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Transfer
Your Home Videos to DVD
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Pricing |
| Pricing: |
VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, S-VHS-C, Digital8,
Video8, Hi8, MiniDV |
The price to have your tapes transferred to DVD is
$25.00 per tape.
If your tape is longer than 2 hours there is a $15 per
video hour surcharge (rounded up to the nearest hour).
If your tape is shorter than 2 hours, you will still
be charged the minimum $25 per tape. We have a
$100 minimum charge on all projects.
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You can
use your VCR to determine the length of your tapes.
Rewind them
all the way and then reset the counter on your VCR
or camcorder. This can be done using the remote
for your device, or by ejecting the tape and
reinserting it. Then fast-forward your tape
until the counter stops increasing or until the tape
is at the end. The counter is usually found on
the face of a VCR and can usually be displayed on the
TV using the "Display" feature on the
device's remote.
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Why
Our Product is Different |
| Explanation |
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VHS's
lifetime is very limited. After only a few
years, the tapes start to lose color and
sharpness. Just view an old VHS tape of your own
and see for yourself. It is an urgent
problem. DVD does not have these problems.
We don't
just copy your VHS tapes to a DVD. We start by using professional decks and
time-base correctors (TBCs) to digitize your video
tapes to AVI. AVI is a high quality video
format, but it will not improve the quality of the
video on the tape. This first step is very important
to ensure the best signal possible from your fading
tapes. Next, your footage is encoded to
MPEG-2 which is the format that is used on video DVDs. By
using software encoders--instead of hardware (or
real-time) encoders--we can produce a better MPEG
stream. This process requires more computational
time and many more gigabytes per tape than using a
process with a hardware encoder, but it is
necessary. Because of these steps, your video
tapes will look better than when you played them on
your VCR. We don't do any enhancement
per-say,
we just use high quality equipment and
processes. Enhancements like you may see in a TV
show like C.S.I. don't really exist. They are
figments of creative minds in Hollywood.
Hardware
encoders are sometimes referred to as real-time or
broadcast encoders. However, this only refers to the
ability to produce results right away, it doesn't have
anything to do with output quality. These
hardware encoders sometimes have failures in the MPEG
stream. This often results in severe pixelation
or a fractured scene. If you have a Tivo or DVR type device,
you may have noticed that once in a while the picture
will fracture. This is because the hardware
encoder in your DVR can't always encode the video it
is given in real time, so it gives up, producing the
fractured picture. This is OK for recording TV,
but when preserving your home movies, this is
unacceptable. Software encoders don't have this
problem because they can work longer on hard-to-encode
parts of video.
The hardware encoders referenced above are available
from many manufacturers rather cheaply, which makes
them tempting to use. An example of such a
device is the Plextor
ConvertX line. They do a decent job, good
enough for many purposes, but in our professional
opinion it is not good enough for your home videos.
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| What You'll
Get |
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Each DVD
you receive will contain up to 2 hours of your video.
Tapes longer than 2 hours will span multiple
DVDs. Rewinding and fast forwarding is faster and more
accurate with DVD also. The resulting DVDs will
be chaptered so you can quickly jump forward and
backwards. The total number of chapters depends
on the running length of your DVD, usually chapters
are inserted every 5 minutes or so. This will
make watching
your video on DVD much easier and more enjoyable than on video
cassettes. Also, because DVD is digital and there is no
physical contact with the player, your DVDs wont lose
quality with each play like a VHS tape will.
The DVDs
will come with a case and label. We will use any text written
on the tape as the title for the DVD case. If you wish to include a
sheet with more descriptive titles please use our order
form, or include a word document on a CD, or send us an
email.
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Preparing
Your Project |
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In
order for you to get the best archival of your video, there are a few
things you should do:
| Label Your
Tapes |
Please label your tapes with a
number indicating the order you would like them
digitized in.
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| Packaging
your Tapes |
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Pack your tapes tightly in a sturdy
cardboard box. Newspaper makes an excellent
stuffing for making sure you have a tight pack.
You can call us and request
packaging materials from us. We will also
include the UPS or FedEx shipping fee to get your
tapes back to us. This makes it easier for you
to get your films to us. You'll also get a
tracking number to monitor your shipment to us.
The price for this (packaging materials and shipping
included) is $25.00. Call us at 877.345.6383 to
arrange this or send us an email at information@cjstechnologies.com
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| Shipping your
Tapes |
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Once your tapes are safely packed,
ship them to us via FedEx, UPS, or another reputable
carrier that provides tracking numbers. Please
use the address at the bottom of this
page.
Please include one
of our order forms
with your information. We'll contact you once we receive your
tapes. We'll get payment information when your
project is complete.
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