The digital 8 camcorder (or D8) format was one of the first digital video formats available to consumers worldwide. Introduced by Sony in 1999, Digital 8 Camcorders took advantage of the existing supply of Hi8 video cassettes and presented a convenient method for recording digital audio and video on the formerly analog media.
In addition to their innovative technology, the Digital 8 Camcorder was also backwards-compatible, meaning that previously recorded Hi8 video tapes would play back properly on the newer cameras. The only practical drawback of the Digital 8 format was that the cameras had to run at twice the normal speed to lay all of the digital information down on tape. The result was that a store-bought 120 minute Hi8 video cassette was only able to record no more than 60 minutes of Digital 8 audio and video.
A FireWire connection was used to transfer video between the camera and a computer. Since USB has become the standard data link port found on most modern computers, it may be difficult to interface a decade old Digital8 camcorder video source with our modern hardware. As of 2005, Sony was the only company still producing Digital8 camcorders for consumer use, and it is unlikely the format will be supported for much longer. Interestingly enough, the replacement miniDV format has specifications nearly equal to that of Digital 8 camcorder tapes, though the form factor of the newer cassettes is much smaller today.
Other companies who previously manufactured the Digital 8 digital Camcorder included Hitachi and JVC. Sony, the mainstay of the Digital8 format, also released Digital 8 Video Walkman Portables, and a line of stand alone playback devices for professional applications of the 8 digital camcorder format.
Standard features of most Digital 8 Camcorders included flip-out color LCD viewscreens, built-in speakers, and many even offered a color eyepiece viewing option for more precise framing. Digital and optical zooms were also available, as well as simple in-camera editing modes. Besides analog, S-video and FireWire ports, Sony often included both an external mic jack and a headphone jack for connecting higher quality microphones and headphones to their devices.
In short, Digital 8 camcorder was clearly a step ahead when it was released over a decade ago. It offered performance still rivaling that of current video formats, and provided a robust and user-friendly method of capturing digital audio and video on existing consumer media. Nevertheless, even though these cameras can be bought now for next-to-nothing, it is unlikely further development of this nearly obsolete format will continue. The high definition camcorder will likely dissolve of the d8.
