so my uncle lends me his hi-8 camcorder (8mm, etc.) so I can go back through old tapes and rip them to computer.
so on the camcorder, i'm able to play like, 99% of my tapes, except for two of them.
the two of them that don't work, seem to have at least 2 hours worth of play time (!), so I figured hey, maybe i need to switch the play mode from SP to LP.
I did so, and still nothing.
What happens (which lets me know there is video on there for sure, since I taped these tapes myself) is that you hear this constant clicking, static-type noise, which makes me think one thing;
These tapes were recorded in a mode alternate from SP or LP, maybe like something in the middle (90 minutes), or something even more than LP (SLP or something).
So since this camcorder can only do SP and LP, any suggestions, or do you think it's not the length/play speed thing at all?
hi-8 camcorder can't play back hi-8 tapes lol
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Is it possible those tapes are Digital8?
Early in the digital camcorder era, Sony had some digital camcorders that used 8mm tapes instead of MiniDV. I never worked with these, so I don't know what you would get if you tried to playback a Digital8 tape in an 8mm/Hi-8 deck. Digital8 decks were able to play 8mm and Hi-8 though.
It's also possible that the tapes are just toast. Magnetic media does have a finite shelf life and environmental factors could also cause them to go kaput.
Early in the digital camcorder era, Sony had some digital camcorders that used 8mm tapes instead of MiniDV. I never worked with these, so I don't know what you would get if you tried to playback a Digital8 tape in an 8mm/Hi-8 deck. Digital8 decks were able to play 8mm and Hi-8 though.
It's also possible that the tapes are just toast. Magnetic media does have a finite shelf life and environmental factors could also cause them to go kaput.
Well, the camcorder is a 8mm camcorder, meaning it should be able to play digital8, 8mm, and hi-8; the tapes that play fine, AND the tapes that don't work, are both hi-8.Ho wrote:Is it possible those tapes are Digital8?
Early in the digital camcorder era, Sony had some digital camcorders that used 8mm tapes instead of MiniDV. I never worked with these, so I don't know what you would get if you tried to playback a Digital8 tape in an 8mm/Hi-8 deck. Digital8 decks were able to play 8mm and Hi-8 though.
It's also possible that the tapes are just toast. Magnetic media does have a finite shelf life and environmental factors could also cause them to go kaput.
For the tapes being toast, that doesn't make any sense, because we have about 50 tapes in a box that's been closed for years; tapes that were recorded back in '97 play perfectly, while these tapes, recorded in 2000, don't. ><
Both of Potter's statements are true. The 8mm series is backward compatible but not forward compatible. A Digital 8 deck will play all three. Hi-8 will play Hi-8 or 8mm. 8mm will play only 8mm. And Hi-8 and Digital 8 tapes are essentially the same thing.
As for the possibility of the tapes being toast. If they're 10 years old, it's certainly possible. That's sort of short, but possible. Magnetic media doesn't last forever. Even if they were stored properly, they could eventually lose their signal. It could be those tapes were a bad batch and pooped out sooner. However, especially if they're analog, I would expect that you'd still be able to see or hear a little something even if they were dying.
As for the possibility of the tapes being toast. If they're 10 years old, it's certainly possible. That's sort of short, but possible. Magnetic media doesn't last forever. Even if they were stored properly, they could eventually lose their signal. It could be those tapes were a bad batch and pooped out sooner. However, especially if they're analog, I would expect that you'd still be able to see or hear a little something even if they were dying.
shit, i dont have the camera right now (dad has it somewhere, dunno where, and he's asleep) but i'll go look; i didn't know about the backwards and forwards compatibility thing.Potter wrote:just because its 8mm doesn't mean it can play digital 8
does it say it can play digital 8 anywhere on it? or have a firewire output?
that might just be it, because i remember the camera we recorded those two tapes on specifically wasn't the one we generally used, and it seemed higher-end than the one we generally used, so that might just be it.
as for the magnetic stuff, i dunno, i'm like 100% positive that's not it, and it's instead this digital8 thing, cuz some of these tapes are like from the 80's and still going haha
That was my first instinct as well (obviously). I was just throwing out any possibilities I could think of. 10 years is a pretty short life for a magnetic tape that isn't damaged, baked in an oven, left in a car in the summer, placed on an electromagnet, etc. (i.e. heinously abused). But it was a possibility. Sometimes newer tapes die before older ones.liquidblue aka DBV wrote:as for the magnetic stuff, i dunno, i'm like 100% positive that's not it, and it's instead this digital8 thing, cuz some of these tapes are like from the 80's and still going haha
However, your description makes it sound like there's a signal there...just not one that the camera can do anything with. And that leads us back to the Digital 8 theory.