Sony 8mm Formats
This is Video8, Hi8 and its transition/phase out format Digital8.
It is 2 things a ribbon cable, and a basic PCB that breaks out the connection points to large test probe points or standard header pins which are not practical to install into such small camcorder devices.
Copper traces wrapped in plastic with exposed connection ends normally coated in silver or tin.
The Pitch is the thickness of the flex ribbon cable Sony use 0.5mm pitch cables.
On most Sony Digital8 camcorders that support backwards playback, at the battery area, there is a rubber grommet or screw down plate once removed this exposes the Jig connection point for testing this is normally 16/18/20 pin ribbon connectors with a 0.5mm pitch, a readily available and generic interface this is the go-to method for Video8/High8 tape formats.
Simply visually check your pin amount and buy the correct jig with the links below.
Check the service manual to see what pins have the RF signal, and your ready to go, however a cap may be needed in-line like any RF capture method.
Jigs (Unpopulated) / Jigs (With 2.54mm pins) / Flex Cables / DuPont to BNC Type 2 USB Power Adapter / Type 1 USB Power Adapter
Digital8 Camcorders had backwards Support for Video8 and Hi8 and could digitise them to a DV25 stream.
DV25 is 25-30mbps in DV 720x480 4:1:1 i29.97 & 720x576 i25 4:2:0 - Both are lossy compressed and S-Video capture is recommended for both formats in terms of standard capture, however RTC Timecode and native PCM can be used over firewire so DV25 captures are not worthless for reference use.
| Model | User Manual | Service Manual | Video8 / Hi8 Support | Service Jig Point | Tapped & Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCR-TR7000 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV103 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV110 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV120 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV203 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV210 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV230 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV240 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV310 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV315 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV320 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV330 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV340 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV350 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV351 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV360 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV361 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV380 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV460 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV480 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV520 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV525 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV530 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV730 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV740 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV828 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV830 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV840 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes | ||
| DCR-TRV130 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No | ||
| DCR-TRV140 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No | ||
| DCR-TRV150 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No | ||
| DCR-TRV250 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No | ||
| DCR-TRV260 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No | ||
| DCR-TRV265 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No | ||
| DCR-TRV280 | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No |
There are 10 models of Sony Digital8 PAL Camcorders, some are capable of Hi8/8mm playback, some are not.
These European camcorder models end with an “E”, the list below is backward compatible and can still playback Video8 and Hi8 PAL tapes originally recorded at 25 frames per second.
Again if you are outside the US these are the camcorders for you, and if you can find one of these in the US they should also work for you as they all have duel PAL/NTSC support like most later PAL analogue equipment which is not seen on MiniDV however.
| Model | User Manual | Service Manual | Video8 / Hi8 Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCR-TR7000E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TR7100E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV738E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV340E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV460E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV461E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV238E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV239E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | Yes |
| DCR-TRV255E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No |
| DCR-TRV265E | Not Indexed | Not Indexed | No |
This is just the Table of my Report on Video8 Cassette Recorders, to be seen in another report click here Quick Reference of all Sony V8 PAL Recorders marketed in Europe:
Model Format Sound PCM DCF Year € Drive Comments
| Model | Format Support | Sound Support | Year | Frank Hirsinger's Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCD-V8 | V8 | o - - | 1985 1500 | O originally camcorder; complete VCR, however, with Timer-Tuner Unit TT-V8E |
| EV-C8 | V8 | o - - | 1985-1986 | 900 O first mobile V8 VCR for CCD M8E or as VCR for Timer/Tuner TT-V8E |
| EV-P10 | V8 | o - - | 1987-1988 | 380 O first V8 player (no record function!), designed for camcorder without playback option |
| EV-A300 | V8 | o (oo) + - | 1986 | 850 O with optional PCM Processor (PCM-EV10E) capable of 1 Track PCM |
| EV-S700 | V8 | oo 6tr. - | 1986 | 1400 O identical to EV-S600; rounded front panel |
| EV-S600 | V8 | oo 6Dr. - | 1987 | 1350 O also marketed by Pioneer with some different functions and RC |
| EV-A200 | V8 | o - - | 1987-1990 | 800 O the standard V8 VCR following the 300 model, after the first Multi PCM models were on the market |
| EV-S650 | V8 | oo 6tr. - | 1988-1989 | 1200 O designed especially for DAV PCM recording and playback |
| EV-S850 | V8 | oo 6Tr. - | 1987-1990 | 1500 O Sony's first model with Jog Shuttle |
| EV-S550 | V8 | oo st 1Tr. - | 1990-1992 | 1400 U precursor of the 1000; marks the end of the 6 track DAV standard (5 year run...); built in camcorder power source |
| EV-C3 | V8 | o - - | 1990-1993 | 400 U first handy VCR for cutting and editing videos with a camcorder |
| EV-C45 | V8 | st - - | 1992-1994 | 500 U developed from the C3E, now with stereo sound |
| Model | Format Support | Sound Support | Year | Frank Hirsinger's Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV-S1000 | V8 & Hi8 | oo st 1Tr | 1990-1994 | 1500 U probably the best selling Hi8 video cut VCR with PIP and separated pictures for input and output picture on one screen |
| EV-S880 | V8 & Hi8 | st - yes | 1993-1994 | 1100 U developed from the 1000 with new designed circuit boards for mechanics and electronics |
| EV-C500 | V8 & Hi8 | st - - | 1993-1998 | 700 U first handy hi8 VCR developed from the C45 (long time in the market) |
| EV-P25 | V8 | st - - | 1994-1995 | 380 U inexpensive V8 player (no recorder!) |
| EV-P300 | V8 & Hi8 | st - - | 1994-1995 | 500 U first inexpensive Hi8 player, developed from the P25 |
| EV-C400 | V8 & Hi8 | st - - | 1996-2000 | 500 F Hi8 VCR developed from the P series, however with the new F mechanics |
| EV-C2000 | V8 & Hi8 | st - yes | 1995-2000 | 900 F cheap version of the 9000 model, however without the motor driven panel. Capable of viewing and recording the RTC Timecode |
| EV-S9000 | V8 & Hi8 | oost 1Tr. yes | 1995-1999 | 1750 F last PCM VCR with digital pic. improvements like drop-out filter, digital comb filter; RTC ; Time Base Corrector |
| EV-T1 | V8 & Hi8 | VHS st - yes | 1996-1997 | 1650 F Twin Recorder with Hi8 and VHS mechanics; very good picture due to DCF |
| SLV-T2000 | V8 & Hi8 | VHSst - - | 1997-2001 | 1000 F Inexpensive successor of the EV-T1VC |
o = HiFi Mono via FM head signal
oo = Stereo via PCM; Mono over FM head signal
st = Stereo sound over polarized FM head signal
PCM = Pulse Code Modulation. Here analogue signals are converted into binary signals. With this method, the carrier signal is in pulse form, the modulation signal is digital.
1Tr = 1 Audio Track.
6tr = 6 Audio Track.
RTC = Sony Re-Writable Consumer Timecode
DNR = Dynamic Noise Reduction = electronic noise reduction: The Dolby noise reduction system is well-known for audio cassette recorders.
DCF = Digital Comb Filter: Enables clean separation of interleaved colour and B/W signals. This prevents colour streaks and unsteady colour edges and enables crystal-clear and precise images.
PCM technology samples the analogue signal 8,000 times per second and converts it into an 8-bit signal, resulting in a sample every 125 µs. The resulting transmission speed is 64 kbit/s.
1 Track is the 1 track PCM method that uses an additional track to dub V8 tapes.
Sound recordings can also be made without a picture 6 track refers to the 6 track PCM process, which is only possible with DAV (Digital Audio Video) devices and enables 6 parallel tracks on one tape. Disadvantage: you can only listen to or record one track at a time. So no real multitrack method!
With the O-drive, the tape is wound counter clockwise around the head drum with a pin. With the U drive, 2 pins loop the tape around the head drum from both sides and "write" a "U". The F drive is a further development of the U drive. It has a more stable capstan shaft and also offers the option of very fast tape rewinding of just 1 minute (90s cassette) without wrapping around the head drum (tape protection). Some other weaknesses of the U drive have also been skilfully improved!
Thanks to Bob Hennessey & Frank Hirsinger for there charts, materials and collected manuals.
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