1985-2000

Video8 was an analog videocassette format using 8mm tape, used in cameras such as the Handycam series, introduced by Sony in 1985.

Video8 had a resolution of 240 lines, the same as VHS, but in sound quality, Video8 far surpassed the linear audio track of VHS or Betamax.

It performed well in the camcorder market, despite competing with VHS-C, which had the advantage of being playable on VHS home video recorders with an adapter cassette. In terms of playback length, Video8 had the advantage, because although VHS-C offered the same size in the 'palmcorder' category as Video8, VHS-C tapes only had a maximum playback time of 60 minutes (in SP mode), compared to Video8's 120 minutes.

A higher quality version of Video8, Hi8, was released in 1989, and a digital version, Digital8, was released in 1999.

Overall, Video8 and its successors, as well as VHS-C, dominated the camcorder market for almost two decades before being eventually supplanted by digital formats such as MiniDV and 8 cm DVD.

Video8 was also used for pre-recorded tapes, and Video8 home video recorders were available for a time, but they soon disappeared from the market. Video8 was also used by some airlines as an in-flight movie playback format for in-flight movie screenings, but this has been gradually replaced by digital file systems.