MC> 
 MC> By the way, would you recommend
 MC> against purchasing a Hi-8 camera if everything else I own is SVHS ? 
 MC> This would open up my options when it came to tape formats.  If
 MC> somebody gave me some footage I wanted to use on a Hi-8 tape, I would
 MC> need to get it dubbed (1 more generation loss) to SVHS before I could
 MC> use it.  If I had both SVHS decks and a camera, along with a Hi-8
 MC> camera, I could just pop the footage into the camera and run the video
 MC> through one of the SVHS decks (S-video) and into my toaster for
 MC> editing, without noticable video loss, correct? I would like to hear
 MC> your opinion on such  a practice. 
 MC> -Manny
You're certainly correct on the value of the extra format.  My home camera
is Hi-8, primarily for the convinience of the small cassettes.  From
time to time I'll bump them to Betacam to edit a "government" project.  It
certainly isn't as good as a Betacam original, but I'm happy with it.
Outdoor stuff looks very good, and if I can take the trouble to light it,
indoor stuff is good, too.
Yes, you don't want to dub the Hi-8 to S-VHS before editing.  Even the
"S" dub loses too much.  In these formats, preserving generations is
critical.  You should be able to get the video from the Hi-8 to the
toaster without a problem.  I believe the Toaster has only a composite
input, but even if it has an "S" input, the Hi-8 deck has the same
"S" input and output as the S-VHS -- completely compatible.
Your biggest problem is probably transport control.  I don't know what
you're doing now to synchronize your decks, but since you'll be using the
Hi-8 camera as a playback source, you'll want it to be compatible with 
your transport controller (if you're using one).  I'm not much of an 
expert on that hardware (snob factor -- I've been editing with CMX and
Ampex frame-accurate pro gear since 1973).  When I edit Hi-8 or VHS,
I just hold two remotes in my hands and play pause-jockey.
Gary
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