Capture audio only from Hi8 tape?
 

I need to capture stereo audio only from a Hi-8 tape playing in my camcorder without the video. I use winDV through Firewire from the camcorder but I can't do just audio, or I don't know how. Perhaps another software to capture audio only via Firewire? I have a Pinnacle usb-710 and could do analog stereo into it if there is no digital way.... any recommended software?

Capture the video+audio normally via firewire and just extract the audio from the file.

+1.

You should be able to load the video files into Audacity. For me it discard sthe video and only loads the audio.

If you have a lot of files, you may want to look into ffmpeg. https://stackoverflow.com/a/27413824

I haven't done much testing yet, but a "USB audio interface" will have super low noise amplifiers may be something to consider depending on your budget. If you already have some other audio capture card and are happy with the results, then there's no point in trying other things, but that is what an actual recording studio would use to record live audio samples either from microphones or pre-amplified instruments.

Having those super low noise amplifiers may make it so that you can have the playback audio at a much lower volume and not actually need to distort it by turning it up a lot during the capture (if that's a problem).

The actual program used with it to record would still be something like audacity.

I am certainly no expert, just an option to consider depending on your budget.

Another thing you could try if you get noisy audio is an audio ground loop isolator which is basically an isolation transformer for audio. those are very cheap - something like $7-$10 on Amazon.

Yes just the stereo audio can be recorded with a standard USB stereo audio interface (AD converter). One with adjustable input gain allows setting the digital record level in case the level is too low or high with a fixed input gain type. Sometimes in the past a slight sample rate error would create a sync problem for longer video tapes but I suspect reputable brands such as Focusrite wouldnt have that problem these days.

FWIW

No reason to capture the full video (a large file) and then process it with separation software if all you want is the audio and you already have audio capture-capable gear.

- What are you using to play the Hi8 tape? Most Hi8 capable players have analog audio outputs already.
- What type of PC are you using to run WINDV? OS and vintage of the PC? Many recent PCs include a built-in sound card and the OS typically includes an audio recorder capability, and free DAW software such as AUDACITY is also available for managing recording.