Super 8 Super 8 was an analog film media format , and in more than one way the first true home media format . Released in 1965 by as an improvement of the older " Double " or " Regular " 8 mm home movie format ( with the " " , recording the assassination of President John F . Kennedy , arguably the most famous film shot in the format ) , the format became a runaway success , as it tied in perfectly with the growing post - World War II economical prosperity of Western societies ( previous variants having been only affordable to the well - to - do ) , all of its citizens only too eager to record their lives in home - made movies , with recorders that were in essence miniaturized versions of the cameras utilized by mainstream Hollywood . However , in order to enjoy their shot footage , customers also needed to own , or at the very least have access to , film projectors capable of playing the Super 8 film reels , or simply put , having to have to operate a miniature cinema of their own . Nevertheless , it was the first time these opportunities to record ones personal life in motion pictures became affordable for a general populace at large , and it was adopted by them with a fervor . For two decades the format reigned supreme , until Video 8 made its appearance in 1985 , turning out to be the ultimate downfall of the format . " Video 8 " should not be confused with " Super 8 " , as the latter was a bonafide film medium , whereas the Video 8 was , like its larger VHS / Betamax siblings , a magnetic video tape . Hollywood studios recognized the potential of a bourgeoning emergence of a home media format market , and " did " release titles from their backlog catalogs , though it had always remained a fringe event . While available , retail prices were for most far too high for individual ownership , meaning that the vast majority of the Super 8 releases ended up in the film festival or rental outlet circuit , the latter a very modest affair itself , compared to the later video tape rental outlet juggernaut . " Star Trek " on Super 8 . Considering the huge success enjoyed in syndication during the 1970s , it should not come as a surprise that several episodes of the series turned up in that era in the Super 8 format . Responsible for this was the somewhat obscure New York City based company " Canterbury Films " , founded by Leslie Brooks – a movie trailer specialist at the time – and named after the street he was living in . " The Original Series " episodes on Super 8 . Brooks released several episodes in that decade , each spread over three 400 feet , 7 inch film reels , packaged together in a single cardboard box endowed with photocopied imagery glued on the box as cover art , though some 1000 feet single reel variants have also been reported . Not particularly sturdy , few original boxes have survived the rigors of time , as is evidenced on secondhand market sites like eBay . The few surviving ones however , show that the releases were neither endowed with catalog numbers nor release dates and it is nigh impossible to ascertain the exact extent of Brook ' s release efforts or to pinpoint release dates . Furthermore , lack of any mention on the box art of the legal owner of " Star Trek " , Paramount Pictures , seemed to indicate that the handling of licensing issues was shady at best . According to author Richard W . Haines , Brooks made use of a contemporary loophole in the then applicable copyright laws , " " Canterbury discovered that some episodes of the Star Trek TV show did not contain a copyright in the credits and released dupes to collectors , " " essentially making Brooks ' releases " s " in current understanding . ( " The Moviegoing Experience , 1968 - 2001 " , February 2003 , p . 183 ) Haines ' observation might also explain why " all " hitherto known Canterbury Super 8 titles are stemming from the first one - and - a - half seasons of the " Original Series " ; Paramount Pictures , after it had in July 1967 acquired Desilu Studios , the original producer of the " Original Series " , apparently ran a tighter ship from a business point of view . During the transition several different forms of copyright for episodes of the second season of " Star Trek " were featured . The initial episodes of the season bore a Desilu logo and copyright , while episodes of the latter half of the second season featured a Desilu logo but a Paramount copyright . Regardless of the legalities involved , the Canterbury Films releases " were " for all intents and purposes the very first " Star Trek " home media format releases as currently understood ( meaning visual formats – there had been a few audio only formats previously and concurrently , such as the 1976 " Inside Star Trek " LP ) , albeit apparently unofficial , as in not sanctioned by the franchise . Nevertheless , as Haines already indicated , these were far from being the mass - market releases their VHS / Betamax successors later became , but instead remained rather limited to the niche - market of " film buffs " – they actually still hunting down surviving copies of the releases as collector ' s items on such sites as eBay – , in no small part due to the high retail prices involved at the time . Of at least one episode , , is known that it was released in a similar manner on Super 8 by another , equally obscure company , " Red Fox " , but it is not known whether or not it was an original release or a copy of a Canterbury Films release , as the practice of copying each others products was quite commonplace in the Super 8 market at the time . In this regard a company called " Thunderbird Films " has been mentioned most often and it appears that it is in this light that the reported single reel variants should be considered . Canterbury Films endowed their films with their own original leaders which were cut from " pirated " ( single reel ) releases . At least one third season episode , , has also been reported as being released on Super 8 ( one from Thunderbird Films being sold on eBay on 17 September 2016 ) , but any third season episode on the format appears to be truly illegal as Canterbury Films has not been associated with these , but rather Thunderbird Films which has a solid reputation in this regard in collector circles . " Star Trek " films on Super 8 . Paramount Pictures itself was by 1981 one of the last major Hollywood studios to turn out ( movie ) titles in the format , one of its last titles happening to be in 1980 , through " Marketing Film International , Inc . " – the German - owned Super 8 specialist New York City subsidiary . To date it , with its international variants , is as far as " Star Trek " is concerned , the only one known title , besides being the only movie , to have been released in its entirety in this format officially , as the format was by then well on its way out due to the emergence of VHS and Betamax , and even though it is known that United International Pictures has disseminated a trailer reel of in the format on a very limited scale as late as 1982 . Reports within the collector scene had it that Marketing Film International actually had already prints of the theatrical release of " Wrath of Khan " stocked for dissemination , but that the New York branch of Marketing - Film went out of business prior to the slated release date , preventing the commercial release with its stock most likely destroyed . Other , unofficial , " Star Trek " on Super 8 . Over the years other " Star Trek " material has made its appearance on the format , which , while not official productions , has made an impact in " Star Trek " - lore . The " Original Series " " blooper reels " . In the summer of 1968 Gene Roddenberry cleared out the vaults of Desilu Studios of its unused " The Original Series " footage , consisting of outtakes , alternate and deleted scenes , behind - the - scenes footage and footage , with the intent of selling spliced up clippings of these through his merchandise company Lincoln Enterprises during the late 1960s , early 1970s . ( " see main article for further particulars " ) A mentionable part of his " booty " were the three so - called " blooper reels " , humorous seven - minute reels cobbled together from outtakes – most notably from the ones in which actors botched up their performances – by Film Editor Don Rode and Producer Robert Justman for showing at the annual studio Christmas party . ( " " , 1997 , p . 178 ) Never meant to be seen outside the inner circle , Roddenberry had nevertheless copies struck on Super 8 and brought them along for public showing when Lincoln Enterprises made the " Star Trek " convention and lecture rounds in the 1970s . ( " Star Trek Movie Memories " , 1995 , pp . 40 - 41 ) Considering their popularity with fans , it was only a matter of time that commercial Super 8 versions became available for sale , and it was again Canterbury Films which was identified as the company responsible for this . According to Archivist / Photo Editor Gerald Gurian , there was no legal ambiguity in this specific case . When Paramount Pictures acquired Desilu Studios in 1967 , the new owner chose to copyright only the footage from the " Original Series " episodes that were broadcast on television and not the out - takes , behind - the - scenes material and publicity photos ; which , being left unregistered , were thus allowed to become public domain material according to copyright laws , thereby becoming " ( . . . ) " perfectly appropriate for any publisher to reprint them , " " as per Gurian . For decades these reels were the only live behind - the - scenes footage afforded to a larger audience , albeit it limited to the Lincoln attendees and Canterbury clientele only , therefore attaining a near mythical status in Trekdom . It were from the commercial versions that , with the demise of the format , bootleg copies were made on the new Betamax / VHS formats , various examples of which currently posted on YouTube . However , while owners of the Canterbury Super 8 versions have reported the quality as " excellent " – implying that Roddenberry had struck a deal with Canterbury by making the masters available to them – , these tape copies are due to " generation loss " with each subsequent copying effort of inferior , often appalling , quality . Billy Blackburn ' s Treasure Chest : Rare Home Movies and Special Memories . As a home movie recording format , Super 8 has proven to be beneficial for the " Star Trek " phenomenon as well . As it turned out , regular " Original Series " background performer William " Billy " Blackburn had , while he was on the production , made use of the opportunity to shoot on personal title various behind - the - scenes goings - ons of various cast and crew members in the format . He filmed over an hour of footage , which he has kept for the most part in a safe - deposit box since the series ended in 1969 . Blackburn has always preferred not to capitalize on his " Star Trek " connection , having shunned the " Star Trek " convention circuit after he had left the franchise . However , in later years , he was interviewed on a segment of the British television program " After They Were Famous " , which also featured highlights from his silent Super - 8 home movies that he had taken on the set . Subsequently , in July 2007 , he made his first convention appearance , at Comic - Con International in San Diego . There , it was announced that he had contracted with CBS Consumer Products to release several minutes of his home movie footage as a special feature on the upcoming HD DVD release of the " Original Series " remaster ed first - season episodes that fall . For the franchise Blackburn ' s footage was a godsend ( as indicated by the use of " Treasure Chest " in the special title ) as up until then they had never been able to showcase any contemporary behind - the - scenes footage on any of their hitherto released home media formats for the very simple fact that they did not have any , courtesy Roddenberry ' s 1968 scavenging hunt from which Blackburn ' s footage , being privately shot , had been exempt . Preserved in pristine condition , the feature , " Billy Blackburn ' s Treasure Chest : Rare Home Movies and Special Memories " was continued with the Blu - ray Disc releases of season 2 and season 3 . Blackburn himself provided the accompanying commentary for the three - part special .