subject: Is There an 8mm Video Tape Adapter for VHS? [print this page] Is There an 8mm Video Tape Adapter for VHS?
Video8 and Hi-8 tapes were a great consumer video tape recording format that was offered as a small package that could record as much footage as the bulkier and larger VHS tapes. Millions of consumers world-wide dumped their old VHS recording systems, and opted to switch to the much more convenient and easier to handle 8mm tapes. For a while, everything was great... consumers could record and watch all their home movies right from the camera. The JVC company released a rival product, called the VHS-C, which although it was built small like the video8, it had a much shorter recording time. One of the main advantages of the VHS-C tape is that it could be played back in any standard VCR as long as you had the right adapter.
Well, fast forward about 10-15 years. For most of us, camcorders simply just don't stand the test of time. They break, eat tapes, won't record, lose audio, etc. When this happens, you now potentially have an entire collection of precious home movies and memories that are now very difficult to watch without a video8 camera or tape player.
Unfortunately for many of us, there is no possible way to play your 8mm video tapes on a VCR due to the vast differences of technology. The tape width is different, and the tape can be recorded at different speeds, which the VCR heads just aren't built to accommodate. So because of this, there never was an adapter available to allow you to play 8mm tapes in your VCR or Betamax players.
In today's age, the easiest way to find out what's on your old 8mm tapes is to find a cheap old camcorder that still has playback functionality. From there, you can simply hook up your camcorder to your TV with the video/audio outputs. Once it's hooked up to your TV or other external source, you can then easily transfer the video signal to either your computer, DVR, or DVD discs.
