Sony Hi8

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jorelto

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I just picked up a Sony Hi8 video cassette recorder model EVC-100 (the smaller 8mm tape). I paid $4 at a yard sale and it is in mint condition. Primarily purchased to transfer some older vacation Hi8 videotapes to either DVD or other medium.

Question: Since this is a Hi Fi unit - how will this compare to using vhs to mixdown.

I currently mixdown to a Phillips cdr-560. No complaints - but I like that "tape saturation" quality which I don't get with the cd alone.
 
You don't get any tape saturation from VHS. You are most likely hearing the auto level compressor that the signal is run through. The audio portion of a HIFI signal is encoded into the video signal. It has the same framerate as the video signal.
 
that's right. I forgot.

tape sat only w/ true analog.

I haven't been thinking along these lines in a couple of years since using cd.

so once I use this for 8mm videotape transference, I might as well pass it on.
 
Depends on the hardware. My S-VHS decks most certainly do saturate, since they have manual level controls. Of course, the saturation sounds awful....

Hi-8 (unlike some 8mm) should all use PCM audio, so it's digital. Any saturation would be digital saturation (clipping).
 
dgatwood said:
Depends on the hardware. My S-VHS decks most certainly do saturate, since they have manual level controls. Of course, the saturation sounds awful....
You are distorting the circuitry leading up to the tape. If you distorted the signal on the tape, the picture would get screwy and the auto tracking would start searching.

dgatwood said:
Hi-8 (unlike some 8mm) should all use PCM audio, so it's digital. Any saturation would be digital saturation (clipping).
You are confusing the type of tape with the type of signal being recorded.
 
So before I go out and buy a pack of 8mm Hi8 tapes and start pulling plugs and wires here - will the sound quality be worse than what I get now by mixing down to my Phillips CD rec ?
 
Technically yes.

Anyways, a bit offtopic. I inherited 3 8mm professional grade camcorders.
Each one has its share of problems, but I noticed that they can play my Hi8 and 8mm recordings. This is quite odd because I'm sure my Hi8 tapes were recorded in & on Hi8 and the camcorders manuals specifically state that they are 8mm only and do not play PCM audio or Hi8 tapes. 0_o
 
Depending on the unit, it will record pmc and regular hifi at the same time. If the playback unit doesn't do pcm, it will play the hifi.

There is a straight analog track on hifi vhs tapes, that's what would play if you put the tape in a non-hifi vcr.

This whole 'mixdown to a vcr' thing got started as an alternative to cassette. It was never better than CD or computer. This idea needs to be left in the past, or used by people who would be using a cassette deck to mix down to.
 
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