FAQ

Click below for our Pricing List or click "Get a Quote" on the Homepage.

https://sites.google.com/view/1985memorylane-analogtodigital/home/pricing

The answer is time. We all know how valuable time is. There never seems to be enough in one day. Unlike today's media, which we can download hours and hours of content in just minutes, with analog media, it is all done in real time. Each tape can take 1-2 hours just to ingest and then there is the transfer time uploading/downloading after it's in digital form. 

Each order is unique so we will have to answer this when you let us know how much and what kind of media you have. It will go faster if you have a mixture of media verses just one type. For an average amount of home videos, lets say 20 tapes, it would take about a week to complete once your order is started. We can let you know how many orders are ahead of yours when you reach out. 

I am only picking up orders in person. PLEASE do not ship the only copy of all your media to an online-only transfer company. I have lost personal packages via all the shipping carriers. 

Pick-Ups on the central west coast (Tampa area) will happen regularly. 

Pick-Ups on the central east coast (Brevard County Area) will happen monthly or bi-monthly, depending on need.

Option #1- FREE- If you chose this method, you will get a link to download all your media, which must be done within 30 days. You will need to arrange on your end your storage needs. Ideally, download them and save them in Google Storage, DropBox or download them to a hard drive. We will let you know the amount of storage you will need once the order is complete.

If you have smart TV you should be able to cast the videos from your computer for larger viewing.  

Option #2- We will download all of your media to a USB thumb drive. You will be able to see your videos on a laptop or TV with a USB port. You may need a USB to USB-C adapter for your computer depending on your ports, or USB to HDMI adapter, depending on your TV. If you have smart TV you should be able to cast the videos from your computer for larger viewing.  

Yes! Once you confirm you have either downloaded all of your media or received your thumb drive, I will mail back your original media.

Yes, unfortunately. We cut out the biggest risk which is losing original media in shipping to the vendor. We pick up in person. With media that is decades old with unknown ways in which is was stored, the condition of your media could already be damaged. We will look over all tapes and advise you if something looks off. The camcorders and devices in which we use to digitize the media are also just as old, but are in perfect working order and cleaned regularly. 

Unfortunately, no, we are not able to fix any broken media. We can recommend some shops in your area to have them repaired so they can be transferred. 

At this time, we are not making any edits. All copies are an exact 1:1 so anything native to the tape/media will remain that way in the transfer. 

I know, it can be uncomfortable sending tapes with unknown material on them, but we do not sit and watch your footage. Footage is digitized in real time, which takes up A LOT of time. For video, we will see the first several seconds of each tape to make sure it is recording and audio is also being transferred, along with the last few second to make sure each tape has ended. For slides, negatives, etc. we will see what is being developed. Confidentiality is extremely important to us. 

Most of your footage will be 4:3 letterbox (think IG photo for ratio) with a low resolution. 

Video files come back as .MP4 with a H.264 codec.

VHS/8MM tapes are native 4:3/ 640 × 480.

Hi-8 tapes are native 4:3/ 720 × 480. 

Mini DV tapes are native 4:3/ 720 × 480. 

HDV tapes are native 16:9, 720 or 1080i.

We could ingest them at 720 or 1080 but you will lose picture and color quality as it needs to stretch pixels that aren't there, and in our opinion, looks worse. Click "Samples" on our homepage to see these examples.

https://sites.google.com/view/1985memorylane-analogtodigital/home/samples