Digital-8

This recent (1998) format is clever because it enables DV recording onto existing analogue Hi8 videocassette stock (which is somewhat cheaper than DV).

D8 camcorders will, however, run the tape at a faster speed when recording on Hi8 tapes digitally, providing for approximately 40 minutes of digital recording on one 60-minute Hi8 tape. Digital8 camcorders use pretty much the same codec (compression/decompression algorythm) as miniDV, but the clever bit is the fact ordinary analogue Hi8 tape stock provides the recording medium.

PCM digital sound is, again, a feature of D8 (as, indeed, it was on some upper-end Hi8 camcorders. On certain D8 models, it is possible to perform an "audio dub", where the mono audio track can be replaced with another sound source, such as a spoken commentary, whilst retaining the sound contained on the stereo digital audio tracks and the video pictures.

A big advantage of Digital8 is that users can use the camcorders to playback older analogue 8mm videocassette recordings, such as Video8 and Hi8. If you're planning to take advantage of this, check that the model you're intending to buy can in fact support this, since some of the newer entry-level Sony D8 camcorders aren't "backwards compatible". Digital 8 is a more recent addition to the 8mm family. This digital format uses the same tape as Hi8, but will not play back in Hi8 tape machines.