-Digital8 to MiniDV conversion-MacDV- MacDV Digest #3553

[Ted Langdell]

Ted Langdell
Ted Langdell Creative Broadcast Services
Marysville, CA

By "lifespan" do you mean the expected amount of time that 8mm, Hi8 and 
D8 tapes may be physically playable before deterioration occurs?

One might argue that the larger tape width of 8mm/Hi8/D8 would make 
that format more "robust" since the data is spread over a larger 
surface area on each track, making the system more likely to be able to 
play back a deteriorating tape.

Mini-DV/DVCAM/DVCPro tape is roughly half the width of 8mm/Hi8/D8.

I can understand your feelings that Mini-DV decks will be produced 
after D8 decks may be off the market.

Ted,

On Aug 6, 2004, at 5:41 AM, Macintosh Digital Video List wrote:

>
> Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 13:27:11 -0400
> Subject: Re: [MacDV] Re: -Digital8 to MiniDV conversion-MacDV Digest 
> #3552
> From: Mark O'Brien <rmobrien at mac.com>
> Message-ID: <BD37E62F.68AE%rmobrien at mac.com>
>
> On 8/5/04 11:43 AM, "Ted Langdell" <ted at tedlangdell.com> wrote:
>
>> At that cost... you'd be better off getting your camera repaired.  
>> With
>> new heads you'd have some life left in it, and it gives you a spare
>> camera thats able to play your heritage tapes without dubbing and the
>> cost in time and tape.
>
> Part of my desire to dub to MiniDV is to put my heritage tape footage 
> into a
> format with a longer lifespan (MiniDV vs. Digital8) and much larger 
> market
> penetration. If my MiniDV camcorder ever breaks, I know lots of people 
> who I
> can borrow from. I know nobody else with Digital8, and this would be 
> the
> second time for me to pay several hundred dollars to repair the Sony 
> out of
> warranty. Last time it was the tape transport mechanism.
>
> So far, the best option from the responses I've seen is the $8.50 per
> cassette offer from R B Williams. I'll write off the Digital8 
> camcorder.
>
> Mark
>
>
>
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