Capturing old analog 8mm tapes

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MarkF

Newbie Joined: Dec 12, 2010 15:45 Messages: 2 Offline

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Dec 12, 2010 16:21

I need to capture some older analog 8mm tapes. I have PD 8.0.2704. I have a Sony Digital 8 Handycam. I have a new HP desktop with Windows 7 64-bit. The camera is connected to the PC via Firewire.

I have some 8mm tapes from an older Canon 8mm camcorder. I believe they are analog, not digital. My Handycam plays them just fine, but when I try to capture them in PD, it won't work. I tried automatic batch capturing and just raw capture (i.e. the record button). It shows about 3 seconds of the video, then stops. I went to different places in the tape - same result. Same happens with just the play button.

These older tapes are the most important (kids younger years)!

How can I capture these with PD8?

Thanks.

Redwing Roger

Newbie Joined: Mar 28, 2010 20:34 Messages: 47 Offline

Dec 12, 2010 20:06

I don't think you will be able to capture the analog footage with PD 8. I ran into the same issue and another forum member suggested using Windows Movie Maker, which is a free program. There are some limitations with it such as you can't hear the audio while capturing but it will capture analog footage, at least the version I'm using does. There is a fairly recent version of it that Windows has released and I have not used it, so I can't be sure if it will capture analog footage but it would be worth a try. Once you have the footage captured, you can do all of your editing of the captured clips, in PD 8. There is an updated version of PD 8, build 8.00.3022, from what you are using. Updating your version won't help with capturing analog footage but still something you might want to consider. Good luck.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Dec 12. 2010 20:07

Redwing Roger

Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium, Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz processor, 8Gb DDR3 SDRAM, nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB graphics card, 2nd internal HD - WD Black Caviar 2TB. PD 9 Ultra, Build 9.00.2330