The best way to get the process started is to contact us so that we can discuss your transfer requirements and answer any questions you might have. We'll also let you know the postal address of our studio. We're based in Hassocks, West Sussex (not far from Brighton), but we prefer not to put our address on the website. This is mainly to avoid the confusion caused by packages of tapes arriving unannounced!

We recommend that you send your tapes using a fast, tracked delivery service. Using a fast service minimises the amount of time your tapes are not in a temperature-controlled environment. We'll contact you to let you know when your tapes have arrived safely.

Please pack your tapes carefully in a robust container. A "jiffy bag" is sometimes sufficient for a small number of tapes, but a strong box is usually better. Don't forget to surround your tapes with plenty of padding inside the box.

Please include a covering letter in your package with your name, address and contact details, including your phone number and email address. Also, give us any special instructions for transferring your tapes and any other information you think we may need.

Please don't send any money with your tapes. We'll invoice you when we have completed your transfers.

We understand that your tapes are valuable to you and you might feel apprehensive about sending them through the post. We're happy for you to drop them off at our studio in person if you prefer. Please contact us first so that we can arrange an appointment that suits you and for directions to our studio.

Your tapes will be treated with the utmost care while in our possession. They will never leave our studio until they're returned to you. They'll be stored in a sealed storage container in the studio at all times except when they're actually in use. The studio is a secure and smoke free environment.

Whatever the nature of your recordings, you can rest assured that they will be treated with absolute discretion. Neither the tapes nor the digital media files created from them will ever be copied, distributed, placed on vulnerable computer networks or compromised in any other way. If your tapes contain recordings of a very personal nature, we simply ask that you let us know this in advance.

Please note that we will not transfer tapes with any content that is clearly illegal and in such cases we reserve the right to notify the appropriate authorities.

We certainly think so! We love the challenge of tuning our equipment to allow us to extract every last drop of quality from the tapes we transfer! Customers in the past have often commented on how much better the transfer results are than they remember the tapes.

For analogue audio tape formats, we precisely adjust the player for the best quality. We make fine adjustments to what's known as the play head's "azimuth" (the angle of the play head relative to the tape) to ensure that it matches the machine on which the tape was recorded. We also identify the noise reduction system that was used when the recording was made (if any), using information supplied by you or with a listening test. These are essential steps in ensuring the best possible transfer quality.

Digital audio tape formats are always captured digitally, giving a perfect, lossless transfer.

Analogue video tape formats, such as VHS and Betamax, are always processed using the player's internal digital Time Base Corrector (TBC) where available, or an external digital Time Base Corrector, or both. This processing can dramatically improve the stability and clarity of a video signal.

Digital video formats are always captured directly via an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) digital connection to the transfer computer, giving a perfect, lossless copy of the contents of the tape.

It's important to remember however, that although the equipment we use is capable of producing excellent results, the quality of the transfers will vary according to a number of factors. These include the type and condition of the tapes and the equipment used to make the recordings. If the original recordings are poor, or are already copies, the results may be less than perfect, but they will still be much better than would be possible using regular domestic equipment.

Tapes that have been posted to us are always left for 24 hours after arrival to allow them to fully acclimatise to the conditions in our studio. Attempting to play them sooner than this could risk damage to the tapes or to our equipment. After this period, we will assess the tapes and begin the transfer process.

Smaller jobs with only a few tapes are usually completed within 7 days; larger jobs with many tapes may take longer. We'll advise you how soon we expect to be able to complete your transfers once we've received your tapes.

We strongly recommend that you let us return your tapes to you afterwards, just to be on the safe side. In spite of the good advice given by us and many others, people often don't keep adequate backup copies of their precious digital media files. We've heard many tales of woe from people who've lost large collections of photos, videos and other digital media files due to faulty computer hard drives and other accidents. If this happens to you but you still have the original tapes, you can at least have more copies made, so all will not be lost.

Having said that, if you're still sure that you don't want your tapes back afterwards, we'll happily dispose of them for you free of charge. We would normally hold on to the tapes for approximately 30 days before disposing of them, unless you tell us to dispose of them sooner.

Finally, whether you take your tapes back or not, please make sure you make backup copies of all your digital media files, just in case!

When we've completed your transfers, we'll send you an invoice by email letting you know the total amount to pay. We accept payment by bank transfer, PayM (sometimes known as "Pay by Mobile" or "Mobile Payments", depending on the bank) and cheque. Full payment details will be shown on your invoice.

Please contact us to let us know what we can do to help you.