1. Not all Digital8 camcorders can play Hi8 tapes. It was a "high-end" feature.
2. The output of a Digital8 camcorder, via FireWire/i.LINK connection, is a digital file, in DV format. That is the highest quality, better than MPEG2. Save it as such (is not a "capture", is a pure digital copy).
3. Convert the resulting big file (some 13GB for 1 hour) in h264.

Thank you for the help and quick reply. This is the camcorder I ordered from e-bay to transfer my old tapes.

Sony Handycam DCR-TRV340 digital8 Plays 8mm Hi8 Formats transfer to PC/ DVD

When a Hi8/8mm tape is played back, it will be converted to a digital signal when sent through the i.LINK (IEEE 1394) jack of this unit.

You need a FireWire cable and associated input in the PC.

I second what Sonic said and would like to add:

You may want to try the free capture software (works better/faster for capturing than PowerDirector in IMHO) ScenalyzerLive.

This software, an old Hi8 deck and a analog/digital converter like the ADVC-55, is what I use and it does the job flawlessly, hour after hour! Mike B.
|>>PowerSpecG311 PC(2014)<<||>>Windows®7Pro 64-bit OS<<|
|MB:AsRock FM2A88X Extreme6+|CPU:AMD A10-7850KQuad 3.7GHz|RAM:8GB DDR3|GPU:MSI Radeon™R7 250 1GD5OC|
|HDD:Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB|HDD:WD Red 2TBx2|RAID:SansDigital TR5M+B 2TBx3|BD-R:LG BE14NU40 Ext|
|Camera:Canon Ultura miniDV|WebCam:Logitech C910|ADVC110 Analog/Digital Converter|
|PowerDirector12Ultra.2930|PhotoDirector5Ultra.5424|AudioDirector4Ultra.3522|Cyberlink MediaSuite10 OEM|

A simple software to copy the DV is WinDV.

As for hardware, he doesn't need anything but that camera - it has the needed ADC.

Quote: As for hardware, he doesn't need anything but that camera - it has the needed ADC.

Correct. Mike B.
|>>PowerSpecG311 PC(2014)<<||>>Windows®7Pro 64-bit OS<<|
|MB:AsRock FM2A88X Extreme6+|CPU:AMD A10-7850KQuad 3.7GHz|RAM:8GB DDR3|GPU:MSI Radeon™R7 250 1GD5OC|
|HDD:Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB|HDD:WD Red 2TBx2|RAID:SansDigital TR5M+B 2TBx3|BD-R:LG BE14NU40 Ext|
|Camera:Canon Ultura miniDV|WebCam:Logitech C910|ADVC110 Analog/Digital Converter|
|PowerDirector12Ultra.2930|PhotoDirector5Ultra.5424|AudioDirector4Ultra.3522|Cyberlink MediaSuite10 OEM|

takovr678.

Quote: When a Hi8/8mm tape is played back, it will be converted to a digital signal when sent through the i.LINK (IEEE 1394) jack of this unit.

You need a FireWire cable and associated input in the PC.

Do it as SoNic67 says. PD will recognize your Sony Handycam DCR-TRV340 and convert to DvD Mpeg files.
use PD13 to edit and produce DvDs. you don't need anything else except two cables.
I've done it in the past. both PC(you need DV to FireWire(IEEE 1394) cable) and the DVR.
I used Panasonic DMR-EZ475V DvD recorder(all you need is DV to DV cable).

from here I transferred to Panasonic DMR-E85H with 120 GB HD.
I've transferred Beta, Super Beta, S VHS, Hi8 & Digital8 to Panasonic DMR-E85H.
you edit in the DMR-E85H. GUI is easy and simple, learning curve is easy to lay back!
saved a lot of memories and resulting DvDs are superb, too.

if it doesn't come out as you've anticipated then don't be upset.
just like in the IT world, it's garbage in garbage out.

good luck.
'no bridge too far'

Yashica Electro 8 LD-6 Super 8mm
Asrock TaiChi X470, AMD R7 2700X, W7P 64, MSI GTX1060 6GB, Corsair 16GB/RAM
Dell XPS L702X i7-2860QM, W7P / W10P 64, Intel HD3000/nVidia GT 550M 1GB, Micron 16GB/RAM
Samsung Galaxy Note3/NX1

for a Christmas gift to my 4 kids, I was faced with the same challenge. I had recorded 100's of 8mm both REG and HI8, Circa 1984, with a mix of recorders, including a first generation Kodak recorder. All I wanted to do was to digitize all of this media, and nothing more. I also wanted to preserve these with a secure strategy.
Here is my strategy.
1. first the process has to be easy, and somewhat automatic.
2. I wanted to write every tape to a separate DVD so as not to concentrate all of the output to a one or more hard drives. This way I would have a playable DVD for every tape.
3. I want to also create an electronic copy of every tape that can be played on a PC, Mp4, H264, etc. in single large files for each tape.
4. I want to give my kids (4) a complete set of all media.

So, I purchased a used Sony VRD-VC20 standalone Video Recorder, less than $100
(note this unit does not have Windows 7 drivers, so don't think it's usable much beyond what I am doing)
I also purchased a used Sony EV C100 Hi8 play deck, and a few head cleaners.

with these two items, I had a stand-alone DVD creator for every tape.
a 60 minute tape could be captured using HQ mode
a 90 minute tape could be captured using LP mode
since these were both 8 and HI8 formats, I really could not see much difference in the playable DVD.
So over a period of a month, I simply stuck a -R DVD into the recorder, hit play on a Tape, and voila, I created over 100' DVD's with little more that insert tape, hit record, hit play..
The process was so easy, the entire family can help watch the process and keep it going.

I then used PowerDirector 13, to import the video creating a single MPG file for every DVD.
On another PC, I used MagicISO to create a compressed universal format image copy of every DVD.. this way I our any kid could create a replacement DVD for each other as needed without the use of a tool other than Magic ISO or imageburn.

And finally, I purchase 4 1TB USB 3.0 portable hard drives $65, and have written the entire contents of all media, the MPG playable video, plus the DVD images, plus created a complete set of DVD's for my own firesafe, and one kid, and given each of four the portable drive containing over 600GB of video.

I'm now doing the same for over 150 tapes recorded on MiniDV format and the process is a bit different.
Adding a Firewire card to my system, I'm simply capturing the entire contents of every tape to a H.264 High Quality file.

I'm nearly done, and the process began on the 1st of December. Merry Christmas Kids.

I have the Sony TRV740 Digital 8mm camcorder. Probably very similar to the TRV340. Like Sonic67, I prefer using WinDV because it reads the date stamp on the time and uses that for the file name (digital 8mm only).

Capture hi8 and 8mm analog, but uses the current date/time. WinDV does give you a choice to name the files, too.

Check to see if the TRV340 has AV INPUT. My TRV740 does. i can connect a regular VCR out to the Camcorder AV in and capture to the PC directly (AV pass through to firewire). Intel i7 4770k, 16GB, GTX1060 3GB, Two 240GB SSD, 4TB HD, Sony HDR-TD20V 3D camcorder, Sony SLT-A65VK for still images, Windows 10 Pro, 64bit
Gary Russell -- TN USA