Hi Guys. I posted this question over at proptopia, but thought there might be somebody here with some advice. Thanks.
*I found some old family movies on 8mm that were made loooong before I was born. I’d like to transfer them to dvd.
I looked at telecine machines, but they’re pretty expensive… So, I guess the next best thing would be to use my 3ccd camera and film right of the projector screen to a mini dv tape and then burn it to a dvd… I tried this method last night with success, but I’m not as happy with it as I could be. The color is a little off and it’s not as clear as it could be. Maybe those are just the sacrifices in the transfering process?
Does any one have any experience doing this and/or some advice?
I have a little experience in this from high school. Best thing to do is get some adapters to go from an 8mm player to a computer. I remember we had this video editing machine that let us burn onto whatever we want.
Ya, the projector I’ve got used to belong to Fred Flinstone. So it doesn’t have anyway of connecting up to anything but a projector screen. :lol:
Keith over on proptopia explained to me what the problem was and that the cheapest solution is to get this box the projector points and plays into. Then the video camera lense is pointed into the other side of the box and whalla! Problem solved.
The funny thing is… After I explained to my dad, what Keith had explained to me, my dad said, “Oh, we’ve got one of those in the closet.” :x Why he didn’t mention that in the beginning is beyond me. :lol:
Anyway… Thanks Jim for your input. Once I get the 8mm transfered to a mini DV tape, I will be using your method to put it onto a DVD.
I found something that might work. It’s called a CameraMate it’s 49.99 at RadioShack, and it’s a hub that you hook RCA cables (White red and yellow) into, and on the other end, is a usb. It has hardware for recording and I’m just about to test ours out. We’re gonna use it for the camera for filming GBJS the movie.
Does it come with software for your computer?.. I actually just dropped $, well more than I care to mention on a video editing card for my computer. It’s actual hardware that I installed into the computer and it’s got a pod that plugs into it that has connections for the RCAs and S-video. The cool thing is, it’s also got output connections to go to a monitor, so you can see how things will look on the television… When you get ready to make your movie, be sure you hook a monitor up to the computer, so you can see how things will look. It’s always different between the computermonitor and the TV. Trust me, I F***ed up my first project not knowing that. If you want more details, pm me.
I don’t think he’s talking about 8mm tapes (as in, from an analog camcorder); I think he’s talking about 8mm actual film, which complicates thing immensely.
Dollar for dollar you might just want to browse the yellow pages and locate a company that will do the transfers on the better equipment… The results will be 100% better then you can probably get at home with the DIY methods…
I checked the one place in town that would do it and it was going to be extremely expensive…
I’ve been using the “little box with the mirror in it,” I forget what the proper name is. :lol: And have been filming the image with a Canon XL-1. The results have been pretty damn good. I don’t think I could justify spending the money that the company here in town wanted. Although, I’m not arguing the quality of transfer probably would have been better.
Thanks to everyone here who has offered me advice and tips on this matter. I appreciate it!
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