. Just make sure you buy a Mini DV camcorder with the above mentioned sockets on it and purchase a Firewire cable aswell (4 pin connector on one end and a 6 pin connector on the other end). What spec computer do you have?

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Help! I have gathered that I have to connect the Hi 8 Camcorder to my DV camcorder (small DV tapes) then connect via firewire to my DVD recorder (small Sony DVD burner). I have burned DVD's directly from VHS and from the HI 8 but WANT to have in digital format for editing on the computer....I have Hi 8 S-video and the RCA plugs coming OUT of the HI 8 BUT the DV camcorder does not have the input for those only the newer hi tech inputs.... Is there anyway to hook these guys up without having to find another DV camcorder with those inputs?? Thank you!!!

Thank you for the response. I do have the mini DV camcorder but it does not have the sockets you mentioned to connect the s video or RCA plugs from the old Hi 8. I have copied to DVD's directly without problem but want to be able to edit on my computer so I guess I need to run it through the mini DV like you said. How can I do this without those ports? are there special cables I can get? or should I change my approach? I am using a Sony Multi-Function DVD Recorder for burn the DVDs instead of my computer - because I think is is easier to just have the DVD instead of loading down the computer. thoughts?

If you have copied the videos onto dvd, the quality will not be as good as a digital transfer through the mini dv camcorder. But none the less, you now have the videos in digital format you will need some ripping software to take the .vob files off the dvd's and copy them onto your computer hard disk. I use a freeware program called MPEG_Streamclip1.2 to do that, put the finalised dvd into the computer dvd drive and run MPEG_Streamclip1.2, use File->Open DVD if they are .vob files or File->Open Files if they are .mpeg files (they are usually recorded onto a memory stick instead) and just follow the onscreen instructions. Then go to File->Export to AVI and select Apple DV-AVI and change the settings to suit your needs. You also need to download QuickTimeAlt181 and install it and run it before using MPEG_Streamclip1.2.

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Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...