"If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed..." STANLEY KUBRIC
8mm video
From Encyclopedia PRO
The 8mm video format refers informally to three related video tape formats for the NTSC and PAL/SECAM television systems:
Their user-base consisted mainly of amateur camcorder users, although they also saw important use in the professional field.
8mm video tapes
The three formats (Video8, Hi8 and Digital8) are physically very similar, featuring both the same tape-width and near-identical cassette-shells. This gives a measure of backward-compatibility in some cases. One difference between them is in the quality of the tape itself, but the main differences lie in the encoding of the video when it is recorded onto the tape.
In all three cases, a length of 8mm-wide magnetic tape is wound between two spools and held within a hard-shelled cassette. These cassettes share similar size and appearance with the audio cassette, but their mechanical operation is far closer to that of VHS or Betamax videocassettes. Standard recording time is up to 90 minutes for PAL and 120 minutes for NTSC. (The cassette holds the same length tape -- tape-consumption is different between PAL and NTSC recorders.)
Among home and amateur videographers Video8/Hi8 was popular enough for Sony to make equipment for video-editing and production. The format also saw some use in the professional ENG/EFP field.
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Transferring 8mm footage to a computer for editing
Because Video8 and Hi8 are analog video formats, transferring either to computer requires digitization.
Some Digital8 cameras offer legacy playback of Video8 and Hi8. Those which also have a FireWire socket will produce a digitized signal for capture to computer. This approach will provide noticeably sharper results than the method described in the next paragraph. It also has the benefit of allowing you to work in the industry standard DV format on your computer.
If you don't have access to a Digital8 deck with which to digitize your Video8 or Hi8 tapes, you'll need an analog capture card or converter. Once on the computer, the footage can be edited, processed and transferred to DVD, the Internet or back to tape.
Some consumer miniDV and DVD cameras feature a built in analog to digital converter that will convert an analog video source into digital form. This is usually called 'pass through' because as the footage passes through the camcorder, it is digitized and output through its firewire connection which is then (for example) connected to your computer.