{"id":3159,"date":"2020-09-12T05:14:05","date_gmt":"2020-09-12T05:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=3159"},"modified":"2023-06-30T17:30:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T17:30:46","slug":"video-conversions-digitizing-index","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=3159","title":{"rendered":"Video Conversions & Digitizing"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are several methods of capturing analogue video from legacy videotape formats, and different file formats best suited for consumer, archival, and video production work. I use several workflows, depending on whether clients require modest-sized digital files to share on social media and post on YouTube, or raw files for use in post-production.<\/p>\n

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Not sure what type of videotapes you have? <\/em><\/strong>Here’s a Primer on the best-known legacy formats, spanning early Reel-to-Reel tape; professional 3\/4″ U-matic, Betacan; and consumer formats VHS, VHS-C \/ SVHS-C, SVHS, and Betamax.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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CONSUMER VIDEOTAPE TRANSFER & STANDARDS CONVERSION<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0Betamax<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n		\u00a0Price per Tape<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0First Hour (1-60 minutes)<\/td>\n\u00a0$25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Each Additional Hour (per tape)<\/td>\n\u00a0$5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0VHS, VHS-C, SVHS, SVHS-C, Video 8, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV to Digital File or<\/em> DVD-R<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n		\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0First Hour (1-60 minutes)<\/td>\n\u00a0$20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Each Additional Hour (per tape)<\/td>\n\u00a0$5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0International Video Standards Conversion & Digital File \/ DVD-R Transfer<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n		<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0From VHS PAL & SECAM to NTSC DVD-R or<\/em> Digital File<\/td>\n\u00a0VHS Transfer Rate (see above) + $5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Whereas North America uses the NTSC video standard, parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia used PAL and SECAM standards. These tapes require a multi-standard VCR to play the tapes and a converter to create a DVD-R playable in North American DVD and Blu-ray players. Cost to transfer PAL or SECAM VHS to NTSC DVD-R or Digital File is the Transfer Rate + $5.<\/p>\n

Just like NTSC for videotapes sold in North America, the terms PAL and SECAM are often printed on the tape labels and sleeve overseas, and use branding like E-180 (which is roughly identical in length to North American T-120 VHS tapes).<\/p>\n

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Not sure of which standard you may have? Please consult this basic primer on international video standards if you’re unsure about the standard used by its original country of origin.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Depending on final resolution and size, digital files (such as MP4 H264) can be transferred to client-supplied USB memory sticks or hard drives, and uploaded to Google Drive or a client’s cloud for no additional charge, although for large batches in which the final files exceed 50 GB, there’s an additional $10 charge to transfer materials to an additional client-supplied memory stick, or hard drive, or separate cloud.<\/p>\n

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Most consumer \/ prosumer tapes are captured via Firewire to either Final Cut Pro 7 as ProRes MOV files on an iMac before rendering, or as AVI files via Premiere on an iMac & PC, after which the footage undergoes basic colour correction and volume boosting before they’re rendered as MP4 H264 files.<\/p>\n

It’s also possible to capture broadcast tape formats – U-Matic (low band, high band, and SP) and Betacam (low band, SP, and SX) – via Firewire using breakout boxes such as an AJA Io and a Laird Enigma which will transcode video from Y\/C 358 and Betacam RGB inputs as ProRes MOV files via FCP7. A workflow to capture U-Matic Y\/C 688 outputs is currently in the works.<\/p>\n

Note: certain tape broadcast tape brands like AMPEX cannot be transferred, nor tapes similarly affected by “sticky tape syndrome,” a condition which the bonding agent of magnetic particles containing the audio-video recording have degraded over time and poor storage, and any attempt to play the tapes result in clogging debris which can damage the delicate video heads of the VCR. <\/em><\/p>\n

The same holds true for early reel-to-reel \/ open reel videotapes, which are prone to shedding, sticky tape syndrome, and mould. These tapes require “baking,” and at present is beyond my scope of expertise… but a workflow is in the works.
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Additionally, any tapes affected by mould cannot be transferred due to a high risk in damaging and contaminating a VCR.<\/em><\/p>\n

For inquiries & estimates, please visit our Facebook page<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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ADDITIONAL AUDIO SERVICES:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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AUDIO TRANSFER (Cassette + LP) AND DIGITIZING (MP3, WAV, CD)<\/a><\/h4>\n

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AUDIO EDITING \/ MIXING \/ RESTORING (Music + Voice) for FILM \/ VIDEO + PODCASTS <\/a><\/h4>\n

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RETURN TO AUDIO \/ VIDEO SERVICES MAIN MENU<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
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There are several methods of capturing analogue video from legacy videotape formats, and different file formats best suited for consumer, archival, and video production work. I use several workflows, depending on whether clients require modest-sized digital files to share on social media and post on YouTube, or raw files for use in post-production.     Not sure what type of videotapes you have? Here’s a Primer on the best-known legacy formats, spanning early Reel-to-Reel tape; professional 3\/4″ U-matic, Betacan; and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3057,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3159","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3159"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477,"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3159\/revisions\/3477"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}