I've collected a number of 8mm tapes recorded either on a long-since dead
Sony CCD-F33 or a currently-used Sony DCR-TRV120 (w/firewire). I'd like to
get them on DVD for TV viewing.

I have a decent home-built PC: x800gto video, 300gb sata, AMD Atlon 64
3500+, firewire-capable motherboard, 2GB RAM, WinXP sp2.

As for software, I have an old Pinnacle Studio 7 and a NERO OEM suite that
includes Nero 6, and of course, Windows Movie Maker. I don't plan on doing
too much sophisticated authoring - maybe just adding titles. Any advice as
to whether I should use any of the software I have? Or maybe get something
like ULead DVD MovieFactory, which I've seen mentioned as a good, basic
option?

Thanks,
Pete

On Feb 4, 11:07 am, "Pete" <pfgoer...@cs.com> wrote:
I'm in the same boat, man. I'm going to go the easy way and get an
old Digital 8 camcorder off ebay and use that to Firewire it in.
See my other thread, I suggest the TRV520.
Basically when you play an analog 8mm tape in a D8 cam, you can stream
it via Firewire as if it was a digital recording.

FYI : I have a Sony DCR-TRV240 and a Sony DCR-TRV460 that
I am keeping to insure that I have a camcorder to convert with
in the future. Both the 240 and the 460 will read & convert to digital
every 8mm & Hi-8 analog that I have fed to them. Additionally, I "think"
that the 280 is currently being sold at Wally-Mart, Fry's etc.
as we speak - so there is a current Sony being sold today.

If you just want to convert, bet you can find a really cheap Sony
on eBay that has a damaged lens, etc. - but plays just fine :-)
All that you really need is a Sony camcorder that plays, and comes
with a 110VAC power supply.

I have not even looked to see if I can use the pass-through on one
of mine to convert VCR .. hmmm ... may be a better solution that
using a DVR - anyone ever try passing analog VCR through a Sony
camcorder to see if the output is better than just using a DVR or PC?

Gene




"Edward" <Edward.Nuxters@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1170795876.802248.81660@h3g2000cwc.googlegrou ps.com...

"Gene" <genes@wildblue.net> wrote in message
news:Tx7yh.152$0e.45101@news.sisna.com...
the software to use.

Pete

I have recently purchased Nero 7, Roxio 8, and the Sony 7 code.
IMHO, all companies should be embarrassed to sell these products.

My gut feeling is that TMPGEnc DVD Author 2.? is probably the best
overall choice of everything out there at this time. As soon as I find a
good
deal on it, I guess I will purchase it & see:-)

Why not just connect the 120 to a set-top box ( like my Pana ES20)
and do a 1:1 conversion to DVD via iLink (DV / firewire)?
You get something that resembles a menu, with auto chapters.
Simple & quick.

If you go the PC route, I strongly suggest that you have an IEEE 1394
Texas Instruments chip on the MB, or on a PCI card, etc. My VT6306
(VIA chip) PCI card about drove me crazy trying to make a Sony anything
work reliably. I just ordered a Belkin F5U503 PCI card, which I'm pretty
sure
will fix my freezing problems with the Sony camcorders. (You can go into
your Windows devices & see what 1394 hardware you have in your PC.)

Gene








"Pete" <pfgoergen@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:Lr8yh.1928$Yl3.401@trndny09...

Gene wrote:
Fairly sure its avail for download and eval.

If you aren't looking for sophisticated titles, you can do the job
with Windows MM and Nero 6. Actually, some of the titles and
transitions in Windows MM are decent. Nero 6 will let you use any .jpg
for chapter titles on your main menu of your DVD. I captured and
edited several 1 to 2 minute clips from my 8 mm library and burned
them to DVD using these two products and was satisfied with the
results. Give it a whirl.

I'm a relative newbie to capture/edit/render/author and I got ULead's
Movie Studio v.8 Basic with the firewire card I bought ($20 for card,
firewire and Ulead MSv8) and have been having a blast with it. I
haven't tried authoring with Movie Studio yet, but I presume it will
be good.

powrwrap wrote:
If its just cool titles you want. Ulead's Cool3d is cheap and can do
really cool 3D text. Not really good for lots of text, but an animated
title is what it was made for. Think they sell it for about $40 these days.

On Feb 6, 5:44 pm, "Gene" <g...@wildblue.net> wrote:

That's what I'm doing - looking for various Sony Camcorders in D8
format to do the conversion.
But I want one that is somewhat decent for normal camcorder'ing. I
have a Sony HC3 HDV as well, and there may be an application where I
wouldn't want to bring the expensive HDV camera somewhere. That's
where the Sony D8 would come in.

On Feb 7, 6:31 pm, "powrwrap" <powrw...@aol.com> wrote:

If he uses Windows MM and an analog input he will NOT get the full 720
x 480 NTSC resolution. The max MM can do with an analog capture is
640x480.

But if he goes with FIrewire than yes he'll get the full 720.
The quality settings can be strange to a novice as well.
for captureing DV via firewire, there's a little utility for XP -
freeware and I comepletely forgot what its called. Its better to use
that than anything microsoft.

Given what you just said, and "if" you plan on converting
a LOT of analog tapes to DVD, and you also want a
fairly decent D8 to film with - then you may want to go
to Fry's, CC, BB, etc. and purchase a new Sony 280
and pay an extra $25 for the free repair/replacement plan.
Adding a wide-angle lens is a must for the Sonys, IMHO.
(BTW - CompUSA has always "replaced" my stuff - which
I like a lot better than repairing.)
..
Or you can get a used one on eBay & gamble. I took a few
VERY old 8mm & Hi-8 tapes into Fry's and the attendant
let me play them on a demo Sony 280 - ALL played just fine.
The last time I looked, the 280 (and another fancier model) were
current models. I think they still sell a Hi-8 camcorder too ,
not sure why though.

Gene





"Edward" <Edward.Nuxters@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1170978880.837444.259080@v45g2000cwv.googlegr oups.com...

Earlier in this thread you said that you thought the TRV520 would be a
good choice, and it would be, but the basic camera guts, the CCD
sensor is the same as the lower priced units. You need to get into the
TRV700 and up to get a more sensitive camcorder.

On Feb 8, 7:00 pm, "Edward" <Edward.Nuxt...@gmail.com> wrote:
WinDV!!!

That's it, Win DV!