Digital8?
Sony’s Digital8 uses DV compression atop the existing Video8/Hi8 technological base. Digital8 records on Video8 or Hi8 tapes, but these run at twice their normal speed (in the NTSC world; 1.5x in PAL land) and thus hold half the time listed on the label (2/3rds the time in PAL). Digital8 also plays back existing Video8 and Hi8 tapes, even over 1394/i.Link/FireWire, allowing such tapes to be read into NLEs (at least, those for which the lack of timecode is not an issue — batch capture utilities won’t work, since Video8/Hi8 timecodes are not sent across the 1394 connection). Digital8 tapes themselves use the same timecode as DV. Digital8 is largely a camcorder-only format, though two “Video Walkman” portable player/recorders are available. It appears to be the 8mm division’s way of keeping its customer base from defecting to DV.
