Archiving Hi8 to miniDV/DVD

[Rosen, Marc]

I would like to accomplish 2 goals with my old Hi8 tapes

1. Archive/Save them to DVD or miniDV
2. Edit them

I have an old Hi8 Sony Camcorder CCD TR81 (without a firewire/iLink
interface)

When I plug the Hi8 camera into the miniDV camera via analog cables  (S-VHS
video and red/whit audio cables) The Hi8 tapes are copied to miniDV, but
from the miniDV standpoint this is just one long clip without breaks. When I
then import from the miniDV to the Mac via firewire, the Mac iMovie software
doesn't automatically break up the clip into scenes  (which it does with
originals recorded directly on MiniDV)

If I found a Hi8 camera with firewire, would I be able to import into the
miniDV or directly to the Mac and preserve scene breaks? 

Also a general question, does the miniDV camera impact the quality of the
copy, i.e. if I buy a better miniDV camera in a couple years, will I be able
to make better copies of my original Hi8's

In short, am I on the right track? Is there a better way to do this without
breaking the bank ?