Video tapes can come in many different formats. Some large, some small. Some are capable of holding hours and hours of footage, some can hold merely 20 minutes. Trying to figure out what each tape is, and how much it holds can be a time consuming process. Below is a guide on the different types of video tapes which you might find helpful if prepping for a video to DVD or a video to hard drive transfer.
| MiniDVD |  |
~20 Minutes per side |
| MicroMV |  |
60 minutes |
| MiniDV |  |
60 minutes (Stantard) 90 minutes (Extended) |
| Video8, Hi8, Digital8 |  |
120 minutes (Standard) 240 minutes (Extended) |
| VHS-C |  |
30 minutes (Standard) 90 minutes (Extended) |
| VHS |  |
2 hours (Standard) 6-8 hours (Extended) |
| Betamax |  |
60 minutes (Standard) |
| 3/4″ U-Matic |  |
Varies (Running time stamped on tape) |
| Betacam |  |
Varies (Running time stamped on tape) |