Sony’s 8mm videotape family consists of three formats: 8mm, the higher-bandwidth Hi8, and the digital format Digital-8. Utilizing 8 millimeter wide tape, the cassettes and video heads were smaller than VHS-C, enabling very compact camcorder design. 8mm and Hi8 typically held 2 hours of video; Digital-8 ran the tape faster and held one hour. The Hi8 format, similar to S-VHS, offered higher resolution and color response, and was aimed at the high-end consumer and prosumer markets. Stereo audio was multiplexed with the video, making for excellent frequency response and a simpler machine design with no dedicated linear audio head.

Digital-8 was released as a competitor to Mini-DV. It utilized Hi8 tape formulation but recorded the video and audio signals onto the tape digitally. Like Mini-DV, it was compatible with Firewire for direct capture into computers of the era. The legacy cassette design also allowed for backwards compatibility to 8mm/Hi8 users, although not all Digital-8 camcorders offered analog playback. Interestingly enough, the inventor of Digital-8 (Sony) also marketed Mini-DV camcorders at the same time, competing against its own format.

The tricky thing about capturing analog 8mm and Hi8 material is that there is no tracking control on the deck. The format simply does not allow for tracking, as there is no “control track” head laying down pulses for each frame of video, something used on almost every other videotape format. Tracking adjustments, if necessary, are made by adjusting the tape guide positions for best playback. WDLN.tv has the gear and expertise to extract the best playback of your tapes, even if the tapes were recorded on a misaligned camcorder.

8mm videotape is not to be confused with 8mm/Super-8 film. WDLN.tv does high-quality scanning of 8mm film as well. See this page for more information.