Purchasing old Video 8 & Hi8 Camcorders on eBay will they or won’t they work, unboxing Got Memories 

Yep!

Awesome, thank you!

👍

Appreciate your no nonsense, right to the point comment 😂

You did good!

Thanks for sharing your journey! Yes they are usually not working. Best of luck on future purchases!

I bought what I think was a brand new DVD camcorder at a thrift store, and it worked. It was a Canon DVD camcorder, still in the box, and came with a battery, case, AV cable, the manual, and 5 new disc. I paid $4 for it. If I had to guess, somebody got it, never used it, and probably stored it for years, then took it to the thrift store. The disc also these days would sell for $20, so I got a great deal.

That’s a result right there! Congrats on the find!

Amen!

Best of luck!

One of many things, time to buy a few more camcorders on eBay, trial and error, they all have issues bc they’re all old and used. Good luck!

Sounds like the entire thing needs an exorcism. Replace everything.

Yes, in Japan Video 8 VCR’s we’re the norm vs VHS in the US.

@@gotmemories not to mention it was a popular movie format aboard older Aircraft during the 80s 90s and 00s.

Yep! All the aircraft had video 8 decks before IFE systems! Forgot about that 😂

I cant gauge your abilities to fix camcorders. If it works I’d prob leave it alone,

That’s odd. I’d try those tapes on some different players and see if the same problem is replicated. If it’s the same, there was an issue with the original camcorder when recording.

Are your family from India/Pakistan? if the tapes were recorded on a camcorder purchased in that region then the tapes are PAL and you’re trying to play them on an NTSC camcorder. You’ll need a PAL camcorder. They’re rare and expensive in the US and usually don’t work, assuming you’re in the US.

🇦🇺 Aussie Aussie Aussie! Aka Facked

Hi Nick! Trying to think back, it was prob around $150. Although the pix on eBay showed them as being battered on the outside so I didn’t have high hopes but when they are like that, there’s a good chance they’ll rewind fine and I just use them as rewinders. As for sending to AZ, problem being you’re PAL & I’m NTSC & I’ve got one PAL D8 player and I charge a fortune for PAL. I would try two places, AFX Audio Visual in Cheltenham, that’s my Dads old company, James digitizes the tapes (I’ve got a video on my channel with James just type in ‘AFX James’ only problem is they transfer to dvd first then rip to mp4. Also try Colin at Videostudio99.co.uk As for picking a used but working D8, stay away from backwards compatible and zoom in on the photos to see any nicks and misuse, buy one with a warranty and buy head cleaner and isopropyl to clean also.

Hey Phil! Thanks SO MUCH for your prompt and considered reply and my apologies the delayed response - I don't get reactive pings or alerts so only spotted this today coming back to this weekend project. I will definitely keep in mind the 2 UK contacts too 🙏 a personal rec is definitely helpful in this marketplace. Finally - in case its of interest - I got lucky. I was literally about to bin my TRV110E, but found a blank tape (not sealed, but unused) and decided to see if the camera still recorded. I recorded 20 secs and the 20 secs was COMPLETELY CLEAR on playback! I obviously then checked some of the other tapes and they are ALL CLEAR on playback too! It appears that using the recording features has somehow wiped away whatever debris must have been on the heads, that playback couldn't - does that even sound feasible? because it's the only thing that makes sense to me, but none of the online threads suggested this as an option, so keen to hear your expert opinion? Anyway, I am proceeding without hitch (but with much more caution) and have managed to transfer another 13 tapes at time of typing this. Only 72 to go. And am meticulously using the isopropyl ("rubbing alcohol" here in uk) and chamois swabs every 5 tapes. And recording 20 secs every 10 tapes, so 🤞🤞. Your video efforts go above and beyond, Phil and have provided enormous reassurance so thanks once again for giving me the time. I lived and worked in Houston, TX for 2 years in the early 00s btw but returned for family reasons, but loved the S/ SW States - glorious weather and cost of living. Lucky you! Take care,

Needs to be a backwards compatible camera. Almost all the backwards compatible camcorders are extremely expensive and extremely unreliable.

Yes it’s a crap shoot buying 30-40 year old tech.

Hi i have a lot of 8mm casset i need to transfer to digtal hoe can you help me