Video8/Hi8/Digital8 transfers video99.co.uk  



The UK's most affordable and flexible transfer service of Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 to DVD or video files.

A personal service by an engineer with 30 years of video experience.  Transfers to USB stick, hard disk or DVD.

Discounts for quantity.  Lowest prices in the UK but the highest quality.

Easy order form here

Video8 / Hi8 / Digital8

Video 8 and the higher performance version Hi8, were much the most popular type of camcorder sold right the way through the 1990's and were available until about 2010.  Picture and sound quality is very good, and at best can be outstanding.  Since the 8mm tape is completely different to VHS, no Video8 or Hi8 to VHS adaptor could ever exist, we need to play these tapes on the appropriate equipment.

You have come to the right place for your Video8 and Hi8 to DVD transfers, video99 has simply the best 8mm video equipment.  I can transfer your camcorder tapes to DVD with brilliant pictures and sound, using my semi-professional Hi8 edit systems costing well over £1000 each.  The signals are processed through a Digital Timebase Corrector to remove any flutter and wobble, and get the benefit of a digital dropout compensator in my players.  Then the video signals are handled in S-Video form for the ultimate in colour performance, to my DVD recorder or computer system where it is recorded to DVD with outstanding picture and HiFi stereo sound.  I can also deal with PCM digital audio recording tracks (most people can't do this).  What all this means is that the results will be much better than you can get by just playing the tape in a camcorder.  I've had cases of customers coming to me after other video transfer companies were unable to handle LP recordings and international recordings, but video99.co.uk won't let you down.  

Hi8 camcorders from 1998 onwards may include Hi8-XR (Extended Resolution) technology with suitable XR tapes.  If your tapes are recorded with this feature, let me know since I will make a point of selecting appropriate equipment to get the very best from your recordings. 

Also available now is capability for PCM digital audio recordings made on the Sony EV-S800, EV-S900, EV-S700U, and possibly Pioneer VE-D77, which could record up to 6 sets of digital stereo recordings on an 8mm video cassette in audio-only mode.  The cost for this is around £15 per hour, it's a very rare format.

Around the year 2000 a new variant of 8mm video recording arrived, called Digital8, marketed by Sony and Hitachi.  Camcorders of this type use standard Hi8 video cassettes, or Digital8 cassettes which are essentially the same, to record digital signals of the same type as other digital camcorders.  The quality is excellent and with suitable equipment, it is possible to transfer these recordings to computer or DVD in a completely digital way, retaining outstanding performance.  

Hitachi Digital8 camcorder.

You can't tell by looking at an 8mm video cassette whether it has an analogue Video8 / Hi8 recording on it, or a Digital8 recording.  A clue may be in the vintage, recordings prior to year 2000 will be analogue, and later than that could be either.  If you have only a Video8 or Hi8 camcorder or player, and get a Digital8 tape to play, you see a grey screen full of speckles and the sound will just be a loud buzz.  Since I can transfer all of Video8, Hi8 and Digital8, there will be no problems with any of them.  Some transfer outfits will get caught out by Digital8 recordings as they cannot run them.  Furthermore I can handle recordings made on equipment from around the world, at no extra expense.

Transfers to DVD.  Most customers take USB stick or hard disk, but DVDs are still possible:

Basic Menu, £13: Up to 2:30 hours on one DVD, but most camcorder tapes are only 90 minutes which fits nicely.  The menus are limited to just a title, but you get a chapter point every 5 minutes so it is easy to move around the DVD.  Extra copies of these DVDs cost just £3.50 each and are recommended.

Deluxe Menu £22:  Up to 1:30 hours on one DVD, so most camcorder tapes fit in one go.  Nice menu icons showing what is on that part of the recording, and if you email me with titles I will put them on the DVD for you too.  I place the chapter breaks at points of interest or new recordings.  These menus look like professionally recorded DVD films.  Extra copies are just £3.50 each, and well worth taking.

Transfers to video files:

Nearly all customers now take video files on a USB stick or hard disk (depending on quantity).  Typically we provide large DV-AVI files of 13GB per hour, ideal for nearly all PC and Mac video editing software, these are a pure lossless clone of the contents of any Digital8 tapes, even retaining the original time/date information which some software can access.  Almost all customers also take the very inexpensive option of additionally having smaller MPEG4 files which will play on most modern TVs which have a USB socket.  Assuming at least 10 hours, the cost for minidv to DV-AVI video files is just £8 per hour of useful material.  Just email me for details.

Video files are higher quality than DVDs, easier to edit, share and back up, so a much better archive format.

* Note about NTSC recordings (USA television standard):  Other companies in the UK may say they can run these, but most will get stuck if your recording is in Long Play.  We have imported Hi8 NTSC equipment from USA for this reason and so won't let you down. 

How to request a Video 8, Hi8 Digital8 transfer.

We have an easy order page, just select what kind of tapes you have and supply your details.

If you want your tapes back after you have the transfers (recommended):

Not everyone needs their tapes returned once they have the transfers, but if you do, there will be a little added for costs. For a single video tape in the UK, this is about £1.50. For larger quantities, and tapes from outside the UK, we will calculate it later.  Ideally can you ensure you send the tapes in a package which is sufficiently large and robust for me to use to send back your original tapes. Usually I will send the transfers initially, then when you've confirmed you are happy with them, I will return your tapes. This way I can help you further if necessary - for example you can now see you want a different part of a tape transferred on its own or you want extra copies.  When you receive your tapes back, you may notice that the record tabs have been switched to safe. The first thing I do with a tape is make sure that it cannot be recorded on, so protecting your important recordings.

Please read our Terms and Conditions, which form part of the agreement.

Back to the main www.video99.co.uk page.

Also see the video99.co.uk Questions and Answers (FAQ)

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Testimonials and social media.

We are listed on the independent Freeindex service, you can read and add to reviews there.  Most customers use that method for testimonials now.

We also have a collection of fascinating testimonials from some famous names, see the famous names testimonials page. 

Please also subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can see some of the work we do and fantastic equipment we have.

Can I play Video8 or Hi8 tapes on my Digital8 camcorder?  Which Digital 8 camcorders play Video8 or Hi8 tapes?

Which Digital8 camcorders support analogue Video8 or Hi8 playback?  I've been asked which Digital8 camcorders play Video8 or Hi8 tapes.  Most, but not all, Sony Digital8 camcorders can also play older analogue Video8 or Hi8 recordings.  Here is a list I have put together from information collated from user manuals.  Note that the European models have an E after the model number, whereas NTSC market models do not, but otherwise the features are likely to be similar.  The DCR-TRV350 appears not to have been sold in Europe.  Many Sony European PAL models such as the DCR-TV120E which support analogue playback, also support NTSC tape playback provided the tape was recorded in SP (Standard Play) speed.  They do not play LP (Long Play) NTSC recordings, and note that some such as the DCR-TRV310E do not support any analogue NTSC playback.  The list is supplied as-is with no responsibility for errors, and is (c) copyright video99, 2011-2014.

If you have any questions, just email me and I'll reply promptly.   Also see the video99.co.uk Questions and Answers (FAQ) 

All material on this web site is copyright www.video99.co.uk and www.colin99.co.uk though trade marks remain with the manufacturers.

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