Convert your old camcorder tapes to DVD or video files on your hard drive the whole family can enjoy! Video8 to DVD transfers can preserve your precious family footage for a lifetime. We can transfer all types of consumer video format including Video8, Hi8, and Digital8 cassette tapes.
The 8mm video format was released by Sony in 1985, in effort to gain foothold in the consumer camcorder & home movie market that had been dominated by the VHS tape since the late 70s. In 1985, Sony released the Handycam, which was a huge success, mostly due to the fact that it was substantially smaller than the VHS or Betamax camcorders of the time.
Over the years, three formats of 8mm tapes were released. The first format, simply called 8mm, or video 8, was entirely analog. The 8mm tape width was chosen as a smaller version of the 12mm Betamax format, and used a similar tape loading technology. This was followed by the Hi8, which was a 8mm cassette with improved resolution. Some professional Hi8 equipment could store additional digital stereo PCM sound on a special reserved track, even though it was analog. Digital8 is the most recent format of the 8mm cassette family. Digital8 is recorded entirely in digital DV format, which is very different than that of Video8 or Hi8 tapes.
The common capacities of the tapes varied. Video8 and Hi8 generally came in 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes cassettes. Digital8 tapes typically held a recording capacity of either 30 or 60 minutes.
When bringing us multiple tapes, you also have the option of combining your hi8 and video8 tapes onto one or multiple DVDs, at no extra cost. Combining several shorter tapes onto one DVD will save you the hassle of having several short-duration DVDs laying around. This can also be useful for combining multiple tapes of similar subject manner, such as transferring all of your children's birthday party videos onto a birthday DVD compilation. The only limitation is that our 100-year archival DVDs will hold up to 2 hours of video, so each combined video must have an average run time of one hour or less.