Take a look at this Sony EV-S900 Hi8 VCR/editing system with multiple input
PCM audio recording/dubbing...


The reserve is already met! These are around $2000 new.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-EV-S900-HI8...QQcmdZViewItem

The interesting thing about this unit from an audio recording standpoint is
that, normally both the video and audio signals are recorded onto the Hi8
8mm tape, however in Digital Multi Audio Recording mode, the full width of
the tape is divided into 6 tracks (tracks 1-6) allowing you to record only
audio signals on each track in stereo. Up to 4 hour recordings can be made
on each track. So you can have 6 individual/concurrent tracks up to 4 hours
in length each (of digital PCM audio), or up to 24 hour of continuous PCM
recording with one 8mm Tape (P-120) in LP Mode.

On Jan 1, 2006, universaljoint commented:

Take a look at this Sony EV-S900 Hi8 VCR/editing system with multiple input
PCM audio recording/dubbing...


The reserve is already met! These are around $2000 new.
------------------------------snip------------------------------

Well, those machines cost that about 16 or 17 years ago, when they were first
introduced. This is an incredibly old machine, in terms of technology. To
me, if it were in mint condition, it'd be worth a couple of hundred bucks,
but only to an 8mm collector.




The interesting thing about this unit from an audio recording standpoint is
that, normally both the video and audio signals are recorded onto the Hi8
8mm tape, however in Digital Multi Audio Recording mode, the full width of
the tape is divided into 6 tracks (tracks 1-6) allowing you to record only
audio signals on each track in stereo. Up to 4 hour recordings can be made
on each track. So you can have 6 individual/concurrent tracks up to 4 hours
in length each (of digital PCM audio), or up to 24 hour of continuous PCM
recording with one 8mm Tape (P-120) in LP Mode.
------------------------------snip------------------------------

The "Multi-PCM" feature does work, but the reality is that the 8mm tapes are
fragile, because of flakey consumer transports, and the format is prone to
unexpected mutes. The half-speed 32 kHz mode doesn't sound too good, either.
Also, you can't make record "continuous" 24 hour recordings because you have
to rewind the tape for each pass -- in other words, it's 6 sets of separate
2-hour (or 4-hour) recordings, not one 24-hour (or 12-hour) recording. No
auto-reverse mechanism was ever contemplated for this format.

I ultimately concluded in the late 1980s that neither the EV-S900 or the
older EV-S700 were machines on which to make important audio recordings.
It's worse now, more than 16 years since the machine was built, since no new
parts are available from Sony, and servicing these machines is very difficult
at best.

--MFW