Manufacturer of a Hi 8 video player

spsandheinrich wrote on 2/13/2023, 9:04 PM

Hello everyone. I have a lot of videotapes in the Hi 8 format that I would like to have converted to a digital format. I've been searching and I have not found a company that manufactures a player. The devices that I have seen on Amazon require a working camcorder to do the transfer. Can anyone recommend a company that I could look into? I would prefer to do this myself because it would cost a fortune for the number of tapes that I have to convert.

Comments

emmrecs wrote on 2/14/2023, 4:30 AM

@spsandheinrich

Welcome to the Magix user to user forums, with what is a somewhat unusual first post!

I don't think any company now produces a Hi 8 Video Player, in fact I'm not sure they ever existed, sorry! The technology is now very old. I think the only option for you is to see if you can find and buy a Hi 8 camera. They sometimes can be found on sites like Ebay.

I do quite a lot of digitising of old video tapes, VHS, Hi 8 etc., and the only method I know to carry out the process with Hi 8 footage is via a Hi 8 camera.

HTH

Jeff
Forum Moderator

spsandheinrich wrote on 2/14/2023, 9:16 AM

Hello Jeff. It is been quite some time since my last post, probably a couple of years.

I've been kind of skimming through the eBay postings and since that equipment is quite old, I wonder how much more life I can get out of it considering the price I'm going have to pay. It appears that there are several options to convert the slide photos and the reel to reel videos but no one has come up with a Hi 8 format. Even some type of adapter so I could play it in the VHS cassette deck.

Thank you again for your feedback and I hope all is well.

emmrecs wrote on 2/14/2023, 9:53 AM

@spsandheinrich

Thanks for the reply.

It is been quite some time since my last post, probably a couple of years

Unless you have changed your user name or created a new account (which you should not have been able to do) your forum posting history shows this thread as the first you have ever created. So, I don't understand your comment, sorry.

I fully understand why you are reluctant to potentially spend a not inconsiderable sum of money but I fear that is your only option if you wish to digitise your tapes. Because I do such transfer work (semi-)professionally I had to make a considerable investment in VHS, DV and Hi 8 playback equipment over a number of years. I've never regretted it and (so far) that equipment has "kept going" and more than repaid the initial outlay, given that I do charge for the work I do.

You mention some type of adaptor to play it in the VHS cassette deck; that is never going to happen, sorry. You can get a physical adaptor which allows VHS-C (VHS Compact) tapes to be played in a standard VHS player but that works because the actual technology involved in making and replaying the recordings is identical, only the actual size of the cassettes is different.

Hi 8, DV and VHS are ALL totally different technologies (as was Betamax if you remember that) both in terms of their actual mechanics as well as their recording formats. The various proponents of these all saw "their format" as the best, to the exclusion of any competition. Under no circumstances would they ever have considered some degree of interoperability.

Jeff