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I have a lot of film of the parents in the 50's and 60's that I would like to convert to a media file for editing. My first thoughts are to just record the film playback with a digital video camera and edit it on my PC. Has anyone done this if so what pit-falls did you run into and what type of camera and software did you use.

Clarification

I still have the projector. I was going to use the projector to show the silent films on to a projector screen. I would then have a digital video camera connected to my PC to directly store the recordings on to the PC’s hard drive. After I have the recorded images saved on to the hard drive I would like to edit them to put them into chronological order and remove poor shots. I would them like to take the edited video files and create a DVDs. Is there a software package that has video file editing as well as dvd buring capability and perhaps able to consume a live stream from the video camera?

I have found limited instructions but nothing on software recomendations.

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If you don't mind reading french, you will find here one of the most detailed and best illustrated by experimentation site about super8 transfer to digital media.

The base argument is that most professionals offer so bad quality that you and me are able to get better results. The author then gives many advices to improve each bit of this better result in order to give old souvenirs the care they deserve.

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I'd be worried about how good a job the digital camera does at frame-grabbing the analog video, especially compared to a dedicated frame-grabber card.

Of course, you could always give it a try. If it looks decent after a short test video then I'd say go for it.

Or, if you don't care much about editing, and just want an easy way to update to new media, just grab a DVD recorder.

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  • not video but 8mm film
    – Brad
    Sep 16, 2009 at 17:30
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Your best bet is to pay someone to do it for you. If you search online you will be able to find many companies that do this. I am not going to post links to any them because I have never used one of them.

The other option is to do this yourself. If you choose to do it yourself then I would suggest starting at Video Help. They are a great resource. Be warned that can get sort of "elitist". See anyone can convert video but to do it well it takes time, skill and patients. So some of the folks get a little defensive when "newbies" try to convert video on their own because normally they fail or don't like the results.

I have just recently converted a bunch of old home videos from VHS to dvd. I used a ADVC-110 and a VCR from wal-mart. The ADVC-110 outputs AVI-DV it is about 13gigs per hour of video. The quality is more or less the same as what the VHS tape looks like when played in the VCR to a tv. If you are willing to spend the time, effort, and money, you can get the converted video to pretty damn nice.

Hope this helps.

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  • Take another look at the question title. He wants to convert Super 8 film to digital video, not VHS.
    – raven
    Sep 15, 2009 at 20:53
  • I have type above still applies to the entire question.
    – Tony
    Sep 16, 2009 at 1:17
  • I believe that I shuld be able just as good or better job than the profesionals. The film is old and is not a high resolution. The profesionals cost 30 cents per foot.
    – Brad
    Sep 16, 2009 at 17:28
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EDIT : I got it mixed up between Hi8 video and Super 8 film

If you can still playback on a projector, you can always position a video camera in front of the projection and record. (See my answer below on recording a VCR output to a TV using a Canon GL1 DV cam).

You can pass it to a film-digitizing studio to restore and digitize, but be pre-warned that it is très expensive. We had a client who had a bunch of old 35mm film footage who wanted it to be restored for a TV-spot - he immediately retracted the idea after hearing about the cost.

So, best option -> Project, place a DV or HD video cam in front of the projection, and record. Archive the Super 8 film after that the best you can (don't use too much silica gel! it will over-dry the film and cause it to crack!), and then work only with the digital footage.

I did that for awhile with a Canon GL1 as the recording device for some old busted VHS tape - connected the VCR to the TV, positioned the GL1 in front of the TV, and have the TV audio output a 3.5mm stereo jack out to the GL1's 3.5 stereo mic in. Had the GL1 connect via Firewire to a notebook, and used Sony Vegas to capture the video stream direct to the hard disk.

It was actually passable. ;) Colors were washed out, but if you got a good TV, normal people can't tell the difference.

However, with the availability of cheap USB TV tuner and video capture devices, such as Pinnacle's PCTV HD stick (which I use currently), I recommend you to just connect your Super 8 videocam to the regular RCA out (yellow-vid, white_red-audio) to a USB video capture device, and convert it to digital straight.

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As a bonus, the Pinnacle USB stick can be used as a TV tuner+PVR when your Super 8 is long dead.

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  • If I'm not mistaken and I may well be, I think the post is about Super 8 film, not Super 8 video. Clarification?
    – pave
    Sep 15, 2009 at 20:31
  • @pave - oh dear, I think you are right!! he explicitly said 50's and 60's - it's only Super 8 film then. My bad... edit answer.
    – caliban
    Sep 15, 2009 at 20:36
  • Ha ha thats good "Super 8 videocam" I still have the camera...the latest one he had was made in 1969 - no RCA jacks on!
    – Brad
    Sep 16, 2009 at 17:04

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