The most comprehensive 2021 tutorial on how to “digitize” DV and Hi8/Digital8 tapes with your old camcorders and modern hardware, almost for free. With lots of tricks and tips on how to avoid frequent mistakes and fix common errors.
Please note that I am not an expert on these formats. If you’re having trouble, don’t hesitate to ask, but also don’t expect me to know everything. If you can use professional services (and that option is financially available to you), definitely use them if you get stuck. Additionally, for all the knowledgeable people, I am simplifying quite some nerdy details for the common layperson, so don’t whine over technical correctness. If you are interested in the history of Digital Video, Hi8, or the details of these technologies, this video is not for you and I would encourage you to do your own research.
00:00 Intro, What Is DV?
01:16 Hardware: Camcorder
01:47 Hardware: Camcorder Troubleshooting
03:22 Hardware PS: Digital8/Hi8 Camcorders
04:46 Hardware: FireWire adapters (and cabling)
06:08 Software: FireWire adapters
06:53 Hardware/Software: Connecting to the Computer
07:37 Software: Using VLC
09:35 Software: Dumping DV data with VLC
12:15 Software: Troubleshooting DV dumps & audio glitches
14:09 Software: Converting to MP4 (H.264)
15:24 Software: Editing & Footage cleaning
16:33 Outro
Links:
The roller replacement fix (warning: potato quality). https://youtu.be/VUIN-ygjN_g
VLC media player: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
The OpenFX Misc package, including a great deinterlacer: https://github.com/NatronGitHub/openfx-misc
The camcorders featured in this video are the Sony Handycam DCR-HC24 (MiniDV camcorder) and DCR-TRV720E (Digital8 camcorder and Hi8 player), both models in the PAL version.