[AV Media Matters] Status of Hi8 & SVHS?

[mwcpc6@aol.com]

About ten years ago one of the members of our group (Antique
Wireless Association, see http://www.antiquewireless.org) chose the
Hi8 tape format to document the proceedings of our annual
conference, planning to archive them to SVHS.

Now the two Hi8 cameras are out of order and reportedly beyond
repair, there is no Hi8 equipment available locally, and the local
rental company's Hi8 unit is also broken. I am using a borrowed Hi8
deck to dub to VHS SLP to get viewable review copies.

I have also heard very little about SVHS lately. We have two decks
about ten years old, which have seen moderate use.

I am wondering whether these formats are still viable for low cost
video, and what format might be recommended for the future
(recordable DVD looks promising).

Mike Csontos