News - DVD Conversions

8mm to VHS Adaptor

8mm to VHS Cassette Adapter

Does such a thing exist? Short answer – NO

VHS and 8mm video formats are vastly different and are not compatible with each other. VHS is half inch tape while Hi8 is 8mm. The recording formats also differ hugely in terms of the way the information is recorded onto the tape.

VHS has a smaller cousin VHS C (Compact). VHS C or Compact was introduced to compete against 8mm / Hi8 in the consumer camera market. VHS C had one advantage over 8mm in that one could use a VHS cassette adaptor which would allow the smaller or compact cassette to be played in a normal VHS VCR. Only VHS C tapes fit into the adaptor. There is no adaptor to convert a 8mm tape to fit into a VHS machine.

Apart from the obvious differences in physical appearance and size, other factors such as tape / video head speed ratio, FM vs longitudinal audio recording and synch signal recording make the formats technically incompatible.

I would argue that 8mm / Hi8 was a better format, image and audio quality was superior to the VHS C format.

VHS Cassette adaptor — VHS cassette adapter

VHS C Cassette

Hi8 / Digital 8 Cassette

Hi 8 Video Cassette

Pros and Cons

VHS C

1/2 inch tape
45 or 60 minute tapes
Can be played in a VHS VCR with a cassette adaptor
Poor image quality
Poor audio recording
Larger mechanism

8/Hi8

8mm tape
30, 60, 90 and 120 minute tapes
Cannot be played in a VHS VCR
Playback via the camera or dedicated 8mm VCR
Superior image recording
Better audio recording
Smaller mechanism

So how do you get your 8mm tapes converted? You will need a 8mm player of some description. Sony launched 3 different formats in the 8mm range. 8mm, Hi8 and Digital 8. A Video 8 player / camcorder will only play 8mm tapes, a Hi8 player / camcorder will play Hi8 and 8mm video. A Digital 8 player will play all three formats (generally speaking, there may be some model variations that this does not apply to).

DVD Conversions are specialists in tape and media transfer, having been in the professional video market for 30 years. We have all the equipment to playback all the popular video formats. Call us today to discuss your tape transfers. We can convert 8mm, Hi8 and Digital 8 tapes to DVD or digital files. Click on the links to be directed to the relevant page.

Video to Digital

In a previous blog we explained the video to DVD process and the pros and cons of DVD. In this blog we will explain the video to Digital file process.

The file type is generally determined by what it will be used for.

For editing and archiving purposes we suggest files that have minimum or no or very low compression ratios, MOV / QuickTime or AVI is generally best suited for SD 720 x 576 video files. These files can get very large, approximately 13GB per hour using the DV codec or 6GB per hour using a high bandwidth MP4 codec

If the files are going to be used primarily for uploading to services such as YouTube, dropbox or other file transfer services then highly compressed files are probably best. There is always a trade off between file size and quality, large files = good quality, small files = lesser quality. MP4 is a good trade off between the two and is compatible with the vast majority of media players and smart devices.

It is best to convert to files that have a low compression ratio (MOV / AVI) or as close to uncompressed as possible. High compression files (MP4) can then be created from the low compression files. Remember that once compressed the files cannot be “uncompressed” without a loss in quality.

DVD conversions Limited uses a variety of domestic and industrial playback decks in conjunction with video and audio processing and calibration equipment to ensure that the quality of the recording is improved. Once captured on our edit systems we render the file type of your choice. Follow this link to go to our video to digital conversion page, or this link for video to DVD conversions. Contact us for any further queries

Online Museum

Visit our online museum. We will be publishing photo’s of our collection of old film and video equipment. We welcome your comments and if you would like to contribute, please contact us.

Convert Video to DVD – Why?

The days of video tape are long gone. It’s time to convert to DVD. The problem is most people are left with archives of magnetic tape that is useless unless you have a machine to play them. It is important to store tape correctly, always upright or vertical so the tape hangs on the reels and in a cool, dry environment. Tape is very prone to mold and will deteriorate rapidly if not stored correctly. VHS and Betamax are probably the most robust of the domestic formats, but the camcorder formats such as Hi8, DV and digital 8 and very fragile and the slightest bit of moisture or mold can cause severe damage. DVD Conversions specialize in tape transfers and can convert video to DVD. We offer tape restoration and have a process of baking and cleaning tapes that are in poor condition prior to them going into our machinery. Tape gradually deteriorates over time and before long the coatings that protect the metal particles are lost, in this case the tape is rendered useless. It is important to get the material converted to DVD long before the process of oxide shed begins. Sooner rather than later!

There are pro’s and con’s to converting video to DVD. On the one hand DVD is cheap and fairly reliable, on the other it’s highly compressed and easily damaged. MPEG 2 is a compression format which is an in between format in terms of size and quality. The disadvantage is that DVD is prone to scratches and the long term storage of data is questionable. Some manufacturers are claiming 25 years and more, but then what? The tapes are long gone and the DVD goes faulty, you’re stuck. We suggest that any data copied onto any optical media be backed up onto flash or hard drives, and multiple copies of this data be stored in different locations. Cloud is an option, but with a 4.7 GB disc it does not take long to use up your allocated space. If you intend editing from the MPEG2 files we suggest looking at converting to another digital file such as AVI, QuickTime or at the very least MP4. All of the above applies generally to SD formats such as analogue video and digital video in the DV codec.
In the next blog, we will discuss the advantages of converting to digital file types.

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Watch this space as we continue to grow our service offering. We are currently working on a HD 16mm conversion system.