How to Convert/transfer 8mm Camcorder Tapes to DVD

8 mm was a very popular video format in the '80s and '90s, now it has since been replaced by digital video. Hi8 and Digital8 were the 8 mm tape formats. For people who still have 8 mm tapes with footage they want to keep, converting the tapes to DVDs is the best option. Sending the 8 mm tape out to be converted to DVD can be very expensive. Follow these steps to convert 8 mm tapes to DVD on your own.

Because Video8 and Hi8 are analog video formats, transferring either to a computer requires digitization. One method is to feed the video signal to an analog capture card connected to the computer itself.

Another option involves the use of a pass-through adapter, which outputs a digitized video signal in the industry-standard DV format. Many consumer-level MiniDV and Digital8 camcorders have this facility built in. The DV signal can then be fed into a computer equipped with a firewire port. Another method is to use a Digital8 camcorder (with Video8/Hi8 playback) to transfer to a computer equipped with a firewire port. This is probably a better method due to the advantage of the computer having full control over the camcorder, which is impossible with analogue models. Once on a computer, footage can be edited, processed, and transferred to DVD, the Internet, or back to tape. This tutorial will show you detailed step on how to transfer 8mm tapes to DVD all by yourself.

Part 1 Transfer 8mm tapes to computer

Step 1. Connect your 8 mm tape player, which can be your 8 mm tape camcorder, to your TV tuner card. The tuner card will work as a video-capturing device when connected to certain devices, such as the 8 mm tape player. Use standard A/V cables or an S-Video cable, whichever your tape player supports, to connect the player to the card.

Step 2. Run the video-capturing software that came with your TV tuner card. This software will save footage from your 8 mm tapes onto your hard drive. You can also use editing software, such as Avid and Adobe Premiere, to capture the footage.

Step 3. Insert the 8 mm tape into the 8 mm tape player, and find the spot in the tape where you want to begin the capturing process.

Step 4. Select either "Options" or "Settings" in the video-capturing software and make sure that the output format, which could also be labeled "capture format," is MPEG-2 because it is best for burning to DVD.

Step 5. Select "Capture" on the video-capturing software and select "Play" on the 8 mm tape player. When it is finished, the footage from the 8 mm tapes will be on the computer's hard drive.

Part 2 Transfer 8mm tapes to DVD

Step 1 install and Launch DVD Creator

After transfer 8mm tapes to computer, please download and install Aimersoft DVD Creator.

You can use it to make some editing, like adjusting video and transition effects, cropping, trimming, customizing DVD menu, etc. DVD Creator can burn 8mm videos to DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW. Generall speaking, DVD-R/RW is more compatible and more widely supported by DVD players. Just check the compatibility of your DVD player and DVD disc you select.

Step 2. Add 8mm video files. Click on Load Video button or select "Load Video" option under the "File" drop-down menu to add 8mm videos. Drag and drop loaded videos to storyboard below to organize slideshow.

Step 3. Edit videos. Select a video file in storyboard and click on Edit selected video file button to crop, trim, add watermark, plug in subtitles or adjust video effects, according to your specific request.

Step 4. Burn 8mm video files to DVD. Click on Burn button to burn 8mm video files to DVD. Before burning, you may select your output options: DVD disc, DVD folder, or ISO file. Also, please set the aspect ratio, etc.

Ready to try now? Or go to learn more about Aimersoft DVD Creator.

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