If you have a stack of camcorder tapes from the 1980’s and 1990’s (and hopefully the camcorder to play them on) time is running out to preserve that footage for the future, by making a copy.

It seems that Sony has ceased production of Hi8 and Digital8 camcorders and possibly the Digital 8 Video Walkman players too.

If you don’t own a suitable camcorder or player, your options are to buy equipment secondhand or borrow it. But, as time goes on, that will become more difficult, as camcorders tend to have a short life span.

The easiest way to make a copy is to hook up the camcorder to a DVD recorder.

VHS EQUIPMENT DWINDLES TOO

Meanwhile, major manufacturers Panasonic and JVC have stopped production of stand-alone VHS video-recorders and players. A quick look at Panasonic’s UK range, shows a couple of DVD and VHS combo units. No sign of any S-VHS recorders anymore, althought the combo units will play S-VHS with VHS quality (SQPB).

If you have S-VHS tapes or S-VHS-C camcorder tapes, and still have the S-VHS equipment to play them on, now is the time to make the best quality copies, while you still have the chance.