How to transfer DV or Digital8 videos to your PC

Connect the USB output of the video capture device to a USB port on the PC. The type of camcorder, the connections it has, and the supporting software on the PC determine how videos can be uploaded and saved. You could connect a Firewire cable directly from the player to your computer and import the contents of your 8mm video cassette into your computer via your video editing program.

If you don’t know what you are doing, please don’t start transferring on your own because you will probably damage or destroy the tape, which will lead to a permanent loss of footage. Instead, let the professionals do what they know best and save your memories in the best possible way. The obvious and most common way is the VHS-C adapter, the other is connecting the video camera. Using both methods, I will show how to transfer a VHS-C to digital. On the higher end is the Elgato Video Capture ($87.11). The USB-to-composite converter plugs into your VCR and computer to digitize those old tapes. It comes with its own video-capture software, and outputs at 640 x 480.

How to digitize VHS tapes

For instance, you can upload your files to cloud storage, and some cloud providers offer free storage of up to 50GB. This amount of storage is more than enough for most people.

Option 2: Using Windows Live Photo Gallery

Check out this video to get a feel of the Sony EV-A50 8mm player. You’ve got to correctly point it at your camcorder to get it working.

Digital8 cameras have the luxury of being hybrid beasts that could play back Video8, Hi8 and digital format. Press RECORD on the capture card software then press play on the camera. What I have found in the past that running the VHS-C tape directly from the camera gave no issues what so ever. Compare that to some cassettes not working correctly in an adapter and you have a stress free option.

You have the option to have media delivered as a digital download, a thumb drive or a disc set. If you are still unable to import videos after you have switched the driver to , the problem may be hardware-related. The problem could be with the port itself on the camcorder or computer, or a defective cable. Try swapping leads or using a different port if possible. Even if you do no advanced editing to your video files, you should trim them using the built-in trim tool in the video conversion software. That’ll let you eliminate static and video glitches from the very start and end of each tape. Remember, you should probably try this process with a test tape first, ensuring you don’t lose anything in the event that your equipment malfunctions.

Read more about miniDV to usb here.

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