How to Watch Your Old Tapes and Still Go Digital
Get the best deal for Sony Handycam Digital8 Camcorders from the largest online selection at eBay.com. Browse your favorite brands affordable prices free shipping on many items.
One of the key issues with adopting any new technology is figuring out what to do with your existing media. One way to handle it is to take advantage of backwards compatibility.
What Formats Could It Play?
The Digital8 format was the third and last of Sony's 8 mm video formats to reach the market. Although it used the same tapes as the earlier formats, it recorded in a totally different fashion. Photoshop serial key. The first two formats were entirely analog, with only the third taking advantage of digital technology: Pdf compressor app download.
- Video8: The original analog format, it offered similar picture quality to VHS, recording at 240-line resolution with mono audio.
- Hi8: A move to metal oxide tape allowed for more bandwidth and better resolution on the same size cassette. Hi8 camcorders could play Video8 tapes but the reverse wasn't possible.
- Digital8: Digital8 tapes were the same as Hi8 tapes but used a different recording format. While a Digital8 camcorder could play both earlier formats, once a tape recorded digitally, it could not play in any earlier system.
What About Digital8 Camcorders?
Choosing the right Sony Digital8 camcorder is a matter of matching the available features with your needs, just like with any camcorder or digital camera. Many models featured both a viewfinder and a swing-out screen, so you could watch your footage with both eyes. Entry-level camcorders offered a black and white viewfinder, while more advanced models let you preview your footage in color as well as recording it. With backwards compatibility out of the way, here are a few features to consider when looking through Sony Digital8 models:
- Zoom: Many models offer both optical zoom and an even greater level of digital zoom. It's a great feature for filming nature.
- NightShot: Some Digital-8 cameras also offered NightShot, a feature that used two infrared LEDs to enable filming in complete darkness. The IR mode does have a bit of a green tint, but it definitely extends the camera functionality.
- Printing: Models like the TRV830 can not only take still images, it can also print out its own pictures as the camcorder has a color printer built into the body.
Using Camcorders
The shift to digital provided a number of additional capabilities when compared to its analog predecessors, especially when you consider that the new machine not only used the same kind of tapes as its predecessors but could also play back your existing library. One tradeoff to consider was tape use. The same videocassette that was good for two hours of analog video was only able to store one hour of digital video due to the increased bandwidth requirements.
Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony.
What are Digital8 Camcorders?
A Digital8 camcorder uses Digital8 recording videocassettes, which bases on Sony's 8 mm video format. First releasing in 1999, this format is now obsolete, but it is still possible to find Digital8 camcorders and tapes. While transferring videos from your camera to computer is not as easy as plugging in the SD card, you can take the videos from Digital8 tapes and record onto DVDs or onto your laptop with a USB cable if the model allows.
Is Digital8 the Same as MiniDV?
Sony Digital Handycam Digital 8 700x Zoom Manual
Although many people believe they are, Digital8 and MiniDV formats are not the same although they are identical at bitstream level.
- Format: Both use non-interchangeable cassette media, the larger of the two being Digital8, and their media formulations are different.
- Tape use: Digital8 uses tape at 29 mm per second with maximum recording time of 135 minutes, while MiniDV uses tape at 19 mm per second with maximum recording time of 130 minutes.
- Tracks: In the Digital8 format, it takes 25 tracks for one frame of information to record vertically, while the MiniDV records one frame onto 10 tracks.
What Models Can I Find?
While the manufacturer no longer makes new products of this kind, some Sony Digital8 models that you can look for are:
Sony Digital Handycam Digital 8 Manual
- DCRTRV230: This camcorder has a 2.5 inch color LCD screen with black and white EVF. The SteadyShot image stabilization gives you a steady hand when using the 25x optical zoom and 28x digital zoom. You can record still images onto tape and use the wireless remote control to press play when you have the camera on a tripod.
- DCRTRV140: This model has 20x optical zoom and 560x digital zoom plus image stabilization. There is a digital photo mode and a 2.5-inch LCD monitor. NightShot mode allows you to shoot in the dark, and there are digital faders and effects for fun editing.
- DCRTRV250: This digital camcorder has a USB streaming feature, so you can turn it into a webcam or video conferencing tool. There is a massive 700x digital zoom and 20x optical zoom plus Sony's SteadyShot image stabilization feature. There is a built-in light, easy dubbing features plus NightShot for night shooting.
- DCRTRV330: This video camcorder has a built-in digital still mode and can record 640 by 480 stills onto the memory stick media included. It uses Hi8 tapes and has 25x optical zoom with image stabilization.
Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony.