Video8, Hi8, Digital8 To Digital Transfer

Introduced in 1985 as the "spiritual" successor to the Betamax video tape line, the 8mm tape line, also known as Video8, offered the ability to playback tapes within the camcorder, something that VHS was capable of, however Beta camcorders (despite what the producers of Fringe would like you believe with the many scenes in Fringe Season 5 of someone watching a Beta tape on a Betamovie camcorder) could not playback the video tape.  Due to the smaller size that was required, Sony removed the playback heads from the Beta VCR that was built into the Betamovie's.   Unfortunately, even with those heads removed, Sony was unable to make a camcorder that did not need to rest on your shoulder.  Therefore Sony created the 8mm camcorder that provided an image that was close to Betamax's image, but could be made in a more compact form (eventually creating camcorders that could fit in just the palm of your hand).  Using tape that was only a quarter-inch wide (compared to Betamax and VHS's half-inch wide tape), the video was recorded on the entire tape, while the audio and control track were embedded within the video track at a different frequency.  For editing purposes this meant that you were not able to edit just the video, audio track 1 or audio track 2 by themselves; you either had to record all at once or none at all---VHS and Betamax's video and audio tracks (aside from the HiFi tracks that were mixed into the video signal) were recorded on their own seperate tracks.  In the SP mode, 8mm video owners could record up to 2 hours, while in the LP mode (aka half-speed mode) this could be stretched to 4 hours.

In 1989 Sony released the Hi8 video format to compete with JVC's SVHS format that had been released a year earlier.  Both formats used tapes that looked exactly the same as their predecessors, except that in order to get the higher quality signal, dedicated Hi8 or SVHS tapes needed to be used.  Hi8 offered a very good quality picture---so good that many TV Stations started accepting footage shot on Hi8 by their reporters.  It is rumored that of all the footage shot of the Gulf War in the late-1980's and early-1990's, 80% was shot on Hi8, with the other 20% being shot on the numerous other Professional formats.  Again Hi8 owners were able to record up to 2 hours of video on one tape in the SP mode, while the LP mode offerred 4 hours.

1999 saw the introduction of the final 8mm tape: Digital8.  Using the exact same tape as Hi8, Digital8 offered the ability to record using the DV codec.  The DV codec was also used for the Mini-DV camcorders, and as a result, both camcorders offered the same high-quality footage.  However, Sony also designed the Digital8 camcorders to be able to playback, and even digitize, the legacy Video8 and Hi8 recordings that many Digital8 owners probably had.  One unfortunate side effect to Digital 8 was that the tape ran through the machine twice as fast as it did in the Video8 and Hi8 camcorders, in order to accommodate the DV codec.  As a result, in the SP mode Digital8 camcorders were only capable of recording 60 minutes of video, while the LP mode offered only 90 minutes.  Digital8 tapes were sold in wrappers that usually identified them as Hi8 tapes, with the Digital8 logo or the words Digital8 in a smaller font somewhere on the package.

NTSC - PAL - SECAM Recordings**

If you purchased your Video8, Hi8 or Digital8 camcorder (or VCR) in the United States, Canada, Japan or any of these countries the recordings will be in the NTSC television standard.  Trevor Thurlow Productions can transfer these recordings to NTSC DVD that will work in those same countries, or I can convert them to PAL and put them on a PAL DVD for playback in these countries.  If you have tapes that were recorded on equipment that was purchased in any of those PAL countries, or in countries that used SECAM then the video is recorded in PAL and I can transfer these to PAL DVD or convert them to NTSC DVD.  SECAM Video8 and Hi8 camcorders did not actually record SECAM, they recorded PAL and then when the tapes were played back, the camera converted the PAL signal to a SECAM signal.  I use camcorders that I've imported from the UK in order to convert PAL Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 tapes to DVD or Digital File.

Transfers To DVD

All DVD transfers use Verbatim AZO DVD minus-R.  I've used Verbatim for many years and these discs are, by far, the best discs; many other professionals also use this brand of disc.

Transfers To Video Files

Options include transfers to MP4 and DV-AVI/MOV on USB stick or hard drive. All 3 formats can also be transferred to 8-bit/10-bit Uncompressed 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 AVI/MOV files, however, Digital8 is natively DV video, so DV-AVI/MOV files are it's native format (AVI works best with Windows/Chrome computers, while MOV works best with MAC's, please let me know which you prefer). 

Transfers To Other Tape Formats

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