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Need help with digital8 project.
I am crossposting this from another forum since many of you do not read all the forums. I hope this doesn’t upset anyone.
I have been asked to create a highlight video for a high school football team. They will pick the plays and the music they want. The game films will be brought to me in Digital 8 format. I am mostly unfamiliar with this media. So I have a couple of questions. I assume that I will have to get ahold of a D8 player (or more likely a camera). Can I then simply import the footage into V6 or will I need to route it through my PD150? What format is D8 footage in? How does it compare to miniDV? Final output will be to DVD via DVDA.
Thanks for any help.Terry Esslinger
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6 Replies
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I work with both Digital8 and mini DV. I’ve captured both to Vegas 5 and edited with no problem. Digital8 is essentially the same as mini DV simply in a different size cassette. I’ve not had any problems with D8 and Vegas.
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You will probably need a D8 camcorder for the capture process and the capture process works on the same principle as normal DV (provided the D8 camera has a firewire port).
Your quality will obviously be much less than minidv but forwhat you require, this should be sufficient for what you require.
Cheers
Jeremy
MJ Productions
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[Jeremy Rochefort] “Your quality will obviously be much less than minidv but forwhat you require”
Nope, it won’t. Digital8 and DV is essentially the same format, just different tapes. The quality is the same as from an equivalent DV camcorder.
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Terje A. Bergesen -
Thought I might buy a cheap camera, never know when I might need to work with D8 again.
In checking B&H I found a Sony DCR TRV 280 for $264.00. But it list firewire in not firewire out. I know that firewire is supposed to be a two-way deal. Did they just forget to mention that it was out allso? They have a DCR TRV 480 for about $100 more that states that the firewire is both in and out. Since the only reason I need this camera is for the transfer of a minimal amount of D8 tape I would hate to spend $100 more if I do not have to.
Anybody
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The quality is the same as from an equivalent DV camcorder. This is what I should have added in to my post.
Most often we encounter older camcorders (where I am anyway) using D8 hence the quality of the camcorders is less. I still have my Sony trv which is D8 and if I compare the footage to a vx2100 – well, you get the picture………..
Cheers
Jeremy
MJ Productions
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The 280 is plenty enough for the needs you describe.
All the DV camcorders that have a firewire port on them do DV-out. Whether they do DV-in as well is usually a regional taxation/import-duty issue and one for PAL only regions, afaik.
What the premium (e.g. DCR-TRV460, DCR-TRV480 etc) Digital8 camcorders have is the ability to input analogue-port piped video onto DV tape (Digital8 format DV tape in this case). They can also convert Hi8 and 8mm tape recordings into DV on the fly and to your PC. Essentially giving some frame/tape-transport slip enhancement along the way (some might argue, providing a basic TBC function). Having the analogue-capture front end on the camera accounts for the extra $ that Sony are asking for. Sometimes you get some additional menu option or touch screen control, but generally they are much the same camera as the cheaper counterpart.
Now the DCR-TRV280 is an older line entry point version of the DCR-TRV285. They don’t differ greatly. The price of these camcorders is about a third of what they were 7 years ago – but then they’ve lost a decent eye-piece, no hot-shoe, no external mic and no improvements in CCD or optics.
If you just want to ingest D8 – you may be best sticking with the cheapest camcorder you can find, even a previous gen “low or no hours” model. They, and the tapes they use are much more robust than miniDV, IMHO.
For the greater market picture however the cameras themselves seriously let this format down with competitive 3CCD SD cameras reaching the average pocket for a premium, but not much of a premium anymore. JVC Everio (microdrive/sd and built-in HD models) are also taking a bite out of the traditional D8 marketplace.
For DV-to-analogue-out passthrough and analogue-to-DV-firewire-out passthrough functions – check the specific camera model or the Internet for any remote-control/LANC interface hacks to enable them. But then, you probably don’t need to care for this unless it reduces the wear of a PD150 if you were using that for this purpose already?
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