Video 8 – 8mm video cassette
Video 8 – Released in the mid 1980’s by Eastman Kodak and Sony, this popular domestic video format competed with VHS and VHS C in a very competitive consumer video market.
The Video 8 format was superior to VHS and Betamax in terms of recording quality, especially when considering sound quality. VHS uses a longitudinal analogue recording system which causes tape hiss. The 8mm formats recorded audio as FM resulting in far better sound than VHS.
There are 3 variants to this format. Video 8, Hi8 and the digital variant, Digital 8.
Hi8 offered higher bandwidth than Video8 and as such a better image quality recording. Digital 8 (D8) is a DV variant using the same cassette format but with a higher tape speed, resulting in shorter recording times per tape. The D8 format uses the common DV codec.
In most cases the cameras are backward compatible, ie. most D8 cameras will also play Hi8 and Video 8, however a Hi8 camera cannot play a D8 tape, the same applies for Video 8 cameras not being able to play a Hi8 tape.
There is a common misconception that these tapes can be played back in VHS VCR’s with a cassette adaptor – This is not the case. 8mm video formats are not compatible with VHS equipment.
Standard Play vs Long Play
Long play mode can extend the available record time on a tape by 50%. A tape marked as 60 minutes can be extended to 90 minutes in the LP mode, similarly a 90-minute tape can be extended to 135 minutes.
The use of LP (long play) mode can compromise picture quality due to slower tape speeds.
Standards Conversion
Standards conversion from NTSC 3.58 and NTSC 4.43 to PAL for most of the analogue video formats we support. The NTSC format applies to tapes recorded in countries such as USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines (to name a few).
Moisture and Mould damage
Video tapes are very susceptible to damage from moisture and incorrect storage. Long term exposure to moisture can cause irreversible damage. If there are signs of mould on the tape, consider getting them digitized sooner rather than later. Mould damaged tape can be saved, see our tape repair page.
We can transfer Video 8 to digital files for use in archiving or editing applications.
Output file type options include (but are not limited to) the following
- Compressed MP4 – H264
- Uncompressed MOV
- Custom file types – contact us with your requirements.
Contact us for more information on this service.