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Topic: Transfering Video to DVDs |
John Hawkins
From:
Onalaska, Tx. on Lake Livingston * R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 2:47 pm |
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Can someone give me the contact /s of a reliable company that can transfer some family videos we have to DVD format ?
If anyone knows a contact in the Houston area , it would fit me better since I am not too far North of there. These videos are priceless to our family and I would not want to deal with anyone who had not had a LOT of experience with this type of transfering for fear they may be damaged or lost .
Thanks for your response !
John
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 5:54 pm
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It might be an economical solution to buy a DVD-recorder for yourself - then your irreplaceable film would remain in your hands.
They're getting more affordable all the time, and I'm seriously considering it for similar reasons.
RR |
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Marc Friedland
From:
Fort Collins, CO
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 7:48 pm
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John,
I did a big project about a year ago.
I had all of my dad's 8 mm home films put onto DVD.
I found a big Photography store that farmed out the service and charged plenty to do it. But I had the money and thought it was worth it. It was about 4 hours worth of film so it went onto 2 DVDs. They did a good job of cleaning up the film also, much better than I would have been able to do. Instead of paying $20 - $30 for each additional copy though, I thought it made more sense to buy a DVD recorder, and then make my own copies, especially since I was sending out copies to about 20 friends & relatives. Recently we did the same thing with my wife's old family films. Th DVD recorder has more than paid for itself. It did cost about $600, to have the original transfer done, but I don't think that's really much money to preserve my family's history into a digital format.
If you have trouble locating a good source near you to have the process done, feel free to contact me, and I'll assist you in getting it done "long distance."
-- Marc |
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John Hawkins
From:
Onalaska, Tx. on Lake Livingston * R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 12:01 am
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Thanks Roger and Marc ! I appreciate you both replying . Both ideas are good and I'll think about what you all outlined .
As you said Marc, I sure don't want to lose the family history so I will continue my search and I really appreciate your offer to help "long distance" .
John [This message was edited by John Hawkins on 24 August 2004 at 01:02 AM.] |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 2:51 am
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you can actullay buy some home Media PC packages now with DVD recorders on them in the $600 range..Pretty amazing stuff.
IF you do go the Home PC route..record your video's onto the Hard Drive,then transfer the files to the DVD . DVD blanks are still fairly expensive and if the real time recording transfer BURPS..you loose the blank and the burn time.
My daughter just transfered some VHS to DVD and they are quite good.
t |
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Ron Page
From:
Penn Yan, NY USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 4:10 am
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...And make sure your anti-virus program doesn't fire up a full scan during your DVD burning. Not that I'd ever be dumb enough to allow that to happen, but I'm sure someone has had that happen to them. 
------------------
HagFan
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John Hawkins
From:
Onalaska, Tx. on Lake Livingston * R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 10:17 am
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Thanks Tony and Ron ! Good advice !
I'm still undecided as to what to do about all this but I'm getting a lot of good help from the forum members and other friends
Thanks very much !!
John |
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Gary Walker
From:
Morro Bay, CA
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 9:56 pm
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| I believe Go-Video has a new deck with a VCR and a DVD burner for transfering from tape to disk all in one unit. |
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Marc Friedland
From:
Fort Collins, CO
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 11:19 pm
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John,
You're getting some good advice here.
If your home movies are already on VHS format, yes there are good machines on the market to transfer them yourself to DVDs.
As mentioned, Go-Video makes one, and there are plenty others also available.
I do suggest doing some research though, before making up your mind which one offers you the best options for what you want to do. I think +R is generally considered to be better than -R. Also, some brands of DVD's aren't recommended for use on certain players & recorders. Since I'm sort of ignorant about some of these high-tech matters, it's gets confusing to me, but hopefully it will make sense to you, after doing your homework.
I didn't have the luxury of recording direct to DVD from VHS when I did my project because my family films were on 8 & Super 8 mm film from as far back as 1945.
I might have had other options, but as I stated before, I don't think the price I paid was too high for the results I got.
Now I can make as many DVD copies as I want, and I also make VHS copies for people who still choose to use their VCRs, instead of DVD players.
Good luck. -- Marc |
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John Hawkins
From:
Onalaska, Tx. on Lake Livingston * R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Aug 2004 9:17 pm
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Well , I called a company I had already had both cassette copies and C.D. copies made for me in the past ( they do really good work ).
I had no idea they could transfer VHS to DVD and so I talked to the tech man there . He said "sure we do that" ! I told him my VHS tapes were already the way I wanted them and no editing was required-- just a transfer to a DVD .
I asked him what cost I would be looking at for the finished DVD master . He quoted me
$ 25.00 per VHS tape for a turn-key DVD master and a small amount for each DVD copy of that master.
This company does a ton of commercial work in the Houston area coping tapes for churches,other individuals and companies.
I think I'm going to go this route. We will not need that many copies of the DVD master so I don't think I will get into purchasing a unit that will do what I want in this particular case although, it would be nice to be able to do your stuff at home if you ever intended to continue that type transfering .
I thought the price was reasonable so I'm going that route.
If anyone is interested in checking out their web site, it is www.churchcassette.com
The tech man that does all their work is named Steve in case you have any questions or want to ask about their service /s.
I have no connection to this company except past experience and that has been very rewarding as far as their finished product is concerned.
I really appreciate all the good advise from the forum members. This forum is a great place to be. Thanks to b0b for all his work.
John |
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