I have just a very few, very old 8mm recordings made on a Sony camcorder, and I really don't want to spend a fortune trying to transfer them to DVD. I have heard that "adapters" exist only for VHS-C type tapes, but I am wondering if anyone knows whether that's the case. Aside from a major investment, is there any relatively simple and cheap way to get the videos from 8mm to DVD?
L
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Nowhere. There are VHS-C adapters to VHS, but no other tape formats will be able to use a similar adapter cartridge. An eBay search for a camcorder that can play your tapes, the AV-cable that would normally connect the camcorder to a TV for playback and a "Direct to DVD recorder" will be about as easy as it gets. The camcorder should also have an AC power adapter... You can replace the "Direct to DVD recorder" with an analog/digital converter to get the video into your computer directly.
If your computer has a working firewire port the preferred method is to connect the A/D converter using that communications protocol (Caopus/Green Valley makes the ADVC55). If your computer has no firewire port and has only USB, then one of the A/D converters from Elgato, Roxio or many others will suffice.
You can also send the 8mm tapes to a video converter shop - if your city/town has one...