How To Play 8mm Video Tapes Without A Camera

Since the earliest moving picture created by Eadward Muybridge in 1878, moving-picture show engineering has been rapidly evolved, leaving piles of outdated technology in its wake. From the Kinetoscope to the two-reel projector to the Super eight to the iPhone, the tools go on irresolute but the images are everlasting. Here's a brief history of 8mm/Hi8 tapes and some tips on converting them to more than current formats.

Where did 8mm video come from?
The 8mm motion-picture show format was introduced by the Eastman Kodak company during the Slap-up Depression and released to the market in 1932 to create a dwelling house movie format that was less expensive than 16mm. Super 8mm motion-picture show cameras were start manufactured in 1965 past Kodak for their newly introduced amateur moving picture format, which replaced the original Standard 8mm film format.

If you've seen Spielberg'due south sleeper hitting Super eight , yous'll recognize the 1970's camera obsessed over by the teenage protagonist. Super viii was the cheapest film around and worked on cameras that started for under $30. Many families purchased Super 8 cameras to certificate birthdays, holidays and vacations. The camera was so lightweight that kids could use it likewise.

Manufacturing of Kodak's Super 8 continued until the rise in popularity of video cameras in the mid 1970s. In 1985 Sony introduced Video8 which was an analogue video tape cassette format using 8mm tape, designed for employ in 8mm camcorders.

The three formats of 8mm video
Most popular in the late lxxx's and xc's but at present making a improvement in nostalgic Tv set shows and films, 8mm video came in three formats.

Kickoff is the original Video8 analog tape cassette format designed primarily for use in camcorders such as the Sony Handycam line. The resolution of Video8 is the aforementioned equally VHS , but in terms of sound quality, Video8 comfortably outperformed non-HiFi VHS or Betamax.

In 1989, Hi8 was introduced every bit a better-quality version of Video8 using a combination of higher-grade record and improved recording mechanisms to increase bandwidth.

A digital version, Digital8 was introduced in 1999 by Sony. Digital8 remained a consumer format and rose in popularity for abode video. Most Digital8 camcorders can play dorsum analogue Video8 and Hi8 tapes. The concluding Digital8 camcorder, the Sony DCR-TRV285, was discontinued in 2007.

Five methods for converting 8mm tapes
Whether you are using the camcorder to create retro-analog films or have a pile of tapes ready to be rescued, these are the acme solutions for transferring 8mm tapes to digital:

i. Mail-in transfer services
You can use a post-in videotape transfer service such as iMemories, Legacybox or Costco but this means you have to relinquish the Just re-create of your irreplaceable holding. You lot as well take to sacrifice your privacy and pay fees (up to $20 per tape). And y'all'll need to be patient. Virtually mail-in or driblet off services take upwards to three weeks until yous'll get access to the digital files and fifty-fifty longer to become back your original materials.

2. Copy from your camcorder to VHS or DVD
Some other method is to re-create to VHS or DVD from you 8mm camcorder, then transfer from VHS or DVD to a digital file that you can store on your estimator. This requires multiple devices, wires and connections that volition exit yous tangled and frustrated. There are converting machines yous tin buy such equally the MovieMaker-PRO which tin can cost upwards to $400 and won't capture sound from some formats.

3. Purchase an encoding device
Smaller devices similar ClearClick, Elgato, Vidbox, Digitnow, Diamond, Roxio tin catechumen 8mm. These are less expensive (from $36 - $119) but crave that you lot accept an 8mm video format camcorder to play the tapes back. You may not be satisfied with the quality of the transfer as lower quality encoding chips are used.

4. Re-tape on a surface
Of course, y'all can always project the video onto a pristine surface and re-record a lifetime of recordings with your iphone or ipad. Simply who has time or space for this attempt?

5. Utilise Mac Software such as LifeFlix
LifeFlix is easy to use and offers loftier-quality compression and HD conversion options. The founders spent over 20 years in the video engineering industry and developed LifeFlix considering iMovie no longer suNpported their camcorders. With this software, you just adhere your onetime camcorder to your Mac with a FireWire cable. It needs to be a Digital8 camcorder which has a FireWire port and can also play Hi8 and Video8 tapes. (If yous've lost the device you can get a used Digital8 camcorder on eBay for about $l).

So once y'all launch LifeFlix, the record starts to run and the capture begins. LifeFlix can detect when the tape starts and stops and then information technology creates new scenes that you lot tin label individually, trim or combine. In that location is one caveat that sometimes with sometime 8mm tapes this scene detection does not piece of work. It's a mystery we're trying to figure out! Later on importing your old tapes you tin exercise some editing and even at present share it in iMessages, AirDrop and email.

If yous are a Mac user and have an 8mm video camcorder, yous can convert as many tapes as you like for $79.99. It's the simplest converter that offers high quality transfer and editing options.