Webcam/camcorder capture file format

[Colin0D4A]

Hi

I'm using a Windows Essentails trial (Video editor) to identify how to capture recordings from a camcorder. The Hi8 tapes are generally 90 minutes long. When capturing the recording, it only allows the file capture to be AVI format. A 90 minutes recording is therefore huge. It tells me that the 15Gb left on my hard drive will only allow a 44 minutes recording. I cannot change the import format as AVI is the only import standard. Is there a better way (more efficient) to record 90 minutes from tapes?

Thanks 

[Greg_S.]

I know of no way to capture analog video from a Hi-8 tape, other than to a DV-AVI format which, as you note, generally records at about 12GB per hour.  (Some headroom is also needed by your OS, so that is why you are limited by your OS hard drive space.)

Your options are to capture to an external drive, or capture in small segments and use a free program like Handbrake to transcode the video to a smaller compressed format such as MP4. 

I am moving this thread from the Photoshop Elements forum to the Premiere Elements forum.  Perhaps somebody over there will have some other ideas.

[Colin0D4A]

Thanks Greg - much appreciated.  And thank you for moving this to the more appropriate forum - again greatly appreciated

[Bill Sprague]

What is the original question?

[Greg_S.]

Sorry, Bill, you can find it here.

Conversation has now been merged.

[Peru Bob]

Not if you want acceptable quality.

[Steve Grisetti]

Hi8 is an analog video format. How is it attached to your computer and how are you digitizing it?

[Colin0D4A]

HI Steve

It's connected via a cable from the camcorder which provides RCA leads.  This then plugs into a USB connection through a device bought off Amazon which came with some software (Honestech VHS to DVD). That software works and records to the hard drive (in MPG format) but the capture recording software stops everytime there is a break in the camcorder recording.  Therefore a 90 minute tape might include 20 separate recordings. With this software, it stops 20 times so I can't transfer a full tape and is therefore very time consuming.  I have a trial version of Adobe Elements which seems to let me capture the whole tape in one sitting but the file size (AVI) is massive.

Sorry long answer to a reasonable, short question 🙂

Thanks