The Hi 8 format was a further refinement of 8 mm videotape formats introduced in the late 1980s. As an analog format that used magnetic tape to record the video signal, these tapes become worn with age and use. Archiving the tapes to a DVD format will insure family memories will be preserved for years to come. You can use a computer TV tuner to convert your Hi 8 video tapes to digital files that can be recorded as DVDs.
Instructions
1. Connect the TV tuner to your computer's USB port. If needed, install the software provided with the TV tuner that allows you to record video from your Hi 8 camcorder.
2. Plug the Hi 8 camcorder into the TV tuner's video inputs. If your camcorder is equipped with an S-Video video output, use an S-Video cable to connect the video output of the camcorder to the S-Video input of the TV tuner. If only RCA jacks are present on the camcorder, use an RCA audio-video cable to connect both the video and audio outputs from the camcorder to the RCA inputs of the TV tuner.
3. Open the video recording software supplied with the TV tuner and configure the software to designate which folder you want the digitized video files to be stored in. If your TV tuner software allows you to select the recording format, make sure to select MPEG-2 as the file format.
4. Begin play back of your Hi 8 video tape in the camcorder and enter the record mode in the TV tuner software. When the tape is finished, stop the recording. Name and save the file to the folder specified in the previous step. Repeat as necessary until you have converted all your Hi 8 video tapes.
5. Import the digitized files into a DVD creation program. If you do not have DVD creation software, use the resource link provided to download free DVD burning software. Arrange the digitized video files according to the capacity of your DVD. You can fit approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes of converted Hi 8 video onto a single-layer DVD. Almost twice as much video will fit onto a dual-layer DVD.
6. When you have finished adding video clips to your DVD project, insert a recordable DVD and burn the project.
Tags: your video, your video tapes, cable connect, digitized video, digitized video files, record video, tuner software
