All Hi8s were analog. The problem is that computers use digital storage and thus if someone wants to preserve their analog recordings on digital media (e.g. DVD, Flash Drive, Hard Drive) they have to convert them. Whenever you convert from analog to digital there is going to be data loss. The idea is to minimize data loss as much as possible to preserve the quality (which is why most of us chose Hi8 over regular 8 in the first place).
To convert a Hi8 tape you first have to play it. If you play it on any Hi8 era camcorder you are relegated to analog USB 1 output. This means you have to buy a conversion device (e.g. Roxio and Belkin) and install special capture software. The camcorder is going to continuously play the Hi8 at a constant speed, meaning the hardware and software on the PC end has to either keep up or buffer the input. Any hiccup in this process and the entire file is toast and you have to start over. This process is memory and CPU intensive and thus slows your entire PC down. Best to run it unattended as often as possible.
Firewire is a digital transfer port that came along when the Digital 8 camcorders were introduced. Back then, hard drive storage was still expensive so Sony used tape media (DV) for digital storage. So as not to piss off the Hi8 crowd that wanted to use their new digital cameras to play their old Hi8 tapes, Sony at first built in that capability. After the Digital 8 format caught on, they did away with that feature. Those of us looking to convert our Hi8 tapes are desperate for these few early models (e.g. TRV350, 460, 480) as the camera does all the work for us, i.e. playing the analog Hi8 tapes and converting the format to digital for viewing. The Firewire port then allows us to transfer this digital stream "as is" (i.e. no conversion necessary) to a PC.
Of course the rub in all this is that the PC has to also have a Firewire port. Few laptops ever did, and only the older desktops did. So far the only way to add a Firewire port I know of to laptops is via a PCMCIA slot, which none of my three modern laptops has. And even if they did, apparently if they don't use the TI chipset they perform erratically. I guess that means putting my old desktop back in action that does have Firewire and hoping for the best.
- Jeff |
