Before The Memories Fade

Rates depend on a few factors - basically it can be the quantity, urgency, type and condition of the media that determines the rate.

We charge a flat rate per tape regardless of duration, but we give 15% discount on short duration domestic format tapes manufactured in lengths of up to 15 mins (E5, E10, & E15 tapes).

Unlike a lot of other services, we do not charge extra for longer tapes, so no nasty surprises!

If you're unsure about what you have, or have many different types of media, ask about booking an in-home sorting/organising session with our associated Media Manager. Available within the greater Brisbane/ SEQ region.

At this stage in the life of old videotapes they can all benefit from a really good clean to remove dust & grease from the tape’s playing surface, as well as loose, shedding oxide particles that could clog the heads of playback decks, thereby affecting the quality of the transfer. With our popular Clean + Convert service we physically pre-clean each tape's playing surface so they play back looking their very best for the transfer.

Here's a short clip showing the difference a single tape clean can make to a dirty tape.

Not all tapes are this dirty, so results may not always be this dramatic. But every tape is cleaned before conversion so that there's no chance that shedding oxide particles or dirt or dust will gradually (even slightly) clog the heads of the playback deck during the hours that the tape is playing through during the conversion process. This way we can guarantee the tape is being transferred in its best possible physical condition.

Please note that the Clean + Convert cleaning process is not sufficient if we find mould on a tape. We can clean mould, and we have an extremely high success rate with this, but mould cleaning is a considerably more detailed, heavy-duty process. Our policy is that if we see any mould we either must clean it, or we can leave that tape aside. We can't put it into our VCRs without mould cleaning because you'd get a lousy job, and we'd risk destroying the delicate equipment we rely on to enable us to offer the highest quality conversions possible. Mould Cleaning is $44 per tape in most cases. Occasionally, some very heavy mould infestations may be judged to require a deeper cleaning process, but that is pretty rare and we will always quote on that if we see it.

Here is a picture of mould on a tape. Looking through the tape shell window at the edge of the tape pack if you see any white powder, white flecks, or white spots then you have mould. If you don't see this you still might have mould as the entire tape pack edge is not visible unless you wind it through, and then there's the back side of the tape pack to consider as well. If your tape has mould we'll catch it & bring it to your attention.

Then, because every step of the recording chain is important, we run your tapes through a choice of at least three selected pro decks available at each of our transfer stations, so we can find the best match for your particular tape. Or, if we need to, we can test your tape on "the stack" - literally shelves full of playback decks in almost every brand & many models. This comprehensive Deck Matching step can make a huge difference. Some tapes just look better on a playback deck similar to the deck they were originally recorded on. Or perhaps on a rare high-end model. And because we pre-clean every tape, we can play even a damaged tape on our most valuable decks if we need to, without losing too much sleep over it!

They then go through processing gear (Time Base Correctors, and Digital Noise Reduction), before finally converting direct to a high quality Mp4 H264 file, which is the most widely playable video file format on the planet.

Our "Clean + Convert" rates for small quantities at regular turnaround timeframes begin at a flat rate of $39.95 ea for short duration tapes manufactured in lengths of up to 15 mins (E5, E10, & E15 tapes), or $47 ea (flat rate, regardless of duration) for most other formats, plus USB.

We do also offer discounts for bulk quantities. Different bulk discounts can apply depending on the quantities, urgency, and condition. 95% of the material we receive is covered by the rates outlined above, but broadcast formats, and some other rare formats are extra. For a custom quote for your quantities, your timeframe, your tape condition, and your formats, as well as further info about discounts contact us here.


Turnaround Timeframes:

Depending on your quantities, we’re quoting from approx 2 weeks at the moment, not including shipping time. If you’re in a hurry and need it sooner than that let us know, and we may be able to accommodate you.

Please note that with the Christmas season rapidly approaching, large jobs may need to carry over until the new year. Or we can arrange to deliver a part of the job before Christmas.

Christmas Cut-Off Times* for incoming orders:

All jobs requiring shipping must be received no later than 9 am Monday, 11th December 2023, for completion*/invoicing by Dec 18th & Express Postage dispatching no later than Wednesday, 20th December 2023. Australia Post states that the last mailing day is Dec 20th for WA & NT, and Dec 21st for the rest of Australia. Please note that we cannot be held responsible for Australia Post's services.

Pick-up Orders can be placed until Friday, 15th December 2023, for completion*/invoicing by Dec 20th, for collection Dec 20, 21 & 22.

*Any undertaking to try to fully complete a project before Christmas is subject to realistic timeframes considering the size & scope of the project. We will advise if your project cannot fully be processed within the desired timeframe, and discuss options for partial pre-Christmas delivery if that helps.



Store Christmas Closure Notice:

RetroMedia will close 5pm Friday, 22nd December 2023, re-opening 9am Monday, 15th January 2024

PLEASE NOTE: During the holiday month of January, our store will operate with reduced staff, as we conduct annual general maintenance. As a result, service timeframes may be longer than anticipated.



Left Your Run A Little Late?

For Christmas this year we are offering beautifully gift-wrapped Gift Certificates! Any service, any value from $100. For that special somebody in your life! And so easy for you to take advantage of!

Ask us how!

Terms:

• We ask for a part payment (deposit) at commencement, of $10 per tape. 

• To keep things as fair as possible, for regular timeframe projects your job will go into a queue of work and will be attended in turn. We're always very busy, dealing with very old, obsolete media, in a wide range of physical conditions, and with widely differing play durations which must be played through in real time (no high-speed digitising of video exists). So predicting timeframes is not an exact science. It's simply not possible to precisely allow for unforeseen issues that may occur in your job, or in the jobs preceding yours in the queue.

So we aim at estimated turnaround targets. We ask for your patience with us on this. To do the best possible job, and to do it at a reasonable price, means it can't also be quick. We can choose only two of the three, and we're unwilling to cut corners on quality. If you have a looming deadline or event, please let us know, and we can discuss options with you.

• Original media is available for collection upon full payment. Unless prior arrangements have been made, we ask for payment to be made within 7 days of invoicing.

• We like to be as flexible as possible. We’re happy to work with you before commencement of the job to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement. But we do ask that if we have not made alternate arrangements with you before commencement, that you will honour our terms.

* "Short Duration Tapes" means tapes manufactured with shorter tape lengths. We offer discount on E5 (5 min), E10 (10 min), & E15 (15 min) tapes. This discount does not apply to long tapes, such as 120 mins, 180 min etc that happen to have only short recordings on them, because we will still need to record the entire tape to be sure we get everything. Exceptions can be made if you know for sure that your tapes have only very short recordings on them & you authorise us at the time of ordering to quit after that short recording ends. We will then not be held responsible for missing any material that may occur further along on the tape. The only way to be 100% sure we get everything on a tape is to digitise the entire tape.