Camcorder Tapes: Which Type You Have and How to Watch Them Again
If the tape came out of a camcorder, it is almost certainly one of five types. Only one of them, VHS-C, will play in an ordinary video recorder, and only with an adapter. The other four need a camcorder or deck of their own kind.
They are also the tapes most people actually have. Six in ten of the video tapes that reach our lab are camcorder tapes. Full-size VHS is the other four.
Which one is it?
| Tape | What it looks like | What plays it |
|---|---|---|
| VHS-C from 1982 | A pack of playing cards, about 2 cm thick. Up to 60 minutes. | A VHS recorder with a VHS-C adapter, or a VHS-C camcorder. |
| Video8 from 1985 | An audio cassette, a little thicker. Up to 90 minutes. | A Video8 or Hi8 camcorder, and most Digital8 ones. |
| Hi8 from 1989 | The same shell as Video8. Up to 90 minutes. | A Hi8 camcorder, and most Digital8 ones. Not a Video8-only camcorder. |
| Digital8 from 1999 | The same shell again. Up to 60 minutes. | A Digital8 camcorder only. |
| MiniDV from 1995 | A little larger than a matchbox. Up to 60 or 80 minutes. | A MiniDV camcorder or deck only. |
Recording times are at normal speed. Long play roughly doubles them on the analogue formats.
Three quick checks:
- Read the shell. The type is nearly always printed on the cassette: "VHS-C", "8mm", "Hi8", "Digital8" or "Mini DV".
- Look at the tape itself. Open the flap. VHS-C tape is as wide as your little finger (half an inch). The 8mm family is noticeably narrower. MiniDV is narrower again, about a quarter of an inch.
- Three tapes, one shell. Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 look the same. The label tells you which one it is, and a Digital8 recording will not play on an older Hi8 or Video8 camcorder.
Not sure? Our free tape identifier does this with pictures, and there is a longer guide to telling Hi8, Video8 and Digital8 apart.
Four ways to watch them again
1. The camcorder that made them
If you still have it, try it, with care. Camcorders from the 1990s fail in three ways: rubber belts perish, small parts on the circuit boards leak, and a machine that has sat for twenty years can pull the tape out of the cassette and crease it. Test with a tape you do not mind losing. If the picture rolls, the sound warbles or the machine will not give the tape back, stop. There is a separate guide to getting a stuck tape out without damage.
2. A VHS-C adapter
This works for VHS-C only. The small cassette clips into a VHS-sized shell and plays in a video recorder. There is no adapter that makes a Video8, Hi8, Digital8 or MiniDV tape play in a video recorder. The tape is a different width and the recording is a different kind. Adapters sold as "8mm to VHS" do not work. More on VHS-C tapes and adapters.
3. A second-hand camcorder
For the 8mm family, a Sony Digital8 camcorder is the usual choice, because most models also play Video8 and Hi8. Check the exact model before you buy; a few do not. For MiniDV you need a MiniDV camcorder with a working FireWire socket, plus a computer that still has one or the right chain of adapters; our MiniDV guide goes through it. Budget for the machine failing: it is as old as your tapes.
4. Have them transferred
We play each tape on a machine of its own kind and send you the films as files. No machine to buy, and nothing to plug in. See our camcorder tape service.
What goes wrong, by type
- VHS-C. The adapter is the weak point. A worn adapter can crease the tape as it loads. The tape itself usually survives well.
- Video8 and Hi8. Fine horizontal lines of sparkle across the picture, called dropout, where the coating has worn. Hi8 tapes with a metal-evaporated coating show it most.
- Digital8 and MiniDV. The picture is digital, so it does not fade. It breaks instead: frozen frames, blocks of colour, sound that cuts out. Tapes recorded at long-play speed are the worst, and often play cleanly only on the camcorder that made them.
- All of them. White or grey fuzz on the edge of the tape is mould. Do not play a mouldy tape; it spreads to the machine and then to your next tape. Here is what mould on a camcorder tape looks like.
What we see on the bench
- Camcorder tapes outnumber VHS. Of every hundred video tapes we receive, 22 are Video8, Hi8 or Digital8, 20 are VHS-C and 19 are MiniDV. 38 are VHS.
- A typical UK box holds eight tapes. One box in ten holds more than twenty.
- Do not sort by the labels. About one tape in 75 turns out to be blank when we play it through, and for MiniDV it is nearer one in 45. About one case in a thousand arrives with nothing inside. Your report tells you which.
- Mould is rarer than people fear. About one order in forty needs mould cleaning.
How we transfer them
Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 tapes are played on Sony Digital8 and Hi8 Handycams. MiniDV and HDV tapes are played on Canon HV-series camcorders and a Sony HVR-M25E deck. VHS-C tapes are played in VHS recorders with an adapter. Each tape is inspected before it is played. Mould treatment and repairs to snapped tape cost a small extra charge per tape, shown before you pay.
You get every tape as its own file, in a private Cloud Album you can share, and on a USB stick or DVD if you want one. Your tapes come back to you.
What it costs and how long it takes
At the time of writing, £14.99 a tape, with a lower price per tape on bigger orders. The Memory Box costs £10 and arrives with everything you need to pack and send your tapes. Transfers currently take around 9 to 10 weeks, counted from the day your payment clears once your box is back with us.
See the camcorder tape service and prices.
Questions people ask
Can I play a Hi8 tape in a VHS player?
No. Only VHS-C tapes play in a VHS recorder, and only with an adapter.
Will a Digital8 camcorder play my old Video8 tapes?
Most Sony Digital8 models do. A few do not, so check the model number before you buy one.
How long do camcorder tapes last?
Stored cool and dry, many still play after thirty years. Heat, damp and long-play recording all shorten that. The machines are failing faster than the tapes.
Can I get my tapes on a USB stick?
Yes. USB is what most customers choose: it outsells DVD more than five to one.
