Video 8 compatability with Hi8 camcorder?

[nhl100]

Hi, does anyone know if it is possible to playback tapes recorded on a Video 8 camcorder (stereo sound) on a Hi8 camcorder? Thanks

[Blencogo]

Yes, Hi8 is backward compatible with Video 8.

Basically the video is the same but Hi8 had the added improvement of digital PCM audio - but also retained the ability to record and play analogue stereo sound on Video 8 tapes.

[nhl100 · Accepted solution]

Great, thanks for the quick answer

[hpbaumgartner39]

I have had a Sony Hi-8 Handycam working perfectly well for more than 10 years until I used a cassette video 8. It got jamped and I had to remove it by Sony After Sales services at Gland/VD, who did a good job but asked not to use a 8 mm cassette anymore but only Hi-8 cassettes as the handycam might not survive ...

So, i changed for a Sony DCR-HC96 (DV-mini-cassettes) and it gives a ver good quality picture on video as well as on still photos (to be taken calmly) but the pictures are sharp if not better with those taken by a point and shoot camera.  This for your guidance.

Now, I'm thinking of buying a HD - camescope and to edit my films HD (AVCHD...?) on i.movie (Mac Apple).

Here I read or thought I understood that filing in 1080 / 50 p (progessive) is not accepted by i.movie.

Whereas standard filming DV (mini-cassette) works perfectly on i.movie !!!  So, it might be better to stick to old material until the software accepts high definition video films.

Maybe somebody may give some explanations in this issue....

[Mick2011]

iMovie seems to have had issues with AVCHD but there are a number of good workarounds.

In essence, iMovie converts AVCHD footage to Apple's proprietory format (AIC) as it imports, which may result in a slightly lower-resolution file. I've never had this problem (the option is given to import at 1080p) but others have reported an issue there, depending on the version of iMovie in question, among other things.

Software is available allowing you to retain the original resolution in iMovie if you have issues; some people don't bother, as quality is still extremely high even at half the resolution. Others don't want to lose the full HD capture of their camera. I've even spoken to Mac users who are archiving their HD footage (as Disk Images, in original AVCHD format) and working with slightly-less-HD in the meantime.

In practical terms, it shouldn't be a bar to you using an HD camera with iMovie, unless you simply must have 1080/50p. No version of iMovie will accept this; in fact not many computers are powerful enough to edit it with ease! I don't want to discourage you from striving for the best possible quality, but even for professional videographers, shooting at high frame-rate progressive (the 'p' in 50p) rather than interlaced (as in '50i') is currently a bit of an extravagant luxury. 

I'd suggest, if you're ready to upgrade anyway, to get the best camera you can and rest assured that software – and computers! – will eventually catch up with it

Cheers

Mick