A full overview and demo of the Sony Hi8 XR stereo camcorder, model CCD-TR940, circa 1998. This model basically has all of the goodies Sony ever put into an analog camcorder for the consumer market, except a flip-out LCD screen. The XR system records 440 lines of resolution on Hi8 tapes, and 280 lines on standard grade 8mm tapes (as compared to 400 and 240 lines, respectively, for non-"XR" 8mm camcorders). Sony only offered Hi8 XR camcorders for a few years (around 1998 to 2000) before they eliminated all high-end analog camcorders from their lineup, in favor of their Digital8 series.
Presenting the Sony DCR-TRV103 Digital8 camcorder from 1999. This was the first in a series of camcorders from Sony which attempted to bridge the gap between analog and digital formats by recording DV-spec digital video onto standard Hi8 video tapes, and also offering playback of analog Video8 and Hi8 tapes, so you could still play your old analog tapes in your new digital camcorder (although it cannot record in analog). This model has outstanding low light sensitivity and has performed flawlessly for me, despite being a decade old. Even the original Sony battery still holds a charge very well. Unfortunately, Sony basically defeated the purpose of the Digital8 format by continuing to offer both analog Video8/Hi8 and digital MiniDV camcorders alongside their Digital8 camcorders for the entire time they were in production (1999-2006). The only other company which ever sold any Digital8 camcorders was Hitachi. Also, the larger size of the 8mm tapes prevented these models from ever becoming as small and light as MiniDV camcorders. Nonetheless, these Digital8 camcorders still have a following and they fetch a good resale value on sites such as eBay.
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