Video tape digitization
Video tapes began their campaign to conquer the world in the 1970s. Countless vacations, graduations, weddings, and family moments were captured on camcorders and VHS tapes.
However, time has passed over the now nearly 50-year-old standard; it is time to make the memories preserved on them device-independent: by digitizing them. There are households where a player or camera can still be found here and there, but modern TVs often lack RCA inputs, so you have almost no theoretical chance of recalling the fond memories.
The digital file is easy to share, copy, and store on any data carrier (e.g., pendrive, hard drive, cloud).
Why digitize your video tapes?
- to see their contents again,
- so they don't fall prey to mold,
- so the tape doesn't crumple or curl,
- so irreplaceable moments aren't lost due to demagnetization.
After all, soon there will be nothing left to show!
VHS digitization = the most popular format
VHS is by far the most widespread format among video tapes. Almost every home had a VHS player and quite a few tapes. VHS digitization is now practically in the final hour because the tapes are starting to age out. There are more and more moldy VHS tapes or recordings with weakened magnetic signals. Through digitization, the content of the tape is transformed into a device-independent, timeless format (mp4, mpeg2) that you can easily share with your loved ones.
In the case of VHS digitization, you can request the full content, only family-related recordings, or specific segments. If the cassette is damaged or the tape is moldy, there is a solution for that too: our colleagues with decades of experience professionally clean or repair the damaged cassette, making the VHS digitizable. Moreover, with the development of AI technology, it is now possible to use ClearView AI SD enhancement on the recordings.
What should you do with the tapes?
You can start video tape digitization yourself. There are devices with which you can transfer tapes using a player and a computer.
However, you pay a steep price for the seemingly cheap solution with your time. Saving analog media happens in "real-time." Which means for a 3-hour wedding, you have to sit there for (at least) 3 hours + export time. - If the tech works on the first try. -
However, it is important to know if you start it yourself:
- different recording standards existed, which not every cheap digitizing adapter can transfer, and often the players themselves cannot decode every standard. Not to mention that different brands of video tapes yield the best image and sound quality in different types of players. Which matters a lot in the case of the already not-so-robust SD resolution recorded on the tape.
- with low-budget digitizing solutions, cables might pick up "ghost sounds" weaving external noises into the recording.
- moldy or crumpled tapes dirty the head unit and wrap around it, so cassettes must be cleaned and repaired before digitization before you start the transfer.
- in the case of players and cameras, it's not that hard to miss and hit record instead of play, which certainly erases the tape's content...
- Unless you have a gigantic archive, the math usually works out that it is cheaper to entrust the task to a pro, and you can deal with things you are really good at or that help you relax. – and believe me, that is totally okay!
Emlékmentő has been digitizing video tapes since 2009. During this time, we have dealt with all kinds of assignments, from single memories to museum archives of 4000 items. With the experience of more than 350,000 tapes, we can state that hardly anything surprises us anymore.
From 12-hour ELP recordings, through USA standard SVHS, to sticky tape peeled off by hand millimeter by millimeter, we have successfully overcome many challenges.
In the past decade and a half, there were only 2 cases where we gave up on the recovery (a tape cracked lengthwise and a cassette so moldy and stuck together that we could only peel it off the reel in shreds).
Moreover, we keep a backup of the finished material for 3 days after pickup, so if an accident happens on the way home, your recovery is not lost.
Your most guarded secrets are safe with us; we guard your memories according to protocols stricter than GDPR regulations, so they cannot fall into unauthorized hands.
Feel free to contact us with:
- Any old video tape, so it can be watchable on a computer or TV, refurbished as much as possible. You can request it on a quality playable DVD, pendrive, or in the cloud in MPEG2 or MP4 format.
- Your old cassettes without labels or relabeled a thousand times;
- Moldy, crumpled, or even burnt video tapes, which we clean and repair before digitization:
Yes, we have saved valuable material from these tapes!
What tapes can we digitize?
- We save every common format, and often we can solve not-so-common ones too, thanks to our partner network.
Would you like to peek into the video tapes?
Book an appointment, and our colleagues will help you see what is on your tapes, so you don't digitize unnecessary Rambo parts or Dallas episodes!
If you leave the tape(s) with us after viewing, we waive half of the expert consultation fee!
What makes Emlékmentő different from other digitizing companies?
For a long time, there was no normal option for memory saving between "home digitizers squeezing 4 hours of footage onto a DVD with one player" and professional film studios. Emlékmentő initially filled this void.
Our goal is to save the highest possible quality recording from the tapes at affordable prices. To this end, we have built a fleet of about 50 players. Thus, we can try every tape in potentially all players to bring out the maximum in terms of both image and sound quality. On average, 4-5 test recordings are made from one tape, but there are quite extreme cases too.
Moreover, it is increasingly common that we edit the final result from 4-5 playbacks because one part turned out well in the Aiwa, and another became good in the Panasonic...
In our experience, the older a tape is and the harsher the conditions it was stored in, the more often we have to resort to such tricks to get an acceptable result. We are constantly developing our solutions to make even the most dilapidated tapes salvageable.
And we don't settle for that; we are constantly looking for opportunities to improve the quality of recordings! Such as AI-based upscaling, with which 4K quality is also achievable.
- With us, you can request partial saving, or ask us to review the footage and finalize only the family recordings.
- We also undertake moldy or damaged tapes with repair and cleaning that others consider unsalvageable.
- Within the framework of Expert consultation, you can review the recordings in our shop, and we help you decide between different saving options depending on what you want to do with the digitized material later.
- We keep your recordings for 3 days after pickup in case any problem occurs on the way home, or if you would like to request extra editing afterwards.
3+1 steps to see what's on your tapes again:
- Gather them in a box, and if they don't have a label, write on them.
- If you don't know what's on it, look into it at our place! This way you can even sort out what you don't need. You can view them in our shop with the help of our expert (no need to worry that you don't remember how the VCR works and will fumble; the girls are happy to help…)
- Think about how you want to watch the videos later (e.g., on a computer or with a DVD player), and exactly what you want to do with them, but we are happy to give advice in the studio too so we can choose the file format most suitable for you!
+1 Book an appointment for Expert consultation and job drop-off, or drop the materials at the shop via the Fast Lane (or send them by post/courier), and we will take care of the rest! (Our postal address: 1141 Bp., Cinkotai út 12. or you can send your memories via GLS courier too, which you can also order on our website.)
What happens to your memories with us?
- ✔ You receive videos in VideoDVD, MPG2, or MP4 format
- ✔ you can easily store, watch, or share them on your computer – DVD player
- ✔ they no longer gather dust on the shelf, and only take up space on the hard drive
- ✔ We can edit fun videos from them for weddings, birthdays
What might happen if you don't digitize your video tapes?
- ✖ you won't have anything to watch them with
- ✖ tapes age and get ruined – they can get moldy, crumpled, and lose their magnetism
- ✖ there won't be anything to digitize on them in a few years
- ✖ Video players haven't been manufactured since 2003, and most repair shops can't even get parts for them anymore
UH-OH Guarantee!
It can happen to anyone that an accident occurs with the freshly received recordings: e.g., if you take it away on a Pendrive, the electronics might give up, or if on DVD, your player might scratch the disc. So that you don't have to pay the VHS digitization cost again in such cases, we keep the recordings for 3 days. This way, you have time to save the images to a safe place. E.g., to a cloud or multiple copies on a hard drive.
(L)asting (E)xperience (G)uarantee
Emlékmentő Kft. is committed to the use and distribution of high-quality media, therefore for every media created or purchased from us, we provide a special, lifetime: Bit Saver service.
This means that if the CD, DVD written by us, or the storage media bought from us malfunctions, and the data can be recovered via software, you get a 50% discount on the recovery price, regardless of when the media was created or purchased.
Details and redemption conditions here!
How much does it cost to save a tape?
The digitization fee itself depends on several things. The first and most important is the runtime. Additionally, it must be considered what standard the program was recorded with on the tape (normal PAL, or NTSC, MESECAM), and whether the tape is a special type (e.g., BETACAM, or HD DV). Pricing is per tape in every case, as we deal with each one individually, making test recordings to see which player gives the best image and sound quality.
Price list extract:
| Runtime | Price |
|---|---|
| 0–60 minutes runtime | 5 799 Ft |
| 61–100 minutes runtime | 8 399 Ft |
| Over 100 minutes, for every additional started 100 minutes | +4 799 Ft |
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Tape repair: tape splicing, case replacement, chemical cleaning, rewinding per tape | From 4 799 Ft |
| Saving HD mini DV tapes to video file per tape (urgency: 1 week turnaround) | 10 999 Ft |
| Saving BETACAM-SP, BETAMAX, U-MATIC, Video2000, DVCAM /30min (we ask for a deposit for the first 30 mins) | 15 999 Ft |
| Laser Disc – PAL system, per started program hour (NTSC: +50% surcharge) | 10 999 Ft |
| Conversion between video formats per started 30 minutes | 7 899 Ft |
| Editing, video cutting based on individual requests | 599 Ft/min |
| Saving NTSC or MESECAM system video films | 50% surcharge |
| Saving to MP4 format without conversion | 50% surcharge |
| In case of camera tapes, if you cannot bring the original camera (camera usage fee) | 25% surcharge |
The complete digitization price list is available here.
Tape splicing without disassembly
The simplest repair, when there is no need to open the case.
From 4 799 Ft
Tape splicing with casing disassembly
If the tape can only be accessed by dismantling the case.
From 6 299 Ft
Case replacement
Replacing a cracked, broken case or saving tape into a new housing.
From 7 899 Ft
Manual rewinding
Safe rewinding of stuck, tangled tapes and placing them in a new case.
From 9 499 Ft
Chemical cleaning
Heavily soiled, dusty, or moldy tapes with chemical pre-treatment.
From 10 999 Ft
