Choosing a video to DVD transfer Company

Ten things to look for when choosing a video to DVD transfer company.

1. Are they really a dedicated transfer company? Check their address, is it a business address or residential. Too many internet businesses are actually just one man making a few pounds from home. Chances are they will not be insured or have the resources to make your transfer quickly and effectively.

2. Are they VAT registered? A non VAT registered company may offer a slightly cheaper price, but again this means they are not really making a living from the service they offer.

3. Do they offer transfers from all the popular video formats that have been used over the years? You can find a list of these formats here.

4. Do they offer a simple and straight forward price structure? There’s nothing worse in my mind than not being able to see what you will be paying for a product or service. Well may be there is…..

5. Are there any hidden costs. OK, so you deiced who you are going to entrust your family memories to and just as you are about to complete the ordering process they hit you with an unexpected charge. That cheap price that enticed you doesn’t seem so good now and why did they stoop to that level to get your business?

6. Are you paying for options and add on services that you may not want? Fancy menus and printed covers can be great, but are often away of bumping the price up. Look for a service that lets you chose what extras you want. This way you get maximum value.

7. Do they copy protect the discs they make? There your memories you should be free to copy and edit them as you wish.

8. Do they offer extra copies at a reasonable price? The bulk of the cost of a video transfer is for the time the initial transfer takes. Despite what you may be told by some transfer companies the only way to achieve a good transfer is to work in real time. Extra copies however take a fraction of the time and their price should reflect this.

9. Do they publish their full address? PO Boxes provide an easy way to mask a run from home business. You want to know where your precious videotapes are being sent to.

10. Do you know the name of the company you are dealing with? Beware of any one offering their services under 1000’s of different names and website. It’s one thing to have a couple of brand names but if your chosen transfer company is on the web under many many names and is reluctant to give you the actual name of their business…. Beware.

Mouldy Video Tapes? Save them whilst you can. Transfer them to DVD

Part of what I do for a living invloves handling many thousands of videotapes...old and even older! All sorts of formats.

Over the last couple of years we have seen an increasing problem.....Mould

Are your memories at risk?


Did you know that thousands of audio and videotapes are literally being eaten alive, destroying treasured family memories? Videotape is made from a cellulose carrier tape which is coated with ferric oxide which then stores the recording magnetically. We are used to tapes becoming brittle and snapping over time. These kind of problem can be repaired and once repaired even old Betamax tapes can be transferred to DVD. More recently we have seen a massive increase in the number of tapes arriving with us that are infected with mould. Storage in damp and poorly ventilated conditions are the cause and the worst enemy of a videotape collection. The warm damp summers of the last three years have seen increasing numbers of mouldy tapes being sent to us. Once infected the spores spread rapidly and eat into the coating on the tape. This damage can not be reversed nor can the recordings be recovered. There is nothing worse than having to tell a customer that the videotape with their wedding or child’s birthday recorded on it is lost forever.

So how can these problems be avoided?

Avoid storing tapes any where that I subjected to changes in temperature, such as sheds, garages and cellars. Instead try to store your videos at a constant cool temperature away from heat sources and light.

How do I know if my tapes have a mould infection? Look for a fine white dusty powder on top of the spools of tape, these will be mould spores.

What do I do if I think my tapes are at risk? Throw away any damp cardboard cases your videotapes may be stored in, preferably substitute these with plastic cases. Remember to make a note of any information that is written on the cases before you dispose of them.
Do not try to play infected tapes as you may damage them and your video player will become infected. Our advice is to convert video to DVD as soon as possible

It's become so much of a problem that one national newspaper has even featured an article covering the topic.

The picture at the top of this post will help you identifythe problem.