I have some Analog 8mm Video8 tapes, but no player. How do I play these tapes? Can I buy any brand of old camcorder or do I have to buy the same Sony that they were recorded on? It looks like Sony makes VCR-like players to. Links would be helpful. Thanks.
Good question Zac-James, I'm glad you were not hesitant to ask it... especially given the number of technical quesitons that TechLore gets everyday.
You can buy any camcorder or stand-alone 8mm VCR (if you can even find one) that is capable of playing analog 8mm tapes. It does not have to be the same Sony model it was recorded on, or even a Sony product.
Welcome to the community! I hope you get involved and share your opinion in other discussions happening all over the site. And don't forget to tell everyone you know about TechLore.com!
My guess would be that you probably know someone that you could borrow a Video8 Camcorder from. Ask around, maybe even your brother or sister has one...
If that doesn't work, poke around at a garage sale or eBay.
I have the same delma. I just bought a sony trv280 camcorder because it stated it plays 8mm tapes.
Well, it will record on the older cheaper 8mm tapes, but will only play back old hi 8 ,not 8mm analog.
After talking to sony tech support for a hour and a half they finally came up with a dcr trv 480 camcorder.
So I search the net to find out that you have to buy it on ebay used or refurbished! Ireally dont want to by used because I already have 3 broken cameras already!
There has to be a new camcorder, maybe by a make other than sony that plays old 8mm analog tapes, as well as Hi8. That has the new technlogy connections that is compatible computer transfer or dvd recording.
It is funny that they sell cameras to keep memories for the long term, but your just out of luck if your old camera breaks! Any new products would be appreciated.
Another option is to use a service to convert the tapes for you, then you don't even have to deal with the conversion process itself or buying a camcorder that supports those tapes.
If you search the Internet for something like "convert 8mm to DVD", you should find many services that would work.