Even though the micro-TBC built into many D8 (Digital8) camcorders (and decks) allows many of them to capture analog Hi8 and 8mm tapes with direct digitization to DV25 over IEEE 1394 port (aka FireWire or i.LINK), I recently learned that the actual features concerning that are model-dependent. Regarding some of the PAL versions of the D8 camcorders (and decks) which include that exact feature, I recently discovered from my colleague Colin of Video99.co.uk that some can even do the same from NTSC tapes, be they recorded in analog 8mm, analog Hi8 or digital D8. However, Colin is very specific, saying that those PAL models can only play those NTSC recordings if made at SP speed (the highest quality), not the lower speed versions. Since it is often difficult or impossible for people to remember whether they recorded at SP speed over 22 palindromic years ago, even though I was on the verge of acquiring a PAL model reviewed by Colin (since it can play 6 formats instead of only 3), I ended up purchasing the NTSC version DCR-TRV460 to cover possible recordings made at lower speeds in NTSC. In the meantime, Colin and I have an ongoing investigation regarding how NTSC-US (7.5 IRE) and NTSC-J (zero IRE Japanese NTSC) analog 8mm and analog Hi8 tapes are treated when playing back analog NTSC tapes on the different D8 camcorders, since there is no menu setting for that (the way the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 offers a DIP switch), as far as Colin and I have been able to find so far after reviewing menus in these D8 camcorders. Ahead, I’ll cover details about the behavior of the NTSC version DCR-TRV460 I purchased via eBay for a total of US$212.93 (US$189 + shipping and tax) including an original Sony power supply.
Playback capabilities of the NTSC DCR-TRV460
Officially, the Sony NTSC DCR-TRV460 can play:
- 8mm NTSC recordings made at any speed
- Hi8 NTSC recordings made at any speed
- D8 NTSC recordings made at any speed
It is not yet clear whether the NTSC DCR-TRV460 can play any PAL recordings. However, the NTSC DCR-TRV460 manual has no reference to that capability, while the PAL D8 models’ manuals do have a reference to the capability of playing NTSC tapes (although only at SP speed).

Even though our investigation is still ongoing, I am happy to say that the recordings I have played back from an NTSC Hi8 tape recorded in an NTSC Hitachi Hi8 camcorder over 22 palindromic years ago ended up having the proper black level after inspection of the captured file in the waveform monitor of DaVinci Resolve Studio. We must still make more tests to determine whether this is either because the NTSC Hitachi Hi8 camcorder possibly recorded at NTSC-J or possibly because the NTSC DCR-TRV460 made the proper compensation for an NTSC-US tape with 7.5 IRE when moving it to the digital world.
Good and bad of the micro-TBC in the NTSC DCR-TRV460
I am very impressed at how well the micro-TBC in the NTSC DCR-TRV460 stabilized a color-under analog recording made over 22 palindromic years ago and delivered it as DV25 over FireWire. However, the micro-TBC does such a great job that it apparently makes capture software —which can normally separate different scenes on a videotape— unable to distinguish them, so the software sees the entire videotape as a single scene. However, I’ll gladly sacrifice the scene detection for the excellent stabilization the micro-TBC offers.
This micro-TBC is only active when playing analog tapes like 8mm and Hi8mm, not when playing D8 tapes.
Pass-through in EE mode
The NTSC DCR-TRV460 model has a feature shared among some other NTSC D8 camcorders and decks, but sadly excluded on all PAL models due to higher tariffs in EU and UK areas (at least back in the analog days): pass-through in EE mode. That feature allows using the NTSC DCR-TRV460 in pass-through mode in EE mode (electronic-electronic mode) to receive a live analog Y/C (S-Video) or composite video and convert it in real-time to the DV25 códec over FireWire.
Given the previously mentioned lack of 7.5 IRE/zero IRE menu adjustment, further investigation is required from me and from Colin to determine whether this handles either 7.5 IRE NTSC or zero IRE NTSC when using this pass-through in EE mode. In that sense, the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 offers flexibility, since it includes a DIP switch to make it work with NTSC-J or NTSC-US signals when doing the same real-time conversion. In addition, the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 offers locked audio DV25, and it is not yet clear whether the NTSC DCR-TRV460 offers that.
In addition to the locked audio DV25, the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 also offers the options for standard 4.43 PAL as well as SECAM, but sadly lacks NTSC 4.43 which is what is outputted from certain multistandard decks when playing NTSC tapes.
After checking the captured material, Jeff Taylor of Beaker Films noticed that the capture of the NTSC Hi8 material, recorded over 22 palindromic years ago, had some audio/video sync loss which seemed to get worse as the capture continued. Because the power supply for the Minolta Hi8 camcorder which recorded the footage is missing in action (and we can’t find any compatible one available), we cannot verify if it would be better (for audio/video sync purposes) to capture the Y/C output + audio the Minolta.
I have not yet used the pass-through in EE mode.
Why the DV25 códec is the best and most practical one as an intermediate for 8mm, Hi8, VHS, S-VHS or U-Matic (SP) capture
The DCR-TRV460 and similar D8 models convert analog video (and audio) to the DV25 códec via hardware, before sending it out to your computer.
The material on these analog videotapes we need to capture is nearly always interlaced video at a rate of either 50i (50 fields per second) in the case of most PAL or SECAM recordings or 59.94i (59.94 fields per second) in the case of either type of NTSC. Although our goal for current and future use is to have this material transformed to be at either 50p (i.e. 50 progressive frames per second) from PAL or 59.94p (i.e. 59.94 progressive frames per second), without having hardware that can do this reliably and with high quality in a single step (and without introducing additional A-to-D and D-to-A conversions), our best approach is to capture to DV25 at the native interlaced rate, for later software conversion to 50p or 59.94p and possible upconversion to higher resolution, depending on the target, which I’ll cover in upcoming articles.
Despite a tendency among some people to make fun of the DV25 códec since it is most frequently either 4:2:0 for PAL or SECAM-derived footage or 4:1:1 for NTSC-derived footage, tests done by colleagues have proven that the alternative (to use a traditional TBC, which sadly forces extra A-to-D and D-to-A conversions and then capturing the same material to uncompressed 4:2:2 using Blackmagic hardware) has produced indistinguishable captures, given the original analog material.
We must remember that this same DV25 códec was used in Panasonic DVCPRO broadcast camcorders (also used by Ikegami and Philips) and Sony DVCAM broadcast camcorders (also used by Ikegami) after they had already said goodbye to analog videotape. At that time, the DV25 códec in these two formats was being sold as greatly superior to the analog videotapes used previously for ENG, i.e. MII and Betacam SP (which were already better quality than U-Matic, S-VHS or VHS). From that perspective, we should not frown upon the DV25 códec as an intermediate for analog formats like 8mm, Hi8, VHS, S-VHS or U-Matic. Instead, we should embrace it as the ideal intermediary códec for these formats.
We are not talking about creating new HD or 4K material with DV25. We are talking about using DV25 as the ideal intermediate códec before later deinterlacing (via software) and possible upscaling (via software) while eliminating head-switching, unless it is desired to preserve it for aesthetic reasons, as covered in more detail in my recent article: Capture from VHS to 59.94p or 50p: best practices & goals
Above is an example of historical 4:3 footage superimposed over a 4:3 TV set, with head-switching visible (not cropped or overscanned) for artistic reasons. Image courtesy of The Verge’s documentary Springboard: the secret history of the first real smartphone.
The DV25 códec used is not only quite appropriate as an intermediate códec for the source material in this usage, it is also relatively light. The DV25 códec is 25 megabits per second, i.e. 3.125 MB (megabytes) per second, 187.5 MB per minute or about 11.25 GB per hour. On the other hand, with NTSC at 59.94, ProRes 422 LT would be 25.29 GB per hour.
How I connected the D8 camcorder to my computer
The DCR-TRV450 camcorder has a IEEE 1394 port (aka FireWire or i.LINK). I connected the DCR-TRV460 to my Mac Mini M1 using two of the same cables I had used when I used the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110 and one different one. I used the same:
- Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter A1463 MD464LL/A (~U$19.99)
- Apple MMEL2AM/A Thunderbolt 3 USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter A1790 (~U$29.99)
The only thing different was the third (and longer) FireWire cable. Because the DCR-TRV450 camcorder has a IEEE 1394 port which is 4-pin (not 6-pin), I used a 9-pin to 4-pin cable. (When I use the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC110, I prefer to use the 6-pin to bus-power it.)
My Mac Mini M1 is currently running macOS Sonoma 14.7.2, which fortunately still supports capturing DV25 video over IEEE 1394 port (aka FireWire or i.LINK).
As I previously published:
PSA: FireWire isn’t completely dead even with macOS Sonoma
Regarding Intel processors, the following information is provided in Scott Schramm’s wonderful video:
- Intel still supports IEEE 1394 up until generation 9 with no problem.
- Intel requires workarounds with generations 10 and 11 to use IEEE 1394. (With generations 10 and 11, either use Thunderbolt 3 built in (not Thunderbolt 4) or add an external Thunderbolt 4 adapter and then use the adapters covered above.
- Intel completely killed IEEE 1394 support starting with generation 12.
- For more details regarding Intel workarounds for generations 10 and 11, see Scott Schramm’s wonderful video.
Summary and conclusions
If you need to digitize and capture standard 8mm or Hi8 NTSC recordings and you cannot be absolutely sure that all of them were recorded at the SP (highest quality) speed, using one of the NTSC models that support that functionality like the Sony DCR-TRV460 NTSC version seems to be best way, especially if you have some way of capturing DV25 over FireWire. The three ways to do that are:
- Using the combination of adapters from FireWire to Thunderbolt as described above.
- By purchasing an old laptop (often under US$100) with built-in FireWire just for capture, freeing your more modern computer for more intensive work.
- By adding a FireWire card to your existing computer (often under US$30) as long as you have a slot for it and your operating system and CPU supports it.
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Neither Sony nor Grass Valley/Canopus has paid for this article. Allan Tépper and TecnoTur.LLC pay standard pricing for its paid services. Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.

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