Video8 / Hi8 / Digital8 Video Tape Transfers
Leave it to Sony, inventors of Betamax (technically superior to VHS), to one-up the VHS-C format for camcorders. They introduced the 8mm videocassette, achieving VHS quality on 8mm tape, about 1/4" wide, in a cassette not much bigger than an audio cassette. This led to the "Handicam" line of compact video cameras that really caught on in the 90s. There are three types of 8mm tapes, all Standard Definition:
- "8mm" / "Video8" tapes, have the simple "8" logo, and perform slightly better than VHS
- "Hi8" uses the same shell, but has better tape and performance slightly better than Super VHS
- "Digital8," has the same shell, but with a "D8" logo. These are equivalent to DV tape, with great SD performance. There is no HD version of 8mm.
Hi-8 and Digital 8 may give clean enough pictures that could uprez to HD.
Most 8mm tapes run 120 minutes, but we charge only for time on the tape. For estimation purposes we may use the full length of the tape, but the tally invoice (presented when transfers are finished) will reflect the actual runtime of home video content. It could be less or more than the estimate.
Note that 8mm videocassettes are much different from 8mm movie film reels.