Capturing From Hitachi 8Mm Video Camcorder

[JeanneHan]

I am not a techie and just bought this product. I have 8mm cassettes from an old Hitachi camcorder I would like to convert to DVDs. It says its a 8mm Video Camcorder VM-E340A Rapid Feflex 16Bit D.S.P. I have hooked up the cables as they should be (and the cables hook up to my TV and work OK so I know it's not the cables). Just wondering if the camcorder is just too old to be supported with this product? Any other suggestions of how it could be reworked? Would it work if I hooked the camcorder up to a VCR and then hooked the VCR up to the computer? I'm probably grasping at straws but I'm getting very frustrated! Any advice is greatly appreciated

[bimicher]

I am not a techie and just bought this product. I have 8mm cassettes from an old Hitachi camcorder I would like to convert to DVDs. It says its a 8mm Video Camcorder VM-E340A Rapid Feflex 16Bit D.S.P. I have hooked up the cables as they should be (and the cables hook up to my TV and work OK so I know it's not the cables). Just wondering if the camcorder is just too old to be supported with this product? Any other suggestions of how it could be reworked? Would it work if I hooked the camcorder up to a VCR and then hooked the VCR up to the computer? I'm probably grasping at straws but I'm getting very frustrated! Any advice is greatly appreciated

 

You have not told us how you have hooked up the camcorder to the capture device and then to the computer. What kind of output connections does the camcorder have?

Also you have not mentioned anything about what problems you are having.

[JeanneHan]

Sorry myguggi, I didn't include that. I have it hooked up with what I know as the RCA cable (probably wrong, as I said I'm not a techie). The two audio/video cables. Then that is plugged into the device to computer via USB port. Progam is all installed and I did the steps (reboot, turn off firewall, etc and did the repair from the disk) to make sure it wasn't the software. All I get is an error message "no video signal".

[ogdens]

Do you have these 2 devices in your Device Manager...

 

[JeanneHan]

It is when it's plugged in.

[JeanneHan]

And I should add one says its for audio and one for video capture, and I checked to make sure they were updated, which they are.

[bimicher]

And I should add one says its for audio and one for video capture, and I checked to make sure they were updated, which they are.

 

Where does it say one is for audio and one is for video? You should have exactly what ogdens shows in post #4

What does it say in Device Manager for those two entries?

[Jim_Hardin]

Getting info is like wringing out a rope

 

I think he means that the Camcorder is marked Audio and Video...

 

I tried to look it up but can't find anything about it. Best bet might be to try something else like hooking up a DVD Player and if that works OK, proceed from there

[JeanneHan]

When you right click on the devices, click on properties and look up the details, one says video and the other says audio. I wanted to specify these are both there incase he was to ask me about it. Trying to provide as much info as I can. And just because you didn't understand what I meant to the other poster, doesn't mean you should be insinuating I'm an idiot, Jim ("Getting info is like wringing out a rope"). Thanks for making the newbie feel so welcome.

[ogdens]

As a test, try using a DVD player as your source as was suggested in post #8.

[Jim_Hardin]

When you right click on the devices, click on properties and look up the details, one says video and the other says audio. I wanted to specify these are both there incase he was to ask me about it. Trying to provide as much info as I can. And just because you didn't understand what I meant to the other poster, doesn't mean you should be insinuating I'm an idiot, Jim ("Getting info is like wringing out a rope"). Thanks for making the newbie feel so welcome.

 

Not to worry, I won't waste another keystroke on your sensitive skin

 

Good luck to you

[JeanneHan]

Thank you ogdens. I had tried that, but it didn't work. It must be my old camera which isn't working too well with it. I'll try to borrow another camcorder and try it with that. If that doesn't work, back to the store I'll go and pay someone to do this for me. Thank you for your help.

 

As for you Jim, I'd rather have sensitive skin and be nice to people asking for help than make rude, demeaning comments which are totally unhelpful. Try googling "social graces" and good luck to you too.

[bimicher]

Thank you ogdens. I had tried that, but it didn't work. It must be my old camera which isn't working too well with it. I'll try to borrow another camcorder and try it with that. If that doesn't work, back to the store I'll go and pay someone to do this for me. Thank you for your help.

 

As for you Jim, I'd rather have sensitive skin and be nice to people asking for help than make rude, demeaning comments which are totally unhelpful. Try googling "social graces" and good luck to you too.

 

If the test with the DVD player did not work then the problem is not the camcorder. It is most likely with your hookup which you still have not clearly described.

 

What kind of outputs are available on that camcorder. You must have a "yellow" video output socket and at least one audio socket.

[JeanneHan]

It does, and that is what I've been using. When I hook it up to a TV directly, it works. When I try through the DVD, it doesn't. I am assuming the age of the camera could be an issue with compatibility. I'll try with another camera I'm going to borrow. If that doesn't work, I'll try asking here again. Thank you for your help, myguggi.

[ogdens]

When I asked you to try a DVD player as the source, I meant for you to plug the DVD player directly into the Roxio unit, NOT hook up your old camera thru the DVD. Try it and get back on here.

[bimicher]

It does, and that is what I've been using. When I hook it up to a TV directly, it works. When I try through the DVD, it doesn't. I am assuming the age of the camera could be an issue with compatibility. I'll try with another camera I'm going to borrow. If that doesn't work, I'll try asking here again. Thank you for your help, myguggi.

 

I don't know how old your camcorder is but it has nothing to do with compatibility. I have a 16 year old camcoder and I can still capture video from it.

I don't know how you tested the camcorder via the DVD player - does your DVD player have any input sockets? You could also test using a VCR. Forget about the camcorder for the moment, all we are trying to check is whether you can capture any video. A DVD player gives a good video signal for testing.