Video8/Hi8/Digital8 transfers video99.co.uk  



The UK's most affordable and flexible Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 to DVD transfers.

A personal service by an engineer with 20 years of video experience.

Costs just £12 for up to 2:30 hours, extra copies £3.50 or less.  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.

One of several identical Semi-professional Video 8 / Hi8 edit decks used for copying camcorder tapes to DVD.

Basic Menu, £12: 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 £18:  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 very cheap, just £2.50 each, and well worth taking.

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 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.

Basic Menu, £12: Up to 2:30 hours on one DVD, but most camcorder tapes are only 60-90 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 £18:  Up to 1:30 hours on one DVD, so camcorder tapes usually 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 very cheap, just £2.50 each, and well worth taking.

Also available, Video8/Hi8/Digital8 to MPEG or AVI(DV) files for your own computer editing.  The price is small quantities is the same as Deluxe Menu.  For larger quantities of tapes there are good discounts possible.  In particular, if you would like to transfer Video8, Hi8 or Digital8 to hard disk, the price is just £7 per hour using the very high quality DV-AVI file format.  Just email me for details.

There is a limitation of the Digital8 format:  Hi8 or Video8 90 minute tapes record for 60 minutes with the Digital8 format unless LP (long play) is used to extend this to 90 minutes.  If LP (long play) mode has been used using a cheaper Video8 tape, it is possible that the recordings may not play so well, occasional blocks and patterns are possible.  So far I've never experienced this effect on my equipment.

* 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.  However such Long Play NTSC recordings may not have stereo sound available.

How to request a Video 8 to DVD transfer, Hi8 to DVD or Digital8 to DVD transfer.

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

If for any reason you get stuck filling out the form, just email me and I'll help you personally.  It's a personal service I offer, not like some of the big video editing houses.  I understand that in many cases you will not be able to tell how much material is on the original recordings.  In which case, assume that the tapes are fairly full and send payment accordingly, I will refund any surplus by means of a cheque sent with your finished recordings.  

If recorded on equipment from another country, see the Television systems explained.

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

Not everyone needs their tapes returned once they have the DVDs, but if you do, please remember to include postage costs. For a single video tape in the UK, this is just £1.50 For larger quantities, and tapes from outside the UK, I will let you know.  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 DVDs to you ahead of returning your tapes, then when you've confirmed you are happy with the DVDs, 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)

If you have a Video8 or Hi8 video recorder, click here to join the Video8/Hi8 Video recorder Yahoo group, it's free.

TESTIMONIALS  

Some previous testimonials for www.video99.co.uk Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 video transfers

• "Hi, Colin just to let you know that I was very pleased with the quality and speed of the work you did for me.  The Video and Video 8 tapes that you converted for me onto my external Hard Drive turned out better than I could have hoped for. Thank You  Cecil" 28.01.12
  
• "I used Colin @ Video99 to transfer my precious Video 8 tapes, documenting my daughters early years, to DVD. He provided reassuring guidance, and a friendly & prompt service. The DVDs were with me in only a few days and the original tapes also promptly returned. I can really recommend him. Lynette "  19.01.12
  
• "Thank you Colin, DVDs all received safe and sound, and you’ve done a great job with them.  I had waited years and years to get them converted, because I was waiting to find someone I could trust with what are, to us, priceless tapes.  The moment I saw your website I knew that you were that person…and so it has proved!  Thanks a million…more tapes will be sent soon. David"  Video8 tapes to DVD 14.12.11
  
• "Unfortunately it’s  words are inadequate in expressing my genuine gratitude to you for the service that is beyond measure, I did recently in a idle sort of way just now look at similar services (your competitors if you like..) and I can say if had not found your website, I do not think I could placed my trust in these other companies (talk about shooting yourself in the foot!!!, as after all these are  15+ year old obsolete Hi 8 tapes we are talking about…) – anyway I can only echo others very positive experiences , and the only way I can thank you is by  whole heartily  recommending your service, my  motley assortment of 19 Hi 8 cassettes  were convert to DVD, from  posting to you on Saturday, to receiving on Thursday, very speedy, however for me more important than speed was your communication, you rapidly responded to each and every email query (not matter how trivial or silly)     with great care, insight and knowledge . Mr.  Hayer" 18.11.11
  
• "  I have been thinking for some time about converting all my home movie tapes to a format for my PC but found most companies somewhat impersonal, expensive and I had doubts about trusting my precious family memories with a stranger. You do not have to have any such doubts with Colin - he is a gentleman who is as good as his word. My films were converted and returned promptly and communication was excellent. It is such a joy to have easy access to all those home movies. Colin did a great job at a reasonable price and it has made my family very happy ..... thank you!'   regards Mike"  VHS, Video8 and minidv tapes transferred to DV-AVI files on customer's hard disk.  06.10.11
  
• "I have lots of camcorder tapes but have been reticent about letting anyone convert them to DVD. I had assumed that no-one else would appreciate their sentimental value and that they might go missing or be damaged in some way. When I found Video99's website and contacted Colin I felt I had found a company with the personal touch who would listen to my specific requirements and who could be trusted with my treasured possesions. I sent two tapes on Wednesday and by Thursday had received confirmation of their safe receipt followed by e-mailed copies of the box covers. The completed DVD's were received on Saturday morning and the quality is excellent. I now intend to use Colin's services to convert more of my tapes and would strongly recommend him to anyone."  Video8 tapes to DVD, 17.07.11
• "Colin's service is excent, I contacted him on a Saturday regarding some Hi8 tapes in long play that I could not get converted to DVD anywhere. I posted them to Colin on the Monday and received them back on the Thursday, excellent quality of my very precious memories all on DVD. Once again thank you Colin 15/07/2011"
• "Colin - DVDs have arrived safe and sound and in perfect working order. You've managed to do in a couple of days something I've beeen trying 10 years to resolve - a friendly, professional and highly efficient service. I'll definitely recommend it to friends. Thanks once again. Peter"  07.07.11 Several Video8 tapes to DVD.
• "Very impressed with the service ~ high quality recordings from Hi8 tapes to DVDs, quick and really efficient. Highly recommended. Big thank-you Colin for producing professional quality DVDs from tapes that had been 'lost' for 18 years. Triggered some long forgotten memories and captured them forever. Can't thank you enough. Simon Hadman, Hampshire"  Hi8 to DVD, 03.07.11
• "You provided a very safe pair of hands for our precious tapes. Your service was incredibly efficient and we appreciated being kept in good contact. It has been lovely to see the old footage on our laptops. Thank you very much. J. King, Bristol" 7 Video8 tapes to DVD, 19.06.11
• "Many thanks for an excellent and highly professional job, Colin. I am extremely impressed with the speed, quality and cost of the service and I'll definitely be passing on your details to all my friends and family. I would have absolutely no qualms about trusting my precious filmed memories to your care again. I'd also like to say what a pleasure it has been to deal with you. Your responses have been unfaillingly courteous, helpful and timely - if only every business treated its customers this way! Best wishes - and thanks again, Perry"  Video8 to DVD, 14.06.11
• "Hello Colin The tapes arrived yesterday and today I can confirm all is well. Many thanks for your excellent service, At was a little unsure whether to send these precious memorys to unknown destination, but your first e mail gave me the confidence to proceed. You have informed me of progress continually through the process and have managed to organise the timeline of the five Video8 tapes which had very little id or markings, perfectly. it was a joy to watch the 5 DVD's you created, bringing back many precious memories, which previously were on unplayable tapes, stored in a drawer for 10 plus years. I would recommend anyone who has old Video8 tapes that are full of memorise, to use your service to permanently convert them onto a DVD format ensuring the recording are preserved forever. Andy"  06.05.11
• "VERY FAST & EFFICIENT SERVICE WITH EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION. WILL RECOMMEND TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY Stuart" 30.04.11, Video8 tapes to DVD
• "Colin, Thank you for the DVD's that arrived this morning. Some of the images on them are a great suprise...........thank you again. I am very happy with the DVDs and think that your service is second to none. I certainly will use video99.co.uk again. Much appreciated, Martyn"  Digital8 tapes to DVD.  19.04.11
• "DVDs are fantastic, Colin was very helpful as I wasn't sure what was on my Video8 tapes or even if they were Video8! He also managed to turn them round very quickly Thank you very much, I shall definitely use Video99 again. Louise." Mixed Video8 and Digital8 recordings to DVD, 22.03.11
• "Colin, thanks for the excellent results from our video 8 tapes. Your efforts to salvage footage from our tapes that had been folded over by a defective camera have ensured our family memories will be treasured forever. The quality of the DVDs are outstanding and we thank you for the time and effort you expended to ensure you obtained the best results. I will certainly recommend you to all my friends and family. Regards Mick"  Damaged Video8 tapes recovered.  20.02.11
• "Both the overall service, and the particular help given by Colin, were excellent. I wholeheartedly recommend video99.  Ann"  Video8 tape to DVD, 31.01.11
• "We found a mixture of family betamax and video 8 tapes, from 1986 to 1998 and contacted Colin McCormick of Video 99 to enquire as to how best convert them to dvd. We were offered excellent advice and we soon realised that we were in good hands. Our tapes were soon converted onto dvd's in optimum resolution and they had been put into chronological order (not an easy task) and well labelled. The turnaround time was extremely prompt and all carried out for what we felt was a very fair price. We will be using Video 99 again in the future and would certainly have no hesitation in recommending this service. Jeff"  04.01.11
• "Colin, Thank you for the return of the disk, very pleased with the quality and pleasantly surprised that the turnaround was so fast, much less that the time quoted, what a lovely change from being let down. Can you please arrange to send the tapes back to me, next week. Once again, many thanks and thank you for the great service. Anthony"  11.12.10, Video8 tapes to DV-AVI files on USB drive for Mac editing.
• "Thank you very much for your prompt, virtually return of post service, in converting my ten video 8 tapes which I was was otherwise unable to view on my defunct camcorder. My wife and I have spent some time watching the DVDs and recalling all the memories dating back to the early 90s. The DVDs work fine on both my DVD player connected to our TV and on my computer. It has all been well worthwhile making the modest expenditure."  19.11.10
• "Colin, thank you for expert advice and fast service in transferring our Hi8 video tapes onto DVD. The playback quality of the DVDs are outstanding, considering the tapes were over 10 years old. We would recommend your services to anyone wanting to transfer video tape to DVD. Thanks again. Ian" Video8 to DVD  27.10.2010
• "Just a quick note to say that all is fine and we are having fun remembering old times. Service and speed of service excellent. Will happily recommend you and certainly use you again regards Tom"  Video8 to DVD.  24.10.10
• "I meant to get back to you - to thank you for the hard disc - the results look great! Special thanks for your close attention to detail, the quick communication exchanges & attentive service! Kind regards Martin"  Video8 tapes to hard disk.  08.10.10
• "I would like to say,how please I am with the friendly advice and the great service I received from you.My films were sent to you and the DVD'S returned all in four days,and I would certainly recommend your company to my friends and family.in fact to anyone.I would definitely use you again,should the need arise.Again so many thanks to you. Sandra"  Collection of Video8 tapes put to DVD, 22.09.10
• "Colin All the DVDs play very well thank you. As you say, you have done a great job with the damaged tapes. My Mrs is delighted.  Kind regards David"  18 Video8 tapes, some which would not play on a normal camcorder, all recovered to DVD.  12.09.10
• “Absolutely first class service. I was stuck after frankly appalling service from Jessops, so went home to research home transfers (video8 to DVD) online. Within an hour or so of sending a rather personalised, specific requirement to video99, Colin emailed back confirming he could cover the request and was very helpful. Once I had sent the tapes I had the DVD back amazingly quickly and the originals tapes a couple of days later. Brilliant service and would use again without doubt.  Thanks again Adrian” Selected segments from Video8 tapes put onto DVD.  11.08.10
• "Exactly the way doing business should be - quick, efficient and hassle-free! Highly recommended service. Thank you. Angie"  VHS and Hi8 tapes to DVD.  23.07.10
• "Video 99 provided an excellent 1st class service from my first contact to receiving my old home videos on DVD's. I will definitely use them again and have recommended them to friends and family. Sinead"  Video8 to DVD.  22.07.10
• "I just wanted to thank you so much for copying my Video 8 tapes to discs. It was such a surprise after all these years to be able to sit and watch things we had long forgotten about. I was totally amazed at how well they came out, having sat in a dusty cupboard for years I really thought anything on them would be lost. I have uploaded them on to my computer and also to a spare hard drive so will have them, hopefully, forever. Thank you again for your very professional, friendly and efficient service. I would recommend your services to anybody in need. Best Regards Sandra.  Video8 tapes to DVD.  22.07.10
• "Colin Just to let you know the Video8 tapes arrived safely back today. Thanks so much. I've run out of words to express how much I appreciate your service, so feel free to use on your website any of my comments in this, or previous emails, as an endorsement of your service. Awesome. Thank you. Good luck with the possible future move. Richard"  Video8 to DVD, 06.07.10
• "Hi Colin, Got the DVD's. Fantastic. Thank you very much. Just what we wanted. The menu makes it look really good and easy to use. Cheers, James"  Digital8 tape to Deluxe Menu DVD.  21.06.10
• "Video99 provides a super quick and personal service at a fraction of high street costs. Colin transferred 10 of our Hi8 home videos to DVD and we can at last relive these happy memories. I strongly recommend. Jeremy"  Video8 tapes to DVD following customer's special requests.  24.05.10
• "Colin Received the two DVDs yesterday and we watched them as a family during the evening. They are fantastic; thank you so much. There’s a load of stuff on them we’d forgotten about. I’ve got around six others which – if that’s ok – I’ll send over the coming weeks and months. I’m inclined also to send the tapes that [another transfer business] transferred, as the DVDs they sent aren’t anything to write home about."  I've heard a lot about that other business.  Video8 and VHS-C tapes to DVD, 12.03.10.
• "Colin The DVD's arrived safely yesterday morning. I cant believe that I posted the 6 tapes to you on a Saturday morning and received the completed DVD's back in the post on the following Friday morning. The quality is excellent and they all play just fine on both my DVD player and on my computer. Thank-you so much. I'd like to thank-you for your excellent customer service - such a rarity these days. It was great to have the progress updates by e-mail - very reassuring. I have visions of you in a little workshop piled high with exotic electrical equipment and computers :-)"  I've been rumbled.  Indeed I do have a little workshop piled high with exotic equipment!  But there's much more equipment than my small workshop will hold.  Video8 tapes to DVD, 20.02.10
• "Colin, The DVDs have arrived safely and I’m very pleased with them. Thanks for the prompt service. I especially like the way you did the covers with snapshots of the videos. Regards, Mark"  Three Video8 tapes to Deluxe Menu DVDs with colour printed boxes.
• “I shopped around online for ages, looking for someone to convert a load of video8 tapes to DVD. The prices being quoted were crazy. Then I discovered video99 and was amazed by how cheap they were – but then worried about what the quality would be like. I needn’t have worried. I have to say that this company is one of the few these days to offer brilliant customer service, excellent quality output and at incredibly cheap prices. Can’t rate them highly enough and will certainly use them again when I have more tapes. Sue"  Quantity of Video8 tapes transferred to DVD.  14.01.10

For older testimonials, hundreds of them, see the archive of testimonials.

Can I play Video8 or Hi8 tapes on my Digital8 camcorder?

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-TV350 appears not to have been sold in Europe.  The list is supplied as-is with no responsibility for errors, and is (c) copyright video99, 2011.

If you are interested in Video8 or Hi8 video recorders, join the free Yahoo group.

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.

Last updated 17 July 2011

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