How to Convert 8mm Camcorder Tapes to DVD

8mm tapes degrade over time and your video memories are in danger. 8mm tapes start to have noticeable degradation after just 5 years so backup 8mm tapes by converting to digital. Besides, DVDs are digital and can be copied without any quality loss. You can easily playback DVDs making it easy to enjoy your 8mm home videos.  Unlike a 8mm tape, DVDs don't have to be rewound and you can easily watch your favorite family memories over and over. Plus, DVDs take up less space than 8mm tapes so you have plenty of room for more family video memories. Many people would love to have a copy of their 8mm tapes on DVD. Here we recommend a 8MM to DVD burner - Wondershare DVD Creator, to help you deal with the digital video to DVD conversion after 8mm tape is converted to digital.

Part 1. Transfer 8mm tapes to computer

There are many ways to capture videos from 8mm tapes to computer, such as capture card or digital camcorder. The former requires extra hardware and a  fast enough computer. But if you have a Digital8 camcorder or a digital camcorder with analog passthrough or capture ability, you can use the camcorder to convert the analog signal on-the-fly which can be captured by computer. Below are the general steps to convert analog signal to digital signal which could be captured with video capturing software either the one coming with your capture card, VirtualDub (Free) or your favorite software.

Step 1. Connect your 8mm tape source (camcorder or player), to your capture card on computer or digital camcorder (already connected to computer) using Firewire, USB cable, or S-video cable.

Step 2. Run the video capturing software on computer.

Step 3. Insert the 8mm tape into the 8mm tape camcorder or player, and find the spot in the tape where you want to begin the capturing process.

Step 4. Select either "Options" or "Settings" in the video-capturing software and make sure that the output format, which could also be labeled "capture format," is MPEG-2 because it is best for burning to DVD.

Step 5. Select "Capture" on the video-capturing software and select "Play" on the 8mm tape camcorder or player. When it is finished, the footage from the 8mm tapes will be on the computer's hard drive. 

Tips to capture 8mm tape video

• 1. Not all new digital camcorders necessary accept analog input (better to watch the lower-end models).
• 2. Before capturing, fast-forward 8mm tape to the end of the tape and then rewind back to the beginning before playing. This will allow for smooth playback while capturing the video.
• 3. If your source device has S-Video output, make sure you use that instead of composite (RCA) video output. S-Video delivers a better picture quality than composite video.
• 4. Make sure you have enough space on your hard drive.
• 5. Learn more about 8mm tape video capture.

Part 2. How to Convert 8MM to DVD

After 8mm tape is captured to computer, a DVD creator is required to burn video to DVD for play on any standalone DVD player. Wondershare DVD Creator is highly recommended. Both Windows and Mac versions are available. If you are using a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion etc., get Wondershare DVD Creator for Mac. The steps to convert 8mm to DVD in Windows and Mac are almost the same, just get the right version according to your computer and then follow the steps to convert 8mm to DVD.

Step 1. Install and launch 8MM to DVD Burner

After downloading, please install and then launch it. The below interface is what you are about to see:

Step 2. Load videos and edit them

Click "Import" to add the videos you need into the program. During the process, you can customize your videos by trimming, cropping, adjusting videos, adding watermarks, editing DVD menu and so on.

Step 3. Preview and Burn 8MM to DVD

Click to preview the result of the editing in case that you may improve it in a certain way. Finally, you can just click the "Burn" button to start burning.

Tips: The left space of the disc is shown on the disc space bar at the bottom; You can select the size of burning DVD between "DVD-R4.5G" and "DVD-R9.0G"; The output quality is also up to your choice, you may select "Fit to disc", "Standard video quality" or "High video quality".

With professional Wondershare DVD Creator, you will find it pretty easy to convert 8mm files to dvd so that you can enjoy a quality time watching movies with your family at home.

About 8MM: 8mm camcorders use a small video cassette with longer playing time and slightly better sound than VHS. The 8mm video format refers informally to three related videocassette formats for the NTSC and PAL/SECAM television systems. These are the original Video8 (analog) format and its improved successor Hi8 (both analog and digital), as well as a more recent digital format known as Digital8.

Free download 8mm to DVD Burner: