quality difference hi8 vs digital8 tapes

[avmaster]

a hi8 90 minute tape can contain less minutes of digital recorded video than a digital 8 90 minute tape
but is there a quality difference too?
is the tape quality of a digital 8 tape superior?

thanks

rene

[RS456]

I think your mistaken. Hi8 tape is 120 mins in SP recording which is the same as Video8 tape but in Hi8 tape it also states on the back that it records Digital8 and the recording time for that is 60 min for Digital8 SP recording. In some Digital8 camcorders you also have the option of recording in LP in Digital8 format which gives you 90 min recording in Digital8 format. From what I am seeing so far this is also true with a regular 8mm tape.

[Cornucopia]

LP is a BAD idea. Never use it if you can help it. It ALWAYS causes trouble somewhere down the road.

Scott

[edDV]

a hi8 90 minute tape can contain less minutes of digital recorded video than a digital 8 90 minute tape
but is there a quality difference too?
is the tape quality of a digital 8 tape superior?

thanks

rene

Digital8 is the same DV format as used on MiniDV, but recorded on Hi8 tape at double speed. Some Digital8 decks also play analog Video8/Hi8 formats and convert to DV format output over Firewire.

DV is a far superior format vs. analog Hi8. It has better resolution (720x480/576) and much better signal to noise ratio. Hi8 is also notorious for tape dropouts. These are mostly eliminated in Digital8 by digital error correction.

The Digital8 and MiniDV "LP" standard used narrower tracks to record the same DV video. The narrow tracks were intended to be played on the same camcorder that recorded them. They don't play well on other decks. Avoid this mode.

Sony made a wider track DVCAM MiniDV format for news broadcasters. These tapes were intended to be played on a different deck than the record camcorder. The wide tracks allowed only 40 minute recording on a 62 minute tape.

[solarfox]

a hi8 90 minute tape can contain less minutes of digital recorded video than a digital 8 90 minute tape
but is there a quality difference too?
is the tape quality of a digital 8 tape superior?

If you mean the quality of the physical tape itself, rather than the picture quality -- no, not really. "Digital-8" just means that the camcorder is writing your video to the tape using the same digital DV format used by MiniDV camcorders, rather than the analog Hi-8 method. The tapes used for Hi-8 and Digital-8 are exactly the same.

The reason that a Hi-8 tape can seemingly hold less than a Digital8 tape is because when the camcorder is recording in Digital-8 mode, it runs the tape twice as fast (29mm/second, vs. 14.3mm/second for Hi-8) and spins the head drum at a faster rate in order to achieve the necessary headroom for digital recording. The thing is, Hi-8 tapes sold before the Digital8 format came out (or sold by companies other than Sony, who have no incentive to promote the Sony-exclusive Digital-8 format) typically advertise their capacity at the Hi-8 recording rate, while Sony tapes prominently list their capacity at the Digital-8 rate.

If you compare apples to apples, though, any tape advertised as "Hi-8" will hold half its advertised capacity when used in a Digital-8 camcorder; conversely, any tape advertised as "Digital-8" will hold twice its advertised capacity when used in a Hi-8 camcorder. But aside from the labeling, they're exactly the same tapes.