Frequently Asked Questions
How long do transfers take?
Most orders are completed in 5-7 business days. Unusually large orders and those that occur near Christmas may take longer. We’ll be able to give you a more accurate estimate at the time you drop off your tapes or reels. If you have a time-critical request, please let us know. We can usually meet any reasonable deadline.
Keep in mind, we do everything on a first come-first served basis, which may change turnaround times.
How do I pay?
For media transfers, we request that you pay only after your order has been completed. We require payment in advance for all duplication orders. We accept Cash or any major Credit Card. Personal checks are not accepted.
What happens when I drop off my tapes or reels?
We’ll sit down with you and key your order into our system exactly to your specifications.
Once we’ve input the details, we’ll give you an estimated invoice.
Each tape is then carefully labeled with your invoice number and a tape number.
All tapes are placed together and into the queue.
Before we complete the transfer, we’ll inspect your tapes and reels. There will be no surprises when you pick up your order. We’ll call you before we complete your transfer if we expect your actual invoice to be higher than the estimate we originally gave you. If you have a tape or reel that needs to be repaired or has significantly more media than we estimated, your invoice will be adjusted accordingly. If there are any blank tapes in your order, we’ll deduct the estimated transfer costs. We never charge for blank tapes.
Once your tapes have been transferred, we’ll call you to let you know they’re ready. You may pay your final invoice online, or pay when you pick up your order. Cash or Credit Cards accepted. We do not accept personal checks.
Will the quality improve?
Reel to reel film is an excellent quality source, so we can and do improve the quality of the images on film transfers. Our proprietary Alikant Restoration process is fantastic and when applied to a well-shot and well-lit film the results are simply astounding.
Videotapes cover a very wide range of resolutions. We always strive to improve the sound and images when possible, but sometimes it can actually appear that the quality has been degraded after transfer. This is especially true for VHS. For example, if the last time you were watching your VHS tapes was on an older television, when you watch those low resolution files faithfully reproduced on a big HD TV they will likely look worse than what you saw 10 years ago.
Do you repair damaged tapes or reels?
Absolutely! As you can imagine, there are some extreme cases of damage that are simply beyond repair. Unlike your car insurance company who will “total” your perfectly repairable car, we understand that you cannot depreciate memories, so if there is any chance we can save something, we will. We’ll give you an honest assessment when you bring in your tape or reel. We charge a flat rate for repair of $24.99 each.
Will I get my original tapes or reels back?
Yes. For DVD or CD transfers, we’ll bind each of your original tapes or reels to its corresponding disc. Each tape or reel will be transferred to a single disc when possible (VHS tapes recorded on slow speed can run up to 8 hours and may need additional DVDs). For digital files, you’ll receive a USB drive or external hard drive with all of your files. Each tape or reel will be transferred as a single file. Our standard process is to create filenames that match the tracking labels we attached to your tapes or reels.
What's the difference between DVD and digital files?
DVDs are convenient for traditional playback on a DVD player and older computers but cannot be edited, or shared and are subject to being damaged or lost. They will also be obsolete sooner than you think.
Digital Files are great for playback on Smart TVs, Smart Phones, Computers (Mac & PC), Tablets, and can be easily edited, shared through social media, and copied. They will also last forever (assuming you maintain backups or use cloud storage).
We highly recommend that you get your videos transferred to DVD and digital file at the same time. It’s the most cost-effective way to have the convenience of DVDs with the future-proofing of digital files. Digital files are delivered on USB drive or external hard drive.
Will I be able to review my order?
Most customer do this at home.
You are welcome to bring in your own Notebook/Laptop to review your order, on your own.
We will not provide a review station, neither help with setup/breakdown.
My Tapes are not labeled and i dont have a player at home, can i preview them at your store?
VHS & VHSc Cassettes are the only format you could preview at our store.
Anything else, as example: (Hi8, MiniDV, Beta, LPs, Audio-Cassettes, Audio-Reels, 8mm, super8, 16mm), we are not setup for you to preview those media formats.
Is there anything you guys dont transfer?
As weird as it sounds…
YES, there are certainly Items we cant/wont transfer.
As example: Original bought copyrighted movie tapes, DVDs or BluRay’s. As well as LaserDisc’s or any illegal content.
We are not able to process undeveloped Film-Reels.
Can you recycle/dispose my media?
We don’t offer this service. After the transfer, we will hand all your media back to you. We leave dispose up to you.
Can I bring my own Storage Device? USB/HDD?
For your & our safety, we don’t accept any personal storage devices. We will however provide you with one.