How to transfer DV or Digital8 videos to your PC

You can then edit them, save them and share them with Windows Live Movie Maker. To convert your VHS tapes to digital, you’ll need four major components. We’ll go over that list first, and then you can join us further down the article once you’ve figured out and gathered everything you need. If the camcorder records on MiniDVD discs, it may have a USB port , but some may not. If it has a USB port, you can connect the camcorder to a PC using a standard or mini/micro-to-standard USB cable. When transferring video recorded on tape, uploading is in real time. If the tape is one hour long, it takes one hour to upload from a camcorder or player to a PC.

Digitization professionals who are experienced with video editing software will take a look at your videos to ensure the best possible digitization for all those memorable moments. All you need to do here is connect a Firewire cable from your MiniDV playback device to the DV-in port of the video capture device. Then, you complete the job by connecting a USB cable from the USB out port of the device to the USB port of your computer. When you search for solutions for converting old tapes to digital, you will usually get results about video converters or video capturing devices. Unfortunately, video converters tend to have issues with drivers . Uploading video through an analog-to-digital video capture device is done in real time.

i.LINK cable / FireWire

If you don’t want to bother with doing this yourself, there are services available that will convert your old videotapes to digital for you. If you’re interested, check out Walmart Photo and Costco Photo Center.

SONY EV-A50 ( EV-C3 ) Video8 VCR 8mm Tape Player

It was far easier to record on and watch MiniDV, and for a while it was a very popular way of making home movies. The popularity of the format was short lived though, as digital formats came into popular use soon after the MiniDV was released. Firstly, you don’t have to use any expensive cables and secondly, you don’t have to open up your computer casing to install a video capture card. Evolving technology has left many of us with our own videos in older formats.

Read more about minidv camcorder tapes to digital here.

On the other hand, you may need a courier service to transport your stuff to the conversion center. Unfortunately, as reliable as courier services may be, anything can happen, and your stuff may be damaged or go missing. Unfortunately, not all computer systems come with Firewire ports.

If you or a family member was a prolific photographer back in the day, you may have a number—okay, scores—of photo albums or shoeboxes full of loose prints stuffed into closets. Sadly, these start to feel like unwieldy clutter and can’t be easily shared with relatives, copied, or organized the way digital photos can be. In a dark room, set the projector and video camera up next to each other. Project the film evenly onto the wall or screen, then adjust the viewfinder in your digital camera so that the image being projected fills the whole view. Then press Play on the projector and Record on the camera to capture your footage. This article cover two methods for transferring 8mm and Hi8 videotapes to DVD or VHS. This is another device in this category that you can rely on.

Hire a service.Though film conversion services aren’t cheap, they’re a lot easier than the DIY methods described above. In addition to local film specialists, major retailers such as Costco and Walgreens have conversion services for 16 mm, 8mm, and Super 8 film formats. Like Hilton, people often “will find a stash of old home movies,” Steinberg says.