The 8mm video format is very important in the world of handheld camcorders.  With its smaller size, the advent of the 8mm video cassette made widespread camcorder use possible.  The analog 8mm format was used mostly for home videos, but some professional cameras did utilize this format.  Throughout its reign at the top of the home camcorder market the 8mm used three different systems: Video8, Hi8, and Digital8. 

The first 8mm video cassette format was Video8.  8mm format was introduced as a smaller version of the Betamax format.  Analog cassettes for Video8 are very similar to the cassettes used by Betamax.  Because Video8 used smaller cassettes, video 8 cameras could be held in the palm of your hand, thus making it popular for home use.  Furthermore, video 8 cassettes boasted the longest recording time of any small analog cassette at 120 minutes.

After Video8 came Hi8, which used improved media formulation and recorder electronics to increase recorded bandwidth and also boasted improved audio capturing technology.  Hi8, short for high-band Video8, was designed as a response to the S-VHS system.   The main drawback to the Video8 and Hi8 systems was that you could not play the tape directly on your VCR.  Also, although Hi8 can read Video8, Video8 equipment cannot read Hi8.

The final generation of the 8mm dynasty was Digital8 which was introduced in 1999.  Digital8 cassettes are virtually indistinguishable from miniDV cassettes, which are standard in most digital cameras.  Tape in Digital8 cassettes run at double the speed of Hi8 cassettes in order to capture more information.  Digital8 is more or less a digital camera that uses a standard DV codec on Hi8 media.  Some digital8 cameras can play Hi8 and Video8 cassettes.

8mm video cassettes were a very important innovation in the world of personal camcorders.  Without the advent of 8mm cassette technology it is unlikely that camcorders would be as popular as they are today.  Even though digital camcorders have taken over the market, the 8mm format is still relevant in terms of the digital8 format.