Video Tape Transfers
We can transfer many of the popular domestic and camcorder video cassette formats to digital, including: Betamax, VHS, Video8, Hi8, Digital8, MiniDV and Micro MV. (See below for a full list of the tape formats that we cover.)
We use top-notch vintage analogue equipment to play your tapes and the very latest digital hardware and software to ensure that your tapes are accurately and faithfully captured as high resolution digital video files. (See below for a full equipment list.)
Most customers today prefer transfers to digital video files rather than standard DVDs, as these files are usually easier to play, share and edit. We recommend either MP4 or DV-AVI format files.
MP4
MP4 digital video files are compatible with almost all today's computers, tablets, phones and other devices and are ideal if you just want to view or share the videos. They are reasonably compact and usually require about 1GB per hour of video.
DV-AVI
DV-AVI files are much larger than MP4 files, usually about 13GB per hour. Digital video tape formats, such as MiniDV, store the video on tape in this format, so if you choose DV-AVI, you'll get exactly what's on the tape. For analogue video tape formats, DV-AVI is an excellent compromise between video quality and file size. DV-AVI is the recommended format if you intend to edit the footage yourself, as well as for archiving. Please note that as well as being very large, these files might not play back on all devices, as support for this format is more limited than for MP4.
We can also produce digital video files in many other formats on request, so just let us know which format you'd like. We can of course still provide standard DVDs for customers who prefer this format.
If your tapes are being transferred to digital video files, these can be delivered to you on a USB flash drive or hard drive and they can also be made available for download via Dropbox for your convenience.
Tape Formats
The following is a summary of the video tape formats we can transfer.
Analogue cassettes
- Betamax
- VHS (all variants: VHS/S-VHS/VHS-C/S-VHS-C)
- Video8 (all variants: Video8/Hi8)
Digital cassettes
- Digital8
- DV (all variants: MiniDV/DV/DVCAM)
- Micro MV
Notes
- VHS-C & S-VHS-C tapes are played in a VHS or S-VHS machine using a VHS-C to VHS adapter.
- Some of the formats above offer different modes with different recording times, for example SP (standard play) and LP (long play); we can transfer all of these.
- We regret that we're currently unable to transfer tapes recorded on NTSC or SECAM machines.
Additional Services
We offer a number of additional services when transferring video tapes. There may be additional charges for these services depending on the complexity of the work involved, although we always try to be flexible. We would always discuss any additional charges with you before starting the work.
Custom Editing
Our standard charges for video transfers include the transfer from tape, removal of blank sections from the beginning and end of the transferred video and conversion to your preferred digital format. A single tape would normally result in a single digital video file or a DVD containing a single title.
If you require the transferred video to be split into separate files or titles or edited in any other way, we are happy to accommodate this. Perhaps you only want certain scenes to be included, or you only need the first half an hour of a particular tape, or you have several tapes with only a few short scenes each and you'd like them to be combined into a single file.
Just let us know how you'd like the transferred video to be arranged and we'll do the rest. We'll always confirm the final arrangement with you to make sure you it matches your requirements.
Tape Repairs
Damaged or broken tapes can usually be temporarily repaired to allow the material on the tape to be transferred. In the case of a broken or faulty cassette shell, we would normally put the tape into a different shell for the purpose of the transfer, but the tape would be returned to its original shell before being returned to you. Permanent repairs are sometimes possible too: please contact us for more information.
Charges
Our charges for video tape transfers are based on the number of tapes and the length of useful material on each tape.
The charge for each tape includes the transfer from tape, removal of blank sections from the transferred material (as well as any other essential editing) and conversion to your preferred digital format. We charge the same for all video tape formats.
We always transfer the entire length of the tape to ensure that we don't miss anything, but we remove the blank sections at the beginning and end (and anywhere else) before working out how much to charge for a particular tape. Please note that very short blank sections of about 10 seconds or less may be left in place.
We can copy your digital video files to a USB flash drive or hard drive supplied by you, or we can supply a branded USB flash drive if required for an additional charge.
There is a small additional charge for copies on DVD. DVDs include a basic menu system and are finished with a printed label and supplied in a slimline jewel case. The maximum length of video that can normally be copied onto the DVDs we use is approximately 120 minutes, so tapes longer than this will need to be split across more than one DVD.
If you want your video tapes returned to you afterwards (which we recommend), there will be an additional postage charge for this, which will obviously depend on the size and weight of the package. We use Royal Mail tracked services. If you don't want your tapes to be returned, we'll happily dispose of them for you free of charge.
Summary of Charges
Transfers
| Number of tapes | Up to 1 hour | Up to 2 hours | More than 2 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 (per tape) | £10 | £12 | £14 |
| 4 to 20 (per tape) | £8 | £10 | £12 |
| More than 20 | Please contact us for a competitive quote | ||
USB flash drives
| SanDisk Ultra 32GB | £12 |
|---|---|
| SanDisk Ultra 64GB | £16 |
| SanDisk Ultra 128GB | £20 |
| SanDisk Ultra 256GB | £30 |
| SanDisk Ultra 512GB | £60 |
DVDs
£2.50 per disc (includes printed label and slimline jewel case)
Postage
Return of media containing transfers (USB drive or DVDs): £5; free for orders over £100
Return of video tapes: varies according to size and weight of package
Custom editing
Charges vary: please contact us
Tape repairs
Charges vary: please contact us
All prices effective from 1 December 2022
Equipment List
The following is a summary of the equipment we use to play and digitally record video tapes.
Video players & recorders
- JVC HR-S7600 (VHS/S-VHS) x 2
- PANASONIC NV-HS1000 (VHS/S-VHS)
- SONY SVP-5600P (VHS/S-VHS)
- SONY SL-C9 (Betamax)
- SONY SL-HF100 (Betamax)
- SONY EV-S1000 (Video8/Hi8)
- SONY DCR-TRV120E (Video8/Hi8/Digital8) x 2
- SONY DCR-PC9E (MiniDV)
- SONY DSR-45P (MiniDV/DV/DVCAM) x 2
- SONY DCR-IP55E (MicroMV) x 2
Video capture
- MATROX MXO2 Mini (Video Capture) x 2
- MATROX MXO2 Mini with Max (Video Capture)
Video processing
- DATAVIDEO DVK-100 (Chroma Key with Time Base Corrector)
- DATAVIDEO TBC-1000 (Time Base Corrector) x 2