Magnetic tape has a finite lifespan. We transfer videotape and audio of nearly every format to clean digital files, playing each on calibrated decks and capturing it at full quality while the tape can still be played.
A transfer is only as good as the machine playing the tape. We keep professional decks for everything from VHS to broadcast D2 and one-inch open-reel, cleaned and calibrated so each plays back exactly as it was recorded.
Tapes that are sticky, moldy, or shedding are treated before they are played, so a single careful pass captures the recording without causing any further damage.
The result is a stable digital file that preserves the recording long after the tape itself becomes unplayable.
VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, Betamax, Video8, Hi8, Digital8, and MiniDV.
U-matic, Betacam, Betacam SP, Digital Betacam, HDCAM, DVCAM, DVCPRO, D2, and open-reel one-inch video.
Open-reel audio tape, cassette, microcassette, and DAT.
Archival video and audio masters plus viewing and listening copies you can share easily.
Digitizing vintage videotape is as much art as science, and the discipline that matters most is restraint. During capture, we change nothing. We record the fullest, most faithful digital copy the tape can give, its true signal and every flaw preserved intact, rather than filtering or “fixing” anything on the way in.
That untouched master is the honest record of what survives, and the foundation any later restoration is built on, because the best restoration begins from the truest copy of the original you can make.
One of the quiet reasons behind the quality of our work is that we monitor everything, constantly. Every project is watched on video scopes from the beginning of the process to the final stages, because trouble slips into the signal path long before it is ever visible on a screen.
The video scopes reveal a whole layer of information the picture alone never shows. That is why quality control here does not rest on what merely looks right on the monitor: it is the final step in every project, and the one we take most seriously. Nothing goes out the door until the scopes agree.
Consumer and professional video from VHS, Betamax, Video8, and Hi8 through U-matic, Betacam, and DVCAM, plus open-reel and cassette audio and DAT. If you are not sure what you have, send us a photo and we will identify it.
In most cases, yes. We maintain and calibrate decks for obsolete formats, and tapes that are sticky or shedding are treated before playback. Send us a list and we'll let you know what is possible.
Often, yes, with cleaning and treatment first. Damaged tape is handled carefully and captured in a single pass to avoid further wear.
The process is built to protect the original. Decks are cleaned and calibrated, fragile tape is treated first, and each tape is played as few times as possible. Your tapes come back with the transfer.
Archival video masters as ProRes or MP4 and audio as WAV, plus viewing and listening copies for easy sharing. We can recommend the right deliverables for how you plan to use the recordings.
Yes. From a single tape to collections of many hundreds, bar coded and tracked so the files map back to your originals.
Basic correction of levels, sync, and color is part of every transfer. Deeper cleanup, reducing noise and dropouts or repairing distorted audio, is available as a separate service, quoted by condition.
“They let me preserve priceless footage without ever damaging the original.”Patricia Ward Kelly, Trustee of the Gene Kelly Image Trust
Send us a list of your formats and we'll let you know what is possible.
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