VIDEO TRANSFER AND AUDIO ENHANCEMENT

DON'T WAIT TOO LONG!!

Videotapes, like all obsolete media are rapidly deteriorating. The exposure to humidity, temperature, dust, light and father time are obvious threatening issues. But one issue most don't think about is the availability of a compatible machine to play your tape on. These now vintage machines always required regular servicing and periodic parts replacement. Not only are there less and less of these technological marvels but also the parts for them are becoming scarce . . . as are the engineers that are able to work on them. That said, we have a studio full of calibrated tape machines of all kinds to get your memories digitized!

FORMATS

There have been dozens of recording formats throughout the years. We don't by any means have all of them but we do have the most common ones previously used in the broadcast industry and for home use. When applicable we use Time Base Correction to help with removing jitters and dropouts and perform color and luminance calibrations for your specific tape. We have 1", ¾", ¾" SP, Betacam, Betacam SP, VHS, SVHS and DVCPro. We are always adding formats based on demand so please ask.

SERVICES:

DIGITAL FORMATS

We can transfer to any digital format that you request. From 10-bit uncompressed to MP4... even DVD. Please let us know what resolution you want your media transferred to.

UP-SCALING (Included no charge)

Most of all the older analog formats are recorded in standard definition (SD). To clarify what that means look at the chart below. Without getting too technical, the SD video is the white square on the upper left. If you play that on a 1080P HD monitor it will only be that big relative to the yellow square. We have technology that can increase the size of SD video to 1080P HD. There are tradeoffs however. The image will get softer and sometimes have more artifacts in the picture. Realistically, if your nose isn't right up to your monitor or TV it'll look pretty respectable. For reference a standard DVD Is standard definition. Just trying to manage your expectations . . . SD can never be manipulated into a high definition image . . . but seeing your long lost content from 20-40 years ago on your big screen is pretty impressive!
COLOR GRADING (Included no charge)

To help with a quality upscale we also always do what we call "color grading". We go through your video and add richness to the contrast, adjust hue and color and adjust your mid and high brightness. We also de-interlace your video for a perfectly time aligned image (save the de-interlace for another discussion {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlaced_video}). Bottom line . . . your video often looks better than it did originally.

EDITING

We have the capabilities to compile portions of your video into a collection of highlights. We can add graphics and titles as well. Editing will be done after you view your video(s) so you can communicate exactly what you want where. It's a simple process but there is an extra editing charge . . .

SONIC RESTORATION PLUS!!

Oddly enough, at this point technology allows us to improve the audio a lot more than it does video often times. The term restoration implies that we can make the sound from your tape sound like it did when it was originally recorded. Truth be told, we can potentially make it SOUND BETTER than it did originally. We have digital technology that enables us to reach inside a mixed recording and enhance specific elements of the recording . . like the vocals, bass or drums. We can remove noise and some types of distortion and bring your vintage recording sonically into a new decade. We can remove hum, buzz, pops, wind noise and all sorts of things. This is an additional fee quoted after the transfer.

DELIVERABLES

We recommend sending your tapes with a tracking number so you know that they get here. We have had good luck with USPS Flat Rate Priority. You can include a drive with your tapes or we can provide you one (additional cost). We will send your drive back when we finish the transfer so you can verify there are no problems. You can then decide if you want us to return your tapes or dispose of them.