Betacam tapes come in two sizes, S and L. The camcorders are only able to load the S tapes, while the standalone video tape recorders could support both formats. Betacam to DVD transfers are increasing in popularity due partially to the fact that machines to play these tapes can be expensive and hard to come by. Although a more rare format, many television companies, independent film makers, or students with projects have footage recorded onto betacam tapes, with no way to view or extract the data on them. DVD Your Memories now makes it possible to view Betacam to DVD, or manipulate these tapes once again!

Watch Chuck and Brandi explain the advancements and advantages of converting your family’s media into digital formats.

Don’t forget to stop in or give us a call for all you media transferring questions!

In the early 80’s U-Matic broadcast format was slowly starting to be replaced by the new Betacam video tape format, which was then replaced by HDCAM and Digital Betacam, or DigiBeta. The U-Matic format is one of the few older tape formats that has stood the test of time. After nearly four decades after it was first introduced, the U-Matic tape tape format is still used by studios to this day, although used much less nowadays. The United States Congress has a library of thousands of U-Matic tapes archived as a means of proof of copyright, or providing access copies. There are still countless U-Matic tapes in existance that are awaiting a video transfer in San Diego alone. U-Matic tapes today still deliver exceptional quality, and look great after the video transfer to DVD.

DVD Your Memories now offers U-Matic tape transfer services, check it out!

U-Matic to DVD transfer in San Diego

U-Matic to DVD transfer in Orange County

Transferring 8mm film to dvd or hard drive is currently the best way to preserve your film, and to stop the degradation dead in it’s tracks. Typically, film transfer services will capture each individual frame directly into the lens of a broadcast quality 3-CCD camera, and then specialized software will interpolate these individual frames into a movie and remove the flickering effect, in what’s called a “frame-by-frame” film transfer process. Frame-by-frame film transfer will provide you with the highest quality film to dvd in transfer in San Diego available, often looking much better than when shown on a projector. In addition to having a smooth, seamless capture, you can now perform color enhancements and restoration or editing with video editing software, if needed. When comparing film transfer companies, be sure to always ask about the method of transfer. There are still some companies who will project your film onto a white wall or screen and simply record the image with a camcorder. The quality of this method comes nowhere close the that of a telecine transfer descibed above.

It’s often wise to have a specialized film transfer company handle the transfer of your old film. Quality telecine transfer units typically costs thousands of dollars, and for most consumers, it just isn’t worth the cost to transfer a couple thousand feet of film. However, if you do plan on transferring your film yourself, a cheaper alternative would be to project the film onto a high quality screen, and record it using a quality digital camcorder such as Digital8, MiniDV, or a Hard Drive camcorder. Just know that the results of this method simply do not compare to the quality of a frame-by-frame premium film transfer.

Here at DVD Your Memories, we use a unique retrofitted projector with a built-in manually adjustable brightness controller to adjust over and under-exposed scenes in real-time, which can provide the highest quality film to dvd in San Diego.

Next time you’re going through the old attic or closet, please keep note of the box of family memories on film in the corner, as it simply won’t be there forever!

Reel to Reel audio recording is a form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the tape is actually held on a reel, rather than being enclosed within a cassette. The reel which holds the tape, also called the supply or feed reel, is attatched to a spindle and then threaded through mechanical guides through the head assembly and then onto the empty or takeup reel. This format was commercially developed in the 1940s by American audio engineer, Jack Mullin with financial help of Bing Crosby. Inexpensive reel-to-reel tape recorders had seen widespread use for voice recording in homes and schools until 1963, when Phillips’s audio cassette took over. Cassettes rapidly replaced reel-to-reel recorders for consumer daily use. However, the slower recording speeds, and more narrow tracks used in cassettes compromised quality.

Once professional recording studios begun using reel to reel audio, they now had several advantages which are unique to tape recordings versus phonograph recordings. Once major advantage was the fact that there was now a way to record past the 30 minute limit that phonograph records had. In addition to longer recording times, audio tape could be easily edited or manipulated in ways not possible for phonograph records. Tape editing is performed by simply cutting the tape at the required point, and reconnecting it to another portion of tape using adhesive tape, or sometimes glue. This is called a splice. Tape can also accommodate multiple tracks, allowing not just stereo recordings, but multi-track recordings too. This gives the producer of the final edit much greater flexibility, allowing a performance to be remixed long after the performance was originally recorded.

Reel to reel tape also has the option to be recorded at varying speeds. In general, the faster the tape speed, the better the sound quality will be. In addition to faithfully recording higher frequencies and increasing the magnetic signal strength, higher tape speeds spread the signal longitudinally over more tape area, reducing the effects of damage or defects in the tape. Slower speeds will help to conserve tape and are useful in situations where sound quality is not as crucial.

Tape Speeds

15/16ths of an inch per second (in/s) or 2.38 cm/s — used for very long-duration recordings (e.g. recording a radio station’s entire output in case of complaints, aka “logging”)
1? in/s or 4.76 cm/s — usually the slowest domestic speed, best for long duration speech recordings
3¾ in/s or 9.52 cm/s — common domestic speed, used on most single-speed domestic machines, reasonable quality for speech and off-air radio recordings
7½ in/s or 19.05 cm/s — highest domestic speed, also slowest professional; used by most radio stations for “dubs”, copies of commercial announcements; Through the early-mid 90’s many stations could not handle 15 IPS.
15 in/s or 38.1 cm/s — professional music recording and radio programming
30 in/s or 76.2 cm/s — used where the best possible treble response is demanded, e.g., many classical music recordings

Transfer Process

Transferring reel to Reel audio can be sometimes be much trickier than it seems. Due to the fact that the tape could have been recorded in a variety of speeds, makes it difficult to initially assess it’s length. If the tape or reel is not marked with what speed it was recorded on, the only way to find out is to load it on the machine and run it. Typically, from my experience with audio transfer in San Diego, most home audio recordings were recorded at 3¾ speed, so it’s best to start there first. Once you have determined the correct speed of the tape, you also want to make sure the tape is loaded correctly onto the reel. Sometimes when people have finished listening to a reel, instead of rewinding, they will leave it on the takeup reel, which if played from that, could result in backwards audio.

Reel to reel audio can also have multiple tracks on one side of the tape. One easy way to determine this is to just set the player to play both tracks at once, or stereo, so you can easily tell if the tracks are the same or not. If a reel is not stereo and has multiple tracks, you must either play the reel back again over the other track, or record in stereo and manually split them up in an editing program afterwards. After you decide the reel is ready to be transferred, load the reel onto the player and ensure that the audio out plugs from the reel to reel recorder are connected to your Line-in on your computer. All that is left to do is play the reel and hit record on your audio capture program and you are now well on your way to preserve and enjoy your old reel to reel audio in San Diego.

9. Production and Editing
With advancements in technology propelling us to the ‘digital era’, producing quality media from the comfort of your own home or office is now a reality. Once your media is digitized, nearly anything is possible from putting together a new scrapbook, creating a graduation slideshow for your children, or even a new commercial for your business. People no longer have to pay outrageous production fees in order to create a viable video for them.

8. Celebrating a Special Event
Do you have a special event planned in the near future? Would you like to create a San Diego custom slideshow or video montage to incorporate into an event? For the next party or get-together, instead of dusting off the old slide projector, you can show off your fully-edited custom slideshow movie for everyone to enjoy. This is a great way to show off you latest product or idea, while getting everyone in attendance involved.

7. Portability
The newer they are, the smaller they get. This can apply to most media throughout history. Just think about how much easier it would be to do a little bit of 35mm slide scanning, and condense your 35 carousels of slides into a single disc. With video, for instance, VHS tapes were the standard for several years until laser discs and DVDs hit the market. As many people know, the more VHS tapes you owned, the more storage space you needed to allocate to them. When digitized however, you can save a remarkable amount of space. Instead of holding onto hundreds of old VHS tapes, you transfer them to some easy to maintain DVDs or even to hard drive to save more space.

6. Entertainment
Reflecting on past events can be entertaining as well! It’s always a treat to catch a glimpse of your vacation from years ago, and re-live the time you spent there. This is also great for family get-togethers or parties especially if multiple people attending are featured on the video! If you decide to go with a video transfer to hard drive, you can do some simple or advanced editing to create a new video for everyone to enjoy.

5. Reconnecting With Lost Friends
15 Years ago, you and your friend may have taken a video camera on that awesome trip to Europe. As time goes on, people change locations, and connections are missed or often lost. Without watching that video today, you may never ask yourself, what happened to this person? Where can I find them? Not only is it much easier these days to transfer your media, it’s also become much easier to find and locate people! Sometimes a little reminder is all you need.

4. Family Time
Everyone has busy schedules with school, work, football practice, church, etc. and often, time spent with your own family is overlooked. Once your media is digitized, it provides a great opportunity to spend and share time with family or close friends. People can relate to what they’re watching and can spark up some interesting discussions of the past, and connect with new friends.

3. Technology Changing
Technology is constantly evolving into “smaller” and better things. A closet full of old videos can now be placed onto a plastic drive the size of your thumb and your desk drawer full of photos can now be replaced with archival-grade DVDs. Now that most of the older formats are obsolete and often difficult to see or watch, it’s best to get them digitized sooner than later. As time drags on, it will only start to get more difficult to obtain the equipment needed to perform the video transfer, or image scanning that is right for you.

2. Degradation and Deterioration
During the 80’s and 90’s, most of us were under the assumption that our precious memories stored onto magnetic tape would be safe forever. Recently, however, more and more people are realizing that this is simply not the case. Magnetic tape is great for short term play back of our fondest memories, or to relive a historic event. Video tapes deteriorate every year even if you don’t view them. Your precious memories painstakingly caught on tape WILL someday be unplayable. Most VHS tapes, with proper care, can last up to 20 years with only minor degradation issues. However, since VHS tapes have been obsolete for nearly 10 years now, the timeline is running thin! If you want these images to last, it’s best to get the VHS transfer to DVD done now, before it’s too late. DVDs can last you hundreds of years with absolutely no degradation, as the laser never makes direct contact with the disc itself. I’ve seen where people have, unfortunately, waited a bit too long to get their tapes transferred, and as a result they’re left with a fraction of what they once had.

1. Archiving/Preservation
Archiving your family’s media should always be in the back of your mind. Older media types, such as slides and video tapes, were never designed or meant to last forever. It has now become much easier to archive your tapes and images by simply capturing them to a hard drive or DVD. While most consumer DVDs typically last anywhere from 5-10 years, there are a few high-grade brands that will last you 100 or more years with proper care. Virtually all recordings from the last 40 years are in jeopardy, whether it be unique mastered audio recordings or news broadcasts. No tape is safe from the multiple threats that range from physical loss due to disaster, accidental erasure, or the increasing disappearance of equipment needed to play them back. Realistically, most of the inventory of tapes are duplicates of other materials, but many others are originals, masters, or unique content that cannot be easily duplicated. The amount of tapes needed to be restored is so huge, that it would take decades, even if facilities, techniques, and funding were readily available.

If you have any questions regarding the media transfer service, give us an email: info@dvdyourmemories.com

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In the early days of video recording, editing your home videos was quite a chore, and often took lots of time and patience. Technology has now reached a point where you can simply push play on your recorder, click your mouse, and have your entire video captured onto your computer’s hard drive. This advancement now allows the average consumer to record, edit, and produce studio-quality footage, from the comfort of their own home or office. Now instead of using a video production studio to create your next promo video, or family slideshow, you can now do these projects on your own time, budget, and specifications, using a Canopus ADVC110.

Once your Canopus is connected to your computer via firewire cable, and you’ve obtained a VCR or camcorder with RCA or DV cables, and video capture software, you are nearly ready to start capturing video . To begin the process, connect your VCR or Cam to the Canopus with the RCA cables. After this, open your video capture software, and in the options, set the capture folder up so you know where the video will be once recording has finished.  If you plan to do other tasks on your machine as it’s capturing, it’s recommended that you set the priority of your video capture software to “high”. You can do this bringing up the task manager by pushing Ctrl+Alt+Delete Select, find your video capture software on the list, right click it, and select process priority high. Next, take the tape you would like to have transferred and ensure it is fully rewound. Visually inspect the tape to make sure it’s free of mold, dirt, or other debris, then insert it into the tape player.

All that’s now left to do is to hit play on your tape player, and as soon as the video begins, click the start capture button on your video capture software. If everything went smoothly, you should see your video playing in the preview window of your video capture software, as it is being captured. Once your video tape is over, stop the capture, and in the source folder, you will find your new captured AVI video file, which is ready to be edited or converted to any form of video you choose. More and more people are realizing the ease and flexibility of virtually uncompressed AVI files, as opposed to the standard San Diego VHS to DVD transfer.

Scrapbooking is a hobby that, in recent years, has been growing in popularity. The basic idea is to preserve memories in a more fun and creative way. The pages often contain multiple forms of media such as print, photos, newspaper clippings, to help the viewer get a better understanding of the mood and feelings associated with the memories. Scrapbooking is a relatively inexpensive hobby that can certainly brighten anyone’s day.

Recently, digital scrapbooks have also begun to gain popularity amongst people of all walks of life. Creating digital scrapbooks versus traditional cut-and-paste scrapbooks can save you some time and expense, as well as provide a much easier route to share with family and friends through the internet. However, many people who have been scrapbooking long before the internet was around, have many books and pages that they would love to get digitized, but have no idea where to start.

One of the common problems with getting a scrapbook digitized is that when a scrapbook is created, in order to create enough space for all of their cherished memories, scrapbookers will often use a larger-sized paper, such as “12x”12 pages, which are just a bit too big to scan on many traditional consumer flat-bed scanners. In recent years, more and more people have been scrapbooking on 8×8 paper, which makes it much easier to digitize later, if needed. If you do have a larger format scrapbook, and you happen to have access to a large format scanner, digitizing your scrapbook will be much easier!

If you don’t have free access to a large format scanner, don’t worry, there are still other great methods to scan those larger pages in. If you have a flat-bed scanner, one common method involves photo scanning a half of a page at a time, and then taking both “halves” of the page, and digitally stitching them together using image editing software. Auto-stitch is a great, simple program that can easily handle all of this. There are a few tweaks you should be aware of before starting with this. First, if the top and bottom of your page look warped or bent, try disabling the “Auto Straighten” feature in the options menu, as this has mostly to do with creating panorama images. Also, make sure to set everything to 100% scale. If you have the equipment, and time to scan the pages, this is a cheap, yet effective way of digitizing scrapbooks.

If you do not own a scanner, nor have any access to one, there is another method that you could use to digitize your scrapbook. You would need to obtain a digital camera, preferably a high quality model, and then simply take the highest resolution photo you can of your scrapbook page. Taking pictures of your pages with your digital camera is often the quickest and easiest way to digitize, but can also suffer from quality loss. Many factors can hamper the quality of your digital image such as lighting, poor quality camera, dirty lens, movement, etc. For scrapbook photo taking, it’s best to line up the page as squarely as possible, with no angle, and make sure to go with bright, indirect light, with the camera’s flash turned off.

If you are a busy person, or in a rush, or if cost is not an issue, there are many professional San Diego image scanning services who will scan the pages using their in-house large format scanner, which in turn, would provide the highest quality image for you to share or archive. If you do need a scrapbook digitized, do a little bit of research, and discover the best method for your particular needs.

Many artists during the 20th century would have their work recorded only onto vinyl record, never being re-released as digital. As a result of this, it’s often difficult to obtain more obscure artists and compilations, as many records today cannot be found digitally on a CD or in MP3 format. Many times, the only solution involves manually transferring the existing record to a digital media file.

You will need to obtain a few pieces of equipment prior to transferring. You will obviously need to get a turntable of some sort. I recommend going with a usb turntable as it has an easy to use, direct connection to a computer with a usb connector. Numark, for example, makes a great usb turntable at a reasonable cost.

You will also need a computer with an available usb port, computer speakers, audio editing software, and a cd burner and blank media (if planning to put onto a CD).

The first step of the process is to locate which album or record you would like to have transferred. Before beginning the transfer process, it is wise to inspect the record for visible damage such as cracks, warping, or deep scratches, as well as noticable dirt, dust or other debris that could get inside the grooves. These foreign objects can result in an undesireable popping or cracking throughout the record. If the record is has a considerable amount of dirt or smudging, there are several commercial products available that does a great job at cleaning the grooves. Remember that a clean record will save you time and effort in the restoration process, as well as provide much better results.

Once the record has been sufficiently cleaned up, it’s time to begin the transfer process. Once the turntable is correctly hooked up to your computer, and the software installed, you should be ready to start recording. For the recording application, I recommend using Audacity, a free but powerful audio editing software, we typically use this application when doing LP to CD transfer in Orange County.

Place the record onto the turntable, and gently place the stylus on the outer rim of the record. Click record button on audacity to start recording, then press play on the turntable and once the audio kicks in, you should notice peaks forming on the timeline in audacity. If you see sound recording, then sit back, enjoy, and wait for the record to finish. Once finished, click the stop recording button, and you should have an audio file of the record you just recorded. From here, anything is possible, but I would suggest running Audacity’s built in pop and click removal tool, which greatly diminishes the sound of popping and clicking which is common in most old records. After you have cleaned up the sound to your liking, all that is left to do is export the file as a wav, or if preferred, an mp3.

Now, if you would like an audio CD of the record, all you need to do is load up your favorite CD burning software and import the recorded .wav file you just exported. From there, simply burn the CD and you are ready to go. We are always doing record to cd in Orange County and San Diego, so stop in or give us a call!

Keep in mind that Mac computers are not equipped to fully handle NTFS without 3rd party software such as MacDrive or Paragon.

Here is how to format any thumbdrive or Fat32 drive to NTFS:

1. Click Start->Control Panel then click System icon

2. Cick the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager

3. Click Disk Drives, and then find your USB drive on the list and double click it.

4. Change the settings from “Speed” to “Performance”

5. Go back to your desktop and click “My Computer”

6. Right click the USB drive you want formatted and click “Format…”

7. Click the drop-down menu and select “NTFS”. Click format and you are all set.

Utilize these steps to ensure that you will have NTFS usb drive!

Transferring video to dvd in Orange County and San Diego has never been easier. Now with a thumbdrive to fully support your video files,  you can take them with you whenever, and wherever you need to! Don’t forget to digitize your media! Come on in and get your video transfer in Orange County and San Diego today!