A B&W Toy Video Camera from the 90's? - Resurrecting the Tyco VideoCam TVC-8000 

That's so cool! We like how it makes skin glow a bit weirdly too. Sean actually shot a short horror mocumentary with this camera, will be sharing it soon.

Have fun!

Yeah, it does! Greetings from Illinois :)

The price has risen a lot lately :) That being said, you may still be able to find a non-modded one for less, depending on where you look.

:)

Yep :)

Nice!

Mine disappeared In 1998 ☹️

We all broke stuff when we were kids :) These toy cameras are a fun and unique way to shoot lo-fi video these days, and not many people seem to know about them.

Yeah, it's only a very specific camera model that has this option unfortunately

@@FotodioxIncAs far as I can tell ‘EK’ denotes a UK model. I’ve seen reference online to camcorder manufacturers dodging a European tax on ‘video recorders’. I suspect the analog in option could theoretically be unlocked with firmware. Too bad I have no knowledge of how to go about that!

The resolution is sub SD, but you can capture it to SD and then upress it in a 4K vid if you'd like.

I've looked into other options and they all involve at least two power sources and cost $500 or more. If I used an Atomos Ninja for instance I'd also need a separate SD to HDMI converter that would also require a battery to run. This setup is the cheapest and most compact, and I believe the video quality is about the same since the camera itself puts out such a lo-fi image to begin with.

@@FotodioxInc Interesting. Thanks. The footage did look very good.

Unfortunately many camcorders that record to an SD card or a hard drive do not record AV in, so you'll have to look for one that does. The JVC I featured in this video is the best option I could find. All the formats you mentioned will have different bitrates, but remember that if your signal is low quality to begin with, a lower bitrate won't be as noticeable.

@@FotodioxInc thanks for your response i think ill go for a high quality dvr for the moment (hope the picture comes out ok not too cloudy/muffly :/) as carrying two camcorders will be a bit of a effort then maybe the when i get more comfortable with the tyco ill get a hdd/ hv40 or a vhs -c camera in the future to use as you have the complete combination camcorder. now wonder of theres a way to link the tvc-800 to the pxl2000...😏

@@Jueci8 They actually make modded pxl2000s with video out. Just search on ebay. They're pricey though!

According to info online this camcorder records to MPEG-2 video. Not sure how high the bitrate is, but I can tell you that the captured Tyco VideoCam footage has a smooth, analog look to it when editing and exporting, and I was unable to see any added compression from the JVC. It helps that the Tyco VideoCam is outputting such low information footage to begin with.

@@FotodioxInc Thanks! I did a bit of research and it seems like the JVC records 1080 at 8Mbs. I bought a Tyco and wanted to get as pure an analog signal recorded as possible, so I also bought a smallish VHS-C camcorder and have been recording the tyco into that, and then capturing as ProRes 4444. It retains a lot of the Tyco's noise, especially around areas of high contrast (ironically, this kind of reads as video compression to me, but I think it's noise). I also recorded a test straight out of the tyco and through a Blackmagic intensity shuttle recording Prores, and the footage retained a lot more video noise, in a much more organic and consistent manner. I'm still figuring out an ideal workflow.

@@garretharkawik Cool! If you make a video about your process send it my way and I'll pin it in the comments.

@@FotodioxInc Will do! Another update: Capturing with an s-video instead of a composite yields the best results so far (even, pleasant noise). I think perhaps my VCR has some kind of noise reduction built in that gets bypassed via S-Video? anyhoo I think I have an ideal workflow now.

I’ve also tested it on a different camcorder and I’m still not getting a connection between the two, and again the tyco is powered on with the red signal

What camcorder are you using? Is it tape based or digital only? Unfortunately, most digital only camcorders that captured to SD card or hard drive did not include the analog in function necessary for this to work, which is why I recommended the JVC GZ-MG155UV, because it's one of the very few camcorders that does include analog in.

@@FotodioxInc jvc everio GZ mg21u, this takes sd card, it does have a input so I don’t understand why I’m not getting a signal, maybe it’s the yellow tyco cord, could it be too old?

@@superstar4915 You can actually skip the yellow cord. Just run the new cable you bought directly between the Tyco Cam and the camcorder.

Glad you liked it! Stay tuned for plenty more like this :)

You can actually just use an AUX to AUX cable. I discovered that after I finished this video. You'll need this cord: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXIANRU/

@@FotodioxInc hey thanks for the reply, I’m not getting a signal and I have the same exact setup, any tips?

@@superstar4915 Weird. It should work. Do you have the camera setup to take an input signal?

As far as we can tell, it can't take individual frames, but I suppose you could set up the shot, grab a couple seconds of video per shot, and then strip one frame from each shot to create a stop motion video.

Actually the Tyco Cam does run on batteries, I believe six AA batteries. The battery compartment is behind a door on the side of the camera that you need to unscrew.

It's a bit tricky. So far I've only been able t figure out how to capture the feed to an SD recorder or a handheld video camera. If you watch the full video, you can see the two solutions I offer in detail.

@@FotodioxInc yes I have seen the entire video. Brilliant concept and setup. I was just wondering what if we add an atmos recorder to this in order to get a high resolution output…probably HD or 4K

@@asapfilms2519 It's possible, you just have to buy something that turns an analog signal into a digital signal. Not sure what would do that and be portable.

Thanks!