Firstly, after cleaning your film and repairing any breaks, we lightly lubricate the film path, thereby minimising any friction during the transfer.
Our state-of-the-art RetroScan Universal Mk2 4K film scanner (the same unit used by the Academy of Motion Picture Film Archives, in Hollywood) features a completely clawless film feed system. Because there's no claw to pull the film through the system there is no chance we can tear the film's sprocket holes.
Finally the cold lamp LED illumination completely eliminates any risk of burning your film.
Frequently Asked Questions
We'll do our best to address the most common questions. If we don't have what you're looking for, please contact us for personal service.
- Why should I get my films digitised?
While in many cases film has stood the test of time better than more recent formats like videotape, it is still continuously deteriorating.
• Dye Fading
• Mould
• Water damage
• Vinegar syndrome
• Insect infestation
• Dust, dirt & grime…
…all these things can eventually degrade your film, or even ruin it forever.
We have transferred film that dates back as far as the 30s, which is getting up towards 100 years old!. Once it is digitised all future deterioration is stopped dead in its tracks.
We will have taken a sharp digital photo of each & every frame of your film, at a minimum of full high definition 1080p resolution - high enough resolution to clearly distinguish the film grain. The resulting future-proof full high definition video clip, while it can be enhanced, can now never deteriorate. - Why do you call your film transfer process "gentle"?
- What resolution are your high definition film transfers?
Our transfers are delivered as Full High Definition (1080p) as a minimum. We also scans and deliver at higher resolutions like 2K or 4K.
Please note that we do not scan or deliver at standard definition, which we consider too low res considering there have been no standard def TVs available to buy for many years now. So if you're shopping around this is an important consideration, as there are many transfer houses still working at the archaic standard definition.
By way of example, though most TVs sold today are at least 1080p or even higher resolution, Australian TV is currently broadcast at 720p. So the resolution we supply is significantly higher resolution than broadcast TV.
Of course, the quality of the original film camera, (and the cameraman!) will affect what we see, along with whatever degradation has occurred throughout the years. But the necessary resolution for properly "future-proofing" your memories is there in our transfers. - Will my film be cleaned before it is digitised?
Yes. Your film is cleaned as part of the process. However, some damage caused by mould and/or debris embedded in the film cannot be removed.
- Can you improve the quality of my film?
Yes, in some ways it is possible to improve the look, even if what we can do physically can be limited.
Firstly we clean your film, so it looks it's best for scanning.
Then there are a number of ways we could improve the quality once digitised - digital processing to reduce film grain, editing out poor quality segments, and correcting colour & fading (if not too far gone). Then we can add music, titles, sub-titles, and narration. - How can I tell how many feet of film I have?
We have a minimum charge per reel, which covers the little 3 inch reels as received back from the lab, and for larger reels we charge by the actual footage, accurately counted out by our film transfer unit. We offer further discounts for very large reels of over 600ft capacity.
But for your own rough calculations, film reels have markings on the side of the reel that roughly indicate the length.
For 8mm or Super 8 the most common size is 3 inch reels. These hold 50 feet of film. The other common sizes are 5 inch reels holding up to 200 feet, and 7 inch reels holding up to 400 feet .
Capacity and running time for 8mm film and Super 8 are:
• 3 inch reel (50 feet) 3-4 mins
• 5 inch reel (200 feet) approx 15 mins
• 7 inch reel (400 feet) approx 25-35 mins
Running time for 16mm will be very roughly half that of 8mm film or Super8. - If you find my film is broken, are you able to fix it?
Yes. We quite often find that old movie film is broken when it arrives. RetroMedia will professionally "splice" (or repair) your broken movie film - without any loss of the home movie footage. There's no extra charge for this service.
If there are any small orphaned pieces of film not on a reel, we'll need to place these onto a reel temporarily for the scanning to occur. Some extra prep charges may apply.
Additionally, if we see mould on your film we'll need to clean that off (there will be a small extra charge for mouldy films). Sometimes the mould will not have caused any appreciable damage to the picture, but in other cases there may be some damage, especially to the edges of the picture caused by the mould actually eating the film emulsion. This type of damage unfortunately cannot be reversed. - Years ago we had our film converted to VHS. Should we give that to you, or the original film?
If you still have the original movie films (reels) you would want to send us those for the highest quality conversion to digital. The difference in resulting quality will be enormous, because:
(a) the VHS will normally have deteriorated more than the film over the same time period, and
(b) the quality of our film transfer (High Def) will be many times higher than even the very best transfers to VHS, which is a low resolution format. In most cases the transfer technology was also very rudimentary & low quality compared to the frame-by-frame film scanning we do today.
Truthfully, most transfers to VHS that we see these days are pretty bad, usually having been produced by projecting the picture on a wall and shooting that picture with a VHS camcorder.
They are really low quality/low resolution the whole way. Usually they will have:
• A dark & soft picture
• A "hot spot" in the middle caused by the projector lamp
• A bad flicker due to picture-sync problems
• then stored on a poor quality, low resolution, non-archival medium (VHS) which often has not weathered the years well.
It's true that it will cost more to work from the original films, but the difference in quality will reward you many times over for that extra cost in the years to come. - Why is your transfer method better than other methods?
Transferring film to video has traditionally been a difficult and expensive process, especially to do it well. Because of this lots of home made approaches have thrived though the years - some reasonably good in quality, right through to some that are pretty dreadful.
With the arrival of high definition frame-by-frame film scanners the home made methods are really starting to be recognised for what they are - vastly inferior in quality in a myriad of ways.
The home made methods are almost invariably based on modified 60s & 70s film projectors. As such they are subject to many of the limitations of that 50 year old technology. They can:
• burn your film with hot lamps
• show a noticeable "hot spot" in the middle of your picture where the lamp is hottest
• tear your film's sprocket holes with their pull down claws, rendering it unplayable
• chew up your film because of feed problems or operator error, rendering it unplayable
• crop up to 25% of your film frame either by limited film gate size, or operator error/laziness
• suffer from flickering &/or pulsing because of the limitations of the technology and/or because of operator error
• produce only obsolete standard definition transfers (at best).
These days there are quite a few companies offering frame x frame transfers, but many of these are not high definition, only standard definition, and many transfer directly to DVD, a medium that is quickly being phased out.
Our system is
• clawless, so cannot tear your film
• cold lamp, so cannot burn your film
• frame size is fully adjustable so that minimal cropping of your picture need occur
• at least full 1080p high definition, with 2K & 4K available
• transfers to high definition AVI files as our standard delivery format, with FREE included easy-to-play high definition Mp4 versions as well. We can even deliver numbered image sequences if you prefer. DVD is available as an add-on option. Please note that DVD is only standard definition. - Can the original audio from my films be captured?
Yes, in some cases. For Super 8 movie films with magnetic audio and on 16mm movie films with either optical or magnetic audio, where they are in good, non-shrunken condition (ie projectable*) we can capture the original audio in a second pass through a well maintained projector after we've safely completed your frame-by-frame transfer.
The sound files we produce will then be married to the frame-by-frame film transfer in perfect sync.
It's important though to realise that the majority of film is silent.
*It should be noted that some film has shrunken with age due to vinegar syndrome. While we can successfully capture picture where other systems would fail, the fact that audio must be captured by projectors (which use a pull down claw to advance the film) and that beyond a certain point of shrinkage the film perforations will no longer line up with the pull down claw, this would mean the film cannot be played by a projector & therefore sound cannot be captured. - Can running my film through a projector damage it?
Yes, the risk of damage can be quite high, especially if you are inexperienced, or you're a little rusty! You run a risk of damage for a number or reasons:
• possibly unknown quality/condition of the projector and it's history re damaging films
• even of the projector is in tip-top shape, if you're not very experienced at running a projector you could tear your film sprocket holes simply by making a mistake as operator.
• similarly, inexperience could cause film to be chewed up or "accordioned"
• likewise, inexperience could cause your film to be burned by hot lamps
• your film may have shrunk over the years, and the perforations may no longer align properly with the projector's pull down claw, leading to disaster
So we don't recommend running your film through an old projector unless you're very experienced & you know the projector is in perfect running condition. - Do you have sample clips of your film transfers?
Just the one clip at the moment. More coming very soon!
(Classic case of the painters house needing painting. We're just so busy all the time. But we'll get to it!) - Is it possible to take still frames from my film transfers?
Yes, this can be done. For the highest quality stills we can actually export the film as an image sequence in addition to providing the video clip. This will consist of a single photo for every frame of film. That will be a lot of photos… around 16-24 photos per second of video!
Otherwise if quality is not so important, using the VLC Media Player you can click on the ‘video’ tab and then ‘capture freeze frame’.
If you are using a Mac an easy way is to simply hold the ‘apple key’ (command) hold shift and hold 4 all at the same time & then ‘cross-hairs’ will appear on the screen. Simply drag a selection marquee around the frame paused on your player and then let go. This method saves a freeze-frame to your desktop.
Upload to Facebook, email and even create a lovely slideshow. The quality of our frame by frame transfers really shines on the stills.
It is important to realise that any stills taken from motion picture film scans will be of limited resolution. A photo printed from even the best resolution we can offer for video (4k) would not be comparable to the resolution your phone camera takes today. Basically, this is because the resolution of video is nowhere near the resolution possible with a still camera. - What formats can you deliver?
These are the most common formats we are asked for. Others are also available on request.
High Definition 1080p AVI.
• This format is our default format. Please note that these are very large files, and the required USB device is not included in the price.
• This format is a high definition file suitable for editing on modern editing programs.
• Viewable on a Mac or a Windows PC, and via HDMI on your TV.
• AVIs are the perfect archiving choice, future-proofing your memories at the highest possible quality. You might consider upgrading to our 2K or 4K scanning resolutions for the very best results, especially for 9.5mm & 16mm formats.
High Definition 1080p Mp4 H264.
• This format is a popular option, as it allows playback on the widest range of modern devices.
• On very noisy/grainy films the quality may suffer a little when compared to AVI files.
Once again you might consider upgrading to our 2K or 4K scanning resolutions for the very best results, especially for 9.5mm & 16mm formats.
High Definition 1080p Numbered Image Sequence.
• A legacy format some may prefer for editing, this format is in fact a folder full of individual snapshots of each frame of your film.
• Available either as your chosen stand-alone delivery format, or as an added option in addition to another file type.
Once again you might consider upgrading to our 2K or 4K scanning resolutions for the very best results, especially for 9.5mm & 16mm formats.
Standard Definition 576i Video DVD.
• Suitable for viewing only, Video DVD is a compromise format for those who simply prefer the convenience of DVDs.
• Especially on very noisy/grainy films the quality may suffer.
• Available as an added option, in addition to your Quicktime MOV files. - I'm not sure what is on my film. How can you help with this?
We do often get asked this question. But because we highly recommend that you do not attempt to play your films through an old projector, we have to reiterate that we are a digitising company, not a "go through your media" company.
You can have us digitise your films, then you can very easily go through the digital copies & see what you have and what you'd like to discard (if anything).
Film was expensive, and watching a long blank section of film was very boring, so most people over the years edited out or threw away blank film. That leaves only film that they considered it was worth hanging on to. You'll probably need to trust their judgement was sound & that the films contained memories that they considered important enough to keep.
If you really need to look at the films, we can rent you a film viewer/editor. But be advised they are hand operated & can be very tedious to work with.
Another option can be to have us digitise the first ten feet of film on a reel. There will be a cost, but if this is enough to tell you what is on the film, this could be a solution for you. - How much film will fit onto a DVD?
We don't like to exceed 90 mins maximum of content on a DVD so we can maintain the best quality. Actually DVD is only standard definition, so already we are throwing away some quality (compared to the original high definition transfers) to make DVDs.
We would actually recommend a maximum of 60 minutes on a DVD made from film if you want to maintain as much quality as possible. - Why is Super 8 film sometimes lower in quality than 8mm or 16mm film?
Super 8 film is generally the lowest quality film we see. It's not the film itself though… it's the decreased quality of the cameras & lenses of the day.
In the dying days of film in the late 70s and early 80s, the format was in a fight for life versus the new age of video tape formats. To be able to compete with their market in decline, very cheap products flooded the market, resulting in poor quality imaging.
Grainy, ‘contrasty’ - there were a range of issues. People who had been unable to afford the home movie boom, were suddenly now able to, and were on the whole poorly educated about videography, film types, lenses, filters, correct use of light, how to shoot etc.
And so all these years later, we have a challenge trying to deliver a good transfer from Super 8 Sound.
Compared to colour Standard 8mm film from say the 1950s, we tend to expect without even looking at the film that it is going to be good. Rich colours and great light makes it a pleasure to work with. The explanation for this is that only very high quality, expensive products were on the market, and people paid a lot of money for the equipment and so they really learnt how to use it well. It really wasn’t for the novice user. - I remember projector lamps burning our film. Is there any risk of burning my film with your process?
You're correct in remembering that projector lamps can burn your film. At RetroMedia we don't use projectors, or their hot lamps, for our motion picture film scanning.
We use cold-lamp LED light source, so it's impossible for us to burn your film. - How can I tell if my film has sound?
Roughly 95% of Super 8 film is silent, and almost all Standard 8 film is silent. If Standard 8 has sound it was usually added at the lab afterwards.
Super 8 Sound hit the market in 1972. The sound was recorded in sync with the picture on a narrow stripe of magnetic tape, just like an audio cassette tape. It is important to realise though that people sometimes purchased sound film (either by accident, or because that is all the store had), but did not always record any sound, so the mere presence of a sound stipe does not mean there will be sound present.
The audio quality is usually quite poor, as you get a combination of very thin magnetic tape to record onto combined with cheap plastic microphones and inexperienced operators.
16mm film comes in:
• silent (sprocket holes along both edges)
• optical sound (sprocket holes along one edge, and an optical soundtrack stripe along the opposite side)
• magnetic sound (sprocket holes along one edge, and a magnetic soundtrack stripe along the opposite side). - The box holding my film says 25ft. Why do you call this a 50ft reel?
Regular-8 (or double-8) reels of film were 25 feet in the double width of 16mm. The film is run through the camera twice, flipping the cartridge over when the first edge was finished to expose both edges. After developing, the lab would slit the film down the middle and splice it back together to give the resulting 8mm film as you see today.
Forgetting you had already flipped the cartridge over & then shooting again over top of the first footage led to the problem of double exposure we sometimes encounter. Unfortunately nothing can be done to fix double exposure. - Why is my film all blue/red/purple/etc?
Q: Why is my film very dark, red-orange with hardly any other color, and
streaky?
A: The film was not threaded correctly in the camera. The dark side, not the
light side, was towards the lens.
Q: Why is my film is all tinted orange/red and overly "warm"?
A: Usually daylight film was used under lights without a filter. Sometimes the correct tungsten balance film was used indoors but with the daylight correction filter incorrectly in place.
Q: Why is my film is all very purple/blue and overly "cold"?
A: Usually tungsten balance film was used outdoors without the daylight correction filter. In other cases the correct daylight balance film was used outdoors but the tungsten correction filter was wrongly in place.
Q: My film is almost all red & white?
A: Dye fading has occurred with age. Some film stocks, especially cheaper brands, have not lasted as well as others in this regard. Colour correction is often not possible when too much colour has been lost. We would suggest having the film desaturated to become black & white picture, or we could add a sepia tint. - My film appears to be double exposed. Can this be fixed?
Short answer? No.
Regular-8 (or double-8) reels of film were 25 feet in the double width of 16mm. The film is run through the camera twice, flipping the cartridge over when the first edge was finished to expose both edges. After developing, the lab would slit the film down the middle and splice it back together to give the resulting 8mm film as you see today.
Forgetting you had already flipped the cartridge over & then shooting again over top of the first footage led to the problem of double exposure we sometimes encounter. Unfortunately nothing can be done to fix double exposure. - Do you guys use domestic DVD recorders?
Professionals don’t use DVD recorders. Back-yarders use DVD recorders.
The quality just isn’t there. There’s not enough fine control over video encoding - so you get pixelated DVDs.
Also they aren’t as compatible on the widest range of DVD players in the marketplace, so maybe you get a DVD that just doesn’t work.
Finally, with no editing possible, this equipment lacks the flexibility to give you a tidy finished product. So you’re stuck with an exact copy of your tape, warts ‘n all.
So at RetroMedia, we’ve outlawed DVD recorders.
So how can you tell what the others are using?
• Some may state that they don’t use DVD recorders.
• Some may say they use a computer.
• Some may state nothing, but if you ask they’ll tell you what they think you want to hear.
But how can you know for sure?
It’s actually pretty simple when you know what to look for.
• Competitor A: Does not offer transfers to any medium other than DVD. This scenario can mean only one thing - Competitor A uses only domestic DVD recorders.
• Competitor B: Does offer transfers to USB, but these cost more than their transfers to DVD. This scenario means that they use DVD recorders for everything by default, unless you specifically ask to go onto USB & then they charge you extra for the privilege of receiving what is less than our standard product.
So, in conclusion, a simple, indisputable fact...
Transfers onto USB are less work than a transfer to DVD of corresponding quality. This is why RetroMedia’s lowest priced services are onto USB & Hard Drives. The only way that a transfer to DVD could ever cost less than to USB is if the company records your tapes or films on a DVD recorder. Simple, indisputable fact...
RetroMedia’s promise to you:
RetroMedia promise not to use DVD recorders. None... No domestic DVD recorders, no “pro-sumer” DVD recorders.
Let us be absolutely crystal clear about this. RetroMedia will never use DVD recorders on your transfers to DVD. Your memories deserve better than that.
So if you’re shopping around just be careful that you’re comparing apples with apples. - Can you digitise my films in the order I prefer?
For film we only follow the customer's item numbering if we are specifically asked to, and providing that the numbering is recent, clear and comprehensive.
We can't follow old, unclear and incomplete numbering. :)
Unfortunately back in the day people often began with good intentions, so some items may start off being numbered, but then they later ran out of steam, and failed to write anything on half the items.
We label every item with our numbering system anyway, so you'll always be able to match the resulting video file to the original film. You can easily rename the files to something descriptive and memorable, and likewise get the files to run in the order you like simply by numbering/naming in a way that makes sense to you. - About Estimated Timeframes
1) The very nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can slow us up. Also, while we give estimates based on our experience, we cannot predict accurately what problems we might find with your job, or with the jobs ahead of you in the queue. A job full of 10 hr tapes, while not common, can throw estimates out, because all tapes need to be played through in real time, not "high-speed" which doesn't exist for digitizing video.
So it needs to be understood that any timeframe estimates given on regular queued projects are approximations only. We won't be held to any target as if it was a due date. Your project will go in a queue of work and be processed in turn, which is only fair to others who submitted their jobs earlier. More than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
2) The larger the job the less accurate any turnaround estimate might be. More scope for things to go wrong, and for misjudgement of (guess-timated) running times to be amplified.
3) We can sometimes beat our timeframe estimates if you tell us ahead of time if you have an event/deadline. We will always do our best to meet such deadlines if we commit to them, but once again the nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can defeat us. No guarantee is given that we will meet your deadline, only that we will exert our very best efforts on your behalf. Once again, more than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
Or you might choose to jump the queue, and authorise our team to do some overtime to help meet your deadline. We call this Rush Processing. Extra charges apply. Learn more here.
4) Time of year & workload at the time you book in can also affect these estimates, as well as our ability to commit to any deadlines (for example pre-Christmas). Sometimes the best we can do is to complete a portion of your job for you before your deadline. So it can help if you go through your media and prioritise the most important items, which we can process first. Please mention at time of booking if turnaround is important to you.
5) Please don't arrange an event around a target date we've given you, especially if we don't know anything about it. We can't be held responsible for not delivering in time for events that we're unaware of.
- Why do you recommend digital video files on USB rather than DVD?
DVD is a dying medium. Computers are coming out these days without DVD players built in, and you've probably noticed no Blockbuster-type stores around.
This is because DVD is quite quickly being phased out as a medium.
Additionally people think that the files on these video DVDs can easily be copied onto a computer for easy viewing & editing. This just isn't the case. Yes, they can be copied onto your computer, but they will not be easy to view, nor easy to edit. And the quality will be lower than it need be.
But most worrying is that DVDs simply do not last. When they first came out we were all told they were virtually indestructible & would also 100 years. Well they turned out to be VERY fragile in a number of ways, and the 100 year estimate was out by a factor of 10. We see many DVDs dead at 7 to 10 years, If you're lucky maybe 15 years. What a shame that you would bring us a 40 yr, 50 yr, 60 yr old piece of media and we were to give you a digital copy that would last 10 years? What an underwhelming service! So we no longer make DVDs, except as extra copies.
We recommend future-proof Mp4 H264 video files supplied on a USB as the preferred delivery medium. These files are easily copyable & shareable, and while the USB device may someday become obsolete as a container to hold your files, the video files themselves will not. So if you follow good data back-up procedures, your digital video files can last forever.
And so for all these reasons we no longer deliver on DVD. We can make DVDs if you insist as an extra copy - so you will receive your digitised video in both formats - a version that is future-proof and a version that is easy for you to access on your DVD player. Extra costs apply for 2 formats. - How much video can fit on each DVD or USB?
For reasons of quality we'll only put a maximum of 90 mins of content onto a video DVD.
The amount of video that can go onto a USB is limited only by the size of the USB. That being said, the ageing FAT32 drive format that USB flash-drives use has an individual file size limit of 4Gb. So for mp4 files we'll cut the videos into sections so as not to exceed 2 hours, so we can avoid the need to reformat the USB stick and the incompatibility hassles that can cause. - Can I edit after the transfers are done?
Yes. The Mp4 files we deliver can be edited on most editing programs in use today.
We would not recommend editing clips you had delivered on video DVDs, unless that is your only choice. - Is there copy protection on the DVDs you make?
On home movies absolutely not. They're your memories, not ours. Please feel free to copy & distribute as widely as you like. Or we are more than happy to duplicate DVDs for you.
- Do you have menus and chapters on the DVDs you make?
Our basic DVDs are auto-play with 5 minute skip point navigation. We no longer author DVDs with menu systems.
- Why should I preserve our old tapes?
Your family memories are priceless, and irreplaceable. Your wider family probably has thousands of home movies and photos in a variety of obsolete (or soon to be obsolete) formats.
There is a twofold benefit in preserving your memories. Firstly, by keeping a copy of your family videos and photos on USB (and perhaps in the cloud) you future-proof these precious moments in time.
Secondly, it's much easier to enjoy your memories in a myriad of ways with modern technologies compared to traditional analog home movies and photos. You will be able to effortlessly organise, label, and share your memories once they're in a digital form. - Will I get my videotapes back?
Unless you instruct us otherwise, we will return all your analog media along with your newly digitised versions.
If you'd prefer us to securely hold them until the end of your warranty period, and then recycle them we are also happy to help you with that request, at no charge. - What formats of older analog media do your accept?
In the Australian TV format (PAL) we can accept:
• VHS
• VHS-C
• S-VHS (Super VHS) & S-VHS-C (Super VHS camcorder tapes)
• Betamax (aka Betacord, or just plain Beta)
• 8mm (aka Video 8)
• Hi8
• Digital8
• MiniDV and the following Mini-DV format variants: HDV (1080i only), DVCam.
• uMatic (Note: Temporarily outsourcing due to flood damaged equipment)
• Betacam variants in both steel sizes from BetaCam through to DigiBeta. (Note: Temporarily outsourcing due to flood damaged equipment)
In the US/Canada/Japan/Philippines TV format (NTSC) we can accept:
• VHS
• VHS-C
• S-VHS (Super VHS) & S-VHS-C (Super VHS camcorder tapes)
• Betamax (aka Betacord, or just plain Beta)
• 8mm (aka Video 8)
• Hi8
• Digital8
• MiniDV and the following Mini-DV format variants: HDV (1080i only), DVCam.
In the French TV format (SECAM) we can accept:
• VHS
• VHS-C
• S-VHS (Super VHS) & S-VHS-C (Super VHS camcorder tapes) - What material will you not accept?
In accordance with copyright laws, we cannot transfer or duplicate commercial copyrighted material (TV shows or commercially made movies), unless the copyright owner grants permission. By law you are entitled to a digital copy of anything own in an analog form, so permission should be a formality.
To research more on copyright permission, please visit https://www.copyright.org.au/browse/book/ACC-Permission:-How-To-Get-It-INFO051/
Also, RetroMedia will not process any footage that we would consider to be objectionable material. So no sex tapes please! - Half my stuff is not labelled. How will I sort it out?
If your box of analog memories is unlabelled and unorganised you're by no means alone. Most people fall into this category.
No worries though - once RetroMedia have digitised your memories, you can easily go through your files and rename them to something meaningful to you.
Bottom line, in most cases you don't need to watch, organise nor label your analog memories ahead of time. Just bring them in, or ship them as they are. - If my videotape is broken can you fix it?
We can fix almost any kind of damaged tape. We can save tapes no-one else in Australia will even attempt.
Repair charges will apply for any tapes that we receive in a damaged condition, or which break in an attempt to play or clean them.
In cases where a breakage occurs that was not noticeable at check-in stage, we will quote you once we know what the problem is.
We will not generally go ahead & repair a tape without permission.
Tape breakages can affect previously quoted timeframe targets. - What if some of my tapes are in really poor condition?
Over time (from as short as 5 years old), video tapes start to lose the magnetic signal that was recorded onto them. Additionally some cheaper tapes made in the 80's & 90's are of very poor quality and the oxide layer containing the magnetic particles can shed off the plastic backing tape in flakes, falling all over the floor of the tape shell and your VCR.
For tapes that are precious and irreplaceable, we strongly recommend that they be digitally converted as soon as possible. This needs to be done before the magnetic signal is lost forever. When the signal is gone (or if it gets erased accidentally) there is no way to 'repair' that type of damage.
We are one of only a handful of companies who care enough to offer pre-transfer cleaning of the tape's playing surface (so it looks it's best for the transfer), as well as Time Base Correction (TBC) and Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) that can go some way to restoring deteriorating tape.
In summary, while we cannot claim that every tape we attempt can be saved, we have had hundreds of cases where a tape that looked to be in dreadful condition, or displayed only static or "snow" when the customer played it at home, was successfully saved and transferred with a good viewable picture quality.
Emerging Mini-DV, HDV & Digital 8 Format Issues
As time goes by we are starting to encounter issues with the mini-DV format that we don’t see with older analog formats. As analog tapes age the quality slowly degrades. If you leave it an extra year before you get your tapes transferred they will have deteriorated somewhat, but it may not even be noticeable. Its a slow, even decline in quality in most cases.
Contrast this with Mini-DV, Digital 8, or HDV formats. These are digital formats and as such the tape records digital information - ones & zeros rather than an analog magnetic recording of your sound & picture. As deterioration starts you may not notice any problems and then one day it’s either irreversibly corrupted (you can’t get a picture at all) or it starts to show pixelation issues, or there are audio problems.
Sometimes we can reduce these problems through trying the tape on various brands/models of camcorders & decks, and we may see some improvement if we get a good match. At other times no matter what we try, or how many times we clean the tape, the corruption remains.
For more information on our policies & approaches to this emerging problem please contact us. - My tape was jammed in the VCR. I pulled it out and the tape is mangled and crinkled. What should I do?
If your tape is a regular commercial tape, we recommend that you throw away the damaged tape and buy a new replacement on DVD, or just stream it. If, however, the tape is non-commercial and valuable to you, then send it to us and we will rescue it for you and produce a digital video clip on USB, or DVD.
Do not try to disassemble the tape housing and repair it yourself. Do not rewind the tape into the tape housing. Leave it "as is". Tampering with the damaged tape or trying to disassemble the plastic cassette housing may result in the permanent loss of the tape.
If you have already had a go at repairing the tape, please LET US KNOW if you have used sticky tape anywhere on the tape itself. Otherwise we can irreparably damage our VCR or camera when we attempt to play the tape. That will cause us considerable gnashing of teeth. - Why do I need to have a copy made of my repaired tape?
Although we can repair your original video tape, it is not well known that playing a splice over the delicate heads of the VCR or camera could cause irreparable damage to the player.
Additionally we regard a splice as only a temporary fix anyway. Even though we make professional repairs using a professional splicing block and real splicing tape (not sticky tape) we do not guaranteed the life of the repair.
Therefore, we recommend you have a digital copy of your original video made from the repaired tape, and that you play this digital version instead of the repaired tape. - Is it OK to play the repaired tape in my VCR/camcorder?
In most instances, a splice is required to repair the videotape. The splice is quite strong and should not easily break. However, due to the splice, the videotape is ‘thicker’ at that point on the tape. Passing this extra thickness across your video playback heads presents a risk for your VCR or camcorder.
So we do not recommend that you play your repaired tape. We recommend that you have a digital conversion made from your repaired tape, and that you play this digital copy that cannot wear out (or break) instead of the repaired tape. - My tape was accidentally recorded over. Is there a way to recover the original video?
Sorry - but unfortunately the answer is no.
For future reference, if you have an irreplaceable tape, we always recommend making one or more digital back up copies as soon as possible.
Also notice that designed into the shell of almost all types of video or audio tape there is either a breakout tab or sliding tab to prevent accidental erasure. Make sure to use these to keep your recordings safe. - Do you transfer using domestic DVD recorders?
Professionals don’t transfer using DVD recorders. Back-yarders use DVD recorders.
The quality just isn’t there. There’s not enough fine control over video encoding - so you get pixelated DVDs.
Also they aren’t as compatible on the widest range of DVD players in the marketplace, so maybe you get a DVD that just doesn’t work in your player.
Finally, with no editing possible, this equipment lacks the flexibility to give you a tidy finished product. So you’re stuck with an exact copy of your tape, warts ‘n all.
So at RetroMedia, we’ve outlawed DVD recorders.
Competitors usually state nothing about their methods, and if you ask some will tell you what they think you want to hear.
But how can you know for sure what they do?
It’s actually pretty simple when you know what to look for.
• Competitor A: Does not offer transfers to any medium other than DVD. This scenario can mean only one thing - Competitor A uses only domestic DVD recorders.
• Competitor B: Does offer transfers to USB, but these cost more than their transfers to DVD. This scenario means that they use DVD recorders for everything by default, unless you specifically ask to go onto USB & then they charge you extra for the privilege of receiving what is often still less than you will get with our standard service.
So, in conclusion, a simple, indisputable fact...
Done the right way, transfers onto USB are less work than a transfer to DVD of corresponding quality. This is why RetroMedia’s lowest priced services are onto USB. The only way that a transfer to DVD could ever cost less than to USB is if the company records your tapes or films on a DVD recorder.
RetroMedia’s promise to you:
RetroMedia promise not to record DVDs using DVD recorders. None... No domestic DVD recorders, no “pro-sumer” DVD recorders.
Let us be absolutely crystal clear about this. RetroMedia will never use DVD recorders on your transfers to DVD. Your memories deserve better than that.
So if you’re shopping around just be careful that you’re comparing apples with apples. There's a cheap way & there's the right way. - Can you guys handle overseas tapes?
You may or may not be aware that here in Australia we operate on the PAL TV standard, as opposed to the NTSC or SECAM standards used in countries such as the US, Canada, Japan, France, Brazil and some other countries.. If you have tapes either originating in those countries, or recorded on cameras sold in those countries, or if your finished DVDs are destined for one of those countries, you may require TV Standards Conversion.
We can perform TV Standards conversions in most directions for most but not all media formats. We’re constantly increasing our ability to offer these conversions across all media formats. Please contact us to check if we can help you with your requirements at this time.
Furthermore we can perform some of these conversions at two quality levels. Our regular method is very high quality and suitable for most projects, whereas our “Optical Flow” method is suitable for the most discerning clients where the best possible quality rather than the cost is the governing factor. - Can you tell me if my tape is PAL or NTSC or SECAM?
We can tell you what country has which TV standards…
Country List for TV Standards
PAL Countries (PAL = Phase Alternating Lines)
Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Ascension Island, Australia, Austria, Azores,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Botswana, Britain, Brunei,
Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, China (Peoples Republic), Christmas Island, Cook Island, Croatia, Cyprus,
Denmark, Dubai,
Easter Island, England, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Finland, France
Gambia, Gaza & West Bank, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Greenland, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Holland, Hong Kong,
Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Jordan,
Kenya, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Macao, Macedonia, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norfolk Island, Norway,
Oman,
Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal,
Qatar,
Sardinia, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria,
Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tristian Da Cunah, Turkey,
Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,
Vanuatu, Vatican,
Yemen, Yugoslavia,
Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.
NTSC Countries (NTSC = National Television Standard Committee)
Alaska, American Samoa, Antigua, Antilles (Dutch), Aruba,
Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Burma,
Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao,
Diego Garcia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Fiji,
Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana,
Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras,
Jamaica, Japan, Johnston Islands,
Korea South,
Leeward Islands,
Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Myanmar,
Nicaragua,
Okinawa,
Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico,
Samoa, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Surinam,
Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago,
United States of America,
Venezuela, Vietnam and Virgin Islands.
SECAM Countries
Afghanistan Andorra Azerbaijan
Belarus, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi
Cambodia (Kampuchea), Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Peoples Republic), Corsica, Czech Republic
Djibouti
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia
France
Gabon, Georgia, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guyana (French)
Hungary,
Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast
Kampuchea, Kazakhastan, Korea North, Kyrgyzstan
Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco
New Caledonia, Niger
Polynesia
Reunion, Romania, Rwanda
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia Republic,, St Pierre, Syria
Tahiti, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan
Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Vietnam,
Wallis Island and
Zaire - Couldn't I just do this myself?
Thinking of going the DIY route? Maybe you can, and save some money… We’re not going to try to convince you that a simple video transfer is rocket science. But consistently successful, high-quality digitising of analog media does rely on a mix of well maintained, high-quality professional equipment plus hard earned knowledge & experience in using that equipment effectively.
We’ve listed 7 reasons why you may be better off leaving this to the pros.
1: You most likely will not have a tape cleaner for video. These are rare & expensive and can make all the difference. We clean every tape before attempting a conversion. This keeps our professional VCRs in tip top shape for longer, and you get your tape transferred looking its best.
2: Most stand-alone USB converters are of very low quality. It's actually amazing what a quality difference there is between the best & the worse of converters. We have some samples. Challenge us to prove this to you.
3: Most domestic DVD recorders give poor results, and particularly if you don't have much experience in how to get the best our of them
4: If you don’t know what you’re doing you can easily choose less-than-optimal settings & lower the quality of your end results
5: If you don’t have a professional VCR or camcorder, in good condition, you may not be able to take advantage of the benefits such as deck can offer, such as Dynamic Noise Reduction (DNR), high head counts, and time-base correctors
6: You probably won’t have a full frame time-base corrector in your recording chain to rebuild damaged timecode & stabilise your picture
7: If you go & buy all the necessary gear you probably won’t end up saving any money after all, not to mention the learning curve - Why is there a fuzzy line across the bottom (or top, or both) of my video transfer, that is not visible on the original?
This is called "switching noise". It appears in a part of the screen that used to be known as the "overscan" area.
Back in the day of cathode ray (picture tube) TVs, a percentage of the edge of the screen was permanently covered by the Bezel (frame) of the TV. It was simply a limit of the technology of the times.
Same thing for LCD viewfinders on cameras of the time. A frame (bezel) covers the extremity of the picture.
At the same time, manufacturers of recording equipment - cameras & VCR's - had this switching noise problem as limit of the technology, and it was considered within the margins of manufacturing tolerances for them to simply hide this switching noise in the hidden overscan area.
Problem solved.
30 - 40 yrs later, as we digitise your media, we all want the full frame wherever possible. This can sometimes leave you with this jumpy, scratchy line of video noise across the bottom of the screen (most common) but can also affect the top, and sometimes the sides too.
Our policy is that our technicians will crop off this artefact on analog tapes. We do this even though some purist could take us to task about it, because this gives a better looking finished product, which will suit the vast majority of our clients.
If this doesn't suit you, we're happy to customise your order to have no cropping occur. Just let us know at the time of submitting your order with us. - Why does the picture quality on my transfer begin looking quite poor quality, but then get way better in quality for the rest of the tape?
The answer is quite simple. When rewinding the tape back in the 80's, 90's, 00's the bulk of the wear and tear to the tape is in the first few minutes.
Maybe you'd play a dirty rental tape. Then next you'd put in your tape, rewind it & press play. The dirt from the dirty rental tape was then deposited right onto your tape for the first few minutes.
Or perhaps you rewound and hit "record". Now this dirty mess is recorded onto your tape.
The final result is that usually this cannot be cleaned up. With a RetroMedia transfer we always physically clean your tape before conversion, but bad wear & scratches, or scratchy material recorded onto the tape, is impossible to remove even with this physical cleaning.
And we don't remove this piece of your video, as we are not the ones to decide if the nostalgic value of the content (kids, grandparents, etc) outweighs in any instance the benefits of removing this section of the video.
Digital editing software means that if it matters enough to you, you can easily remove this yourself, making your own judgements about the importance of the content vs the benefits of removing it.
We also often see that the end of the tape can likewise be problematic compared to the picture quality of the bulk of the video.
Also, it must be said, that if you see a problem artefact affecting the picture quality at any part of the tape, and then at a scene change that problem disappears, that indicates the the problem was in the original recording. Maybe the heads were cleaned before the next scene was recorded. Or it was recorded on a different day. If a scene change fixes a picture problem, that is definitely a fault of the original recording. - How does your video "Clean + Convert" pricing work?
Rates start as low as $38 for bulk quantities. For all camera formats we charge flat rate. For VCR tapes (VHS & Beta) it's a flat rate for durations of up to 3 hrs. Rates vary depending on your quantities, and the urgency or lack thereof, and in some cases the physical condition the tape is in.
Please note that some VHS tapes (only) may run longer than 3 hours. For any extra time over 3 hrs on a tape we charge $3 per hour or part thereof. Or you may instruct us to stop recording at 3 hrs, or when home movies cease & blank/TV footage takes over.
All our transfers include
• pre-transfer physical tape cleaning, so your tape is transferred looking its best
• 6 months free subscription to our 3VAULT, triple-location data backup service
• 6 months warranty period
• use of a range of professional decks, so we can match your tape to the deck it looks best on
• access to time-base correctors to improve image quality
• access to Dynamic Noise Reduction to lessen picture noise (graininess)
• the security of a bricks & mortar storefront, with the convenience of late trading hours
We offer reduced pricing on large jobs for low priority processing (excluding Pre-Christmas Rush period Nov 1 - Jan 1)
Tried & tested, quality USB brands supply & load at competitive rates.
Contact us if you'd like a comprehensive price-list. - Can you digitise my videos in the order I prefer?
For video we only follow the customer's item numbering if we are specifically asked to, and providing that the numbering is recent, clear and comprehensive.
We can't follow old, unclear and incomplete numbering. :)
Unfortunately back in the day people often began with good intentions, so some items may start off being numbered, but then they later ran out of steam, and failed to write anything on half the items.
We label every item with our numbering system anyway, so you'll always be able to match the resulting video file to the original tape. You can easily rename the files to something descriptive and memorable, and likewise get the files to run in the order you like simply by numbering/naming in a way that makes sense to you. - About Timeframe Estimates
1) The very nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can slow us up. Also, while we give estimates based on our experience, we cannot predict accurately what problems we might find with your job, or with the jobs ahead of you in the queue.
So it needs to be understood that any timeframe estimates given on regular queued projects are approximations only. We won't be held to any target as if it was a due date. Your project will go in a queue of work and be processed in turn, which is only fair to others who submitted their jobs earlier. More than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
2) The larger the job the less accurate any turnaround estimate might be. More scope for things to go wrong.
3) We can sometimes beat our timeframe estimates if you tell us ahead of time if you have an event/deadline. We will always do our best to meet such deadlines if we commit to them, but once again the nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can defeat us. No guarantee is given that we will meet your deadline, only that we will exert our very best efforts on your behalf. Once again, more than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
Or you might choose to jump the queue, and authorise our team to do some overtime to help meet your deadline. We call this Rush Processing. Extra charges apply. Learn more here.
4) Time of year & workload at the time you book in can also affect these estimates, as well as our ability to commit to any deadlines (for example pre-Christmas). Sometimes the best we can do is to complete a portion of your job for you before your deadline. So it can help if you go through your media and prioritise the most important items, which we can process first. Please mention at time of booking if turnaround is important to you.
5) Please don't arrange an event around a target date we've given you, especially if we don't know anything about it. We can't be held responsible for not delivering in time for events that we're unaware of.
- Why should I preserve our old audio tapes or records?
To most people, family memories are priceless and irreplaceable.
There is a two-fold benefit in preserving your memories. Firstly, by keeping a copy of your family audio memories on USB (and perhaps in the cloud) you preserve forever these precious moments in time.
Secondly, it's much easier to enjoy your memories in a myriad of ways with modern technologies compared to traditional analog audio formats. You will be able to effortlessly organise, label, and share your memories once they're in a digital form. - Can you improve the quality of my audio?
Some audio problems can be sorted out just by the quality of the pro equipment we use.
Some other problems can be reduced or removed using software audio tools.
Things like tape hiss or hum, clicks & crackles on old vinyl usually respond very well to the appropriate noise reduction processes. The problems like quiet audio volume can also be an easy fix in some cases.
Some other types of issues such as wind noise, traffic noise etc usually cannot be improved much, if at all.
To learn if the audio issues you have are fixable it's best to have a chat with our head technician after we've digitised the audio & had a chance to take a look at the problem. - My tape is broken. Are you able to fix it?
We can repair almost all types of breakages to audio tapes & the tape shell. Few things shock us these days. We've cleaned/repaired/restored:
• cockroach infested & ant infested tapes
• camcorder tapes chewed up by the family dog
• tapes that went through the 2012 & 2022 Qld floods
• tapes that have mould on them
• tapes that a VCR or camcorder have chewed
• tapes melted in the hot sun
• tapes dropped & smashed
• a tape with a dead lizard inside :(
• tapes that have run off their reels
• tapes where the tape has packed unevenly
• cassettes missing their pressure pads
• tapes that tear due to mould acting like a glue between layers
• and much more…
So don't give up on that precious tape. Chances are very good that we can fix it & rescue the memories.
Repair charges will apply for any tapes that we receive in a damaged condition.
Please note that some types of repairs are not included, such as repairs that require a new donor shell, or breakages caused by mould.
In cases where charges will apply, we will quote you once we know what the problem is. - What formats can you deliver?
Our standard for audio conversions is to transfer to highest quality mp3 files, as they are the most compatible. Or to standard audio CDs.
But we can also convert direct to lossless WAV files if requested, at no extra cost. - I'm not sure what is on my tapes. Can you help with this?
To give a thorough listen through to enable us to report to you what you have on your tapes would actually cost you more in labour than the cost to simply digitise everything. You can then easily go through the digital files, and see what you have. It's easy enough to edit out anything you don't want on an audio file, or you can get us to help you with that.
- How much audio can fit onto a CD or USB?
We can fit up to 80 minutes worth of audio onto a standard audio CD.
An mp3 CD can hold a lot more, but you'd need to be sure that you have a way to play an mp3 CD. This is not a widely supported format in the way that a standard audio CD is..
A USB can hold many hours of material, depending on only the file type & the capacity of the device. - Can I edit the audio after the transfers are completed?
Certainly. Free software like Audacity will enable you to edit your audio file in a myriad of ways.
If you're planning from the outset to edit your material, then you should ask us for WAV files, and then you can down-convert to CD or mp3 once you've finished your editing. - Why should I preserve our old audio media?
If your old media is tape, then it's subject to a whole range of risks for deterioration over time:
• the risk posed by magnets such as in speaker boxes, as well as the risk of accidentally being recorded over
• there is a risk of the emulsion liquifying, causing a problem known as "sticky shed syndrome" usually characterised by an acoustically audible sequel or screech caused by friction while the deck attempts to pull the "sticky" tape through the tape path
• we often see tape chewed up by decks
• some old open reel tapes can develop a "ruffling" deformation
• some old tape just gets brittle & keeps on snapping
• some tape gets mouldy & needs to be thoroughly cleaned
If your media is a vinyl recording the risks are:
• melting/warping from heat & poor storage
• mould growing on the surface
• breakage due to mishandling
• deterioration due to dirt deep in the grooves
• scratches causing skips or repeats
Acetates are bonded to an aluminium core, and the problems we tend to see are:
• cracks in the acetate
• chips of acetate coming loose & falling away, becoming lost in many cases.
So it's best to act as quickly as possible to save old audio formats, before deterioration leads to extra costs, or even to a point where the media can no longer be saved. - Will I get my original media back?
Yes. Your original media will be returned to you with your digital versions at the end of the project.
- What audio formats do you accept?
We currently accept:
• Vinyl records - LPs and EPs, as well as 12" & 7" singles
• commercially produced 78 RPM records, as well as one-off acetates
• Audio cassettes, aka "compact cassettes"
• mini-cassettes, micro-cassettes & steno cassettes, aka "dictaphone" tapes
• 1/4" reel-to-reel audio tapes in stereo, mono & 4 track stereo formats - What media will you not accept?
In accordance with copyright laws, we cannot transfer or duplicate commercial copyrighted material unless the copyright owner grants permission. By law you are entitled to a digital copy of anything own in an analog form, so permission should be a formality.
Also, RetroMedia will not process any material that would be considered objectionable. - Half my stuff is not labelled. How will I sort it out?
If your analog memories are unlabelled and unorganised you're by no means alone. Most people fall into this category.
No worries though - once RetroMedia has digitised your memories for you, you can easily go through them and rename the files to something meaningful to you.
Bottom line, in most cases you don't need to listen to, organise nor label your analog memories ahead of time. Just bring them in, or ship them as they are. - What if some of my audio is in very poor condition?
RetroMedia are known in the business for dealing with even the most difficult tapes. We can clean up and restore most older analog memories.
We work all-day, every day, on old analog formats. Our equipment and advanced processes are among the best in the industry and carefully calibrated to perform the highest quality digitisation possible, given the condition of your source materials. - My tape was accidentally recorded over. Is there a way to recover the original audio?
Unfortunately no. We wish there was. We'd be millionaires if we could answer "yes" to this question. :)
- I left my tape on top of a speaker box. Now the audio is half erased. Is there anything you can do?
Unfortunately no. There's nothing that can be done for erased material.
- Couldn't I just do this myself?
Thinking of going the DIY route? Maybe you can, and save some money… We’re not going to try to convince you that a simple transfer is rocket science. But consistently successful, high-quality digitising of analog media relies on a combination of well-maintained, high-quality professional equipment along with hard-earned knowledge & experience in using that equipment effectively.
We’ve listed 7 reasons why you may be better off leaving this to the pros.
1: Most stand-alone USB converters are of low quality. It's hard to determine which are the good ones, and which do not work properly. Then there's the question of the quality & usefulness of the software they come with. And you need to consider the usefulness of the file format they will deliver - often not the best choice.
2: Most USB equipped cassette decks & turntables are really just cheap rubbish. Very poor quality "compromise" designs that may not even last long enough for you to complete your project! Poor build quality, poor sound quality, as well as lacking options, features & quality in the bundled software.
3: If you're not experienced you can easily either distort the recording, or get levels that are too low, increasing the background noise.
4: If you don’t have a professional cassette deck you may not be able to select the appropriate type of noise reduction the tape was recorded with, or even correctly select the tape type, leading to a "dull" tonal quality.
5: You probably won’t have a compressor/limiter in your recording chain to even out extremes of high & low volume, so you can end up with parts that are very quiet & very loud on the same recording.
6: Once you do get the media digitised, you probably will not have pro audio enhancement software, nor the experience to use it effectively.
7: If you go & buy all the necessary gear to do a good job you probably won’t end up saving money in the end. Not to mention your lost time & the steep learning curve. - Can you digitise my items in the order I prefer?
For audio tapes & records we only follow the customer's item numbering if we are specifically asked to, and providing that the numbering is recent, clear and comprehensive.
We can't follow old, illegible &/or incomplete numbering.
Unfortunately back in the day people often began with good intentions, so some items may start off being consistently numbered, but then they later ran out of steam, and failed to write anything on the other half of the items.
We label every item with our numbering system anyway, so you'll always be able to match the resulting audio file to the original film. You can easily rename the files to something descriptive and memorable, and likewise get the files to run in the order you like simply by numbering/naming in a way that makes sense to you. - About Timeframe Estimates
1) The very nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can slow us up. Also, while we give estimates based on our experience, we cannot predict accurately what problems we might find with your job, or with the jobs ahead of you in the queue. A job that turns out to be full of, say, 1 7/8" speed tapes, while not common, can throw timeframe estimates way out, because all tapes need to be played through in real time, not "high-speed" which although available for analog copying, doesn't exist for digitising audio.
So it needs to be understood that any timeframe estimates given on regular queued projects are approximations only. We can't be held to any approximate target as if it was a due date. Your project will go in a queue of work and be processed in turn, which is only fair to others who submitted their jobs earlier. We are more than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
2) The larger the job the less accurate any turnaround estimate might be. More scope for things to go wrong, and for misjudgement of (guess-timated) running times to be amplified.
3) We can sometimes beat our timeframe estimates if you tell us ahead of time if you have an event/deadline. We will always do our best to meet such deadlines if we commit to them, but once again the nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can defeat us. No guarantee is given that we will meet your deadline, only that we will exert our very best efforts on your behalf. Once again, we would be more than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
Or you might choose to jump the queue, and authorise our team to do some overtime to help meet your deadline. We call this Rush Processing. Extra charges will apply for rush jobs.
4) Time of year & workload at the time you book in can also affect these estimates, as well as our ability to commit to any deadlines (for example pre-Christmas). Sometimes the best we can do is to commit to complete a part of your job for you before your deadline. So if you are wanting material digitised for a hard target date (like an event), it can help if you go through your media and prioritise the most important items, which we can process first. Please mention at time of booking if turnaround is important to you.
5) Please don't arrange an event around an approximate target date we've given you, especially if we don't know anything about it. We can't be held responsible for not delivering in time for events that we're unaware of.
- Why should I preserve our old photographic images?
For most people, family memories are priceless, and irreplaceable.
There is a two-fold benefit in preserving your memories. Firstly, by keeping a copy of your family photo memories on USB (and perhaps in the cloud) you preserve forever these precious moments in time, and save them from further deterioration.
Secondly, it's much easier to enjoy your memories in a myriad of ways with modern technologies compared to traditional analog image formats. You will be able to easily organise, label, and share your memories once they're in a digital form. - Will I get my originals back?
Yes. We will return all your original analog media along with your newly digitised versions.
- What photogaphic media formats can you work with?
We currently accept:
• photographs (prints), up to A3 size (297 x 420 mm or 11.7 x 16.5 inches)
• 35mm slides & negatives
• 126 (Instamatic) slides & negatives
• 110 (Pocket Instamatic) slides & negs
• Half frame slides
• 127 format super-slides
• medium format negatives (60mm wide, varying lengths)
• large format negatives (approx 4" x 5")
• various odd sized box brownie negatives - What photographic media will you not accept?
In accordance with copyright laws, we cannot transfer or duplicate commercial copyrighted material unless the copyright owner grants permission. By law you are entitled to a digital copy of anything own in an analog form, so permission should be a formality.
Also, RetroMedia will not process any material that would be considered objectionable. - Half my stuff is not labelled. How will I sort it out?
If your analog memories are unlabelled and unorganised you're by no means on your own. Most people fall into this category.
No worries though - once RetroMedia has digitised your memories you can easily go through them and rename the files to something meaningful to you.
Bottom line, in most cases you don't need to look at, organise nor label your media ahead of time. Just bring them in, or ship them as they are.
The one exception is for our ShoeBox Scanning special for photos. To get the very best rates with this service, there are some pre-conditions regarding sorting & grouping. See our ShoeBox Scanning page for details. - What if some of my photographs are in very poor condition?
We are experienced in many forms of digital photo restoration, including digital retouching, colourising, colour correction & more. We'd be happy to help you, but it's important we take a look at your image's issues & then quote on what we see.
- Can you improve the quality of my picture?
Yes, in a lot of cases we can improve your picture quality through processes such as:
• Colour correction
• Exposure adjustments
• Dust removal software
• Digital Retouching: Photoshop (software) removal of defects
• Digital Colourisation of black & white or sepia photos
Some of these processes will be included in some of our services, while others are considered to be photo editing and will attract their own charges. - I have no idea what is on my slides or negatives. Can you help?
We can help you by digitising the media into a digital photo format that will be a breeze to sort through.
- Will you clean my media before you transfer it?
Yes, we hand-clean all images either by gentle brushing or air blowing (her both).
Some media may require more heavy duty cleaning, and if we need to do extensive detailed physical cleaning treatments we will quote on that type of work. - What formats can you deliver?
We usually deliver jpeg files on a USB stick. Other options include:
• jpeg files on Data CD or Data DVD
• Tiff files on USB or Data CD or Data DVD
• images made into a slideshow movie, delivered on USB as an easy-to-play Mp4 file, or on Video DVD - Can you digitise my photos, slides & neagtives in the order I prefer?
It is possible for us to follow the customer's item numbering with our flatbed scanning services if we are specifically asked to, and if the numbering is recent, clear and comprehensive, or the items are physically organized in an easy-to-follow manner.
We can't follow old, illegible and incomplete numbering.
We label every grouping/bag with our numbering system, so you'll always be able to match the resulting folder on the USB to the original item's grouping/bag. You can easily rename the files to something descriptive and memorable, and likewise get the files to run in the order you like simply by numbering/naming in a way that makes sense to you. - About Timeframe Estimates
1) The very nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can slow us up. Also, while we give estimates based on our experience, we cannot predict accurately what problems we might find with your job, or with the jobs ahead of you in the queue. Something as simple as job full of extra dirty slides can throw estimates out, as we don't always catch the problem at check-in.
So it needs to be understood that any timeframe estimates given on regular queued projects are approximations only. We won't be held to any target as if it was a due date. Your project will go in a queue of work and be processed in turn, which is only fair to others who submitted their jobs earlier. More than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
2) The larger the job the less accurate any turnaround estimate might be. More scope for things to go wrong.
3) We can sometimes beat our timeframe estimates if you tell us ahead of time if you have an event/deadline. We will always do our best to meet such deadlines if we commit to them, but once again the nature of our business means that we have to rely on some old & obsolete equipment, and sometimes that can defeat us. No guarantee is given that we will meet your deadline, only that we will exert our very best efforts on your behalf. Once again, more than happy to deliver a portion of your job by a date you set, with the balance to follow.
Or you might choose to jump the queue, and authorise our team to do some overtime to help meet your deadline. We call this Rush Processing. Extra charges apply.
4) Time of year & workload at the time you book in can also affect these estimates, as well as our ability to commit to any deadlines (for example pre-Christmas). Sometimes the best we can do is to complete a portion of your job for you before your deadline. So if you have a hard deadline (such as an event) it can help if you go through your media and prioritise the most important items, which we can digitise first. Please mention at time of booking if turnaround is important to you.
5) Please don't arrange an event around a target date we've given you, especially if we don't know anything about it. We can't be held responsible for not delivering in time for events that we're unaware of.
- Is it possible to sit in on an editing session?
We do offer sit-in edit sessions by appointment and subject to workload.
You can be the movie director - our experienced editors will work to quickly translate your requests into a polished finished production. - I have DVDs from a camcorder/DVD recorder that are not finalized., and I can’t play them.. Can you help?
The best place - and in fact the only guaranteed place - to finalised these discs is in the recorder that made them.
Having said that, we do carry a fairly comprehensive collection of different brands of recorders and camcorders here for this specific purpose, and we can attempt to finalise them for you.
The way we work this is that we will attempt finalisation for you on a number of devices. A charge will apply, payable whether or not we are ultimately successful. - Can I have my slides play in a DVD slideshow set to music?
Yes. We can supply your slides in a slideshow movie set to music, supplied either on USB as an mp4 files, or on DVD.
Costs vary according to the complexity of the presentation you are after. A high quality, but basic slideshow (based on a template), set to your choice of music, costs from $199 + 99c per image. Please note that this is exclusive of the cost of digitising images.
These look great, and can be customised, or we can custom design the entire presentation. Additional costs will be incurred, which we can quote on. - Can I have varying types of media all joined together into a special presentation?
Yes. Anything that you (or we) can scan or transfer can be edited into a professional presentation. We can also organise to shoot new footage as necessary. We can produce these presentations for all types of occasions.
- Are my precious items safe in the post?
We recommend you choose sturdy packaging and use trackable Pre-Paid satchels from Australia Post. We have had stellar results with this service. Ultimately though, we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may occur in transit.
When we return your original media we use trackable Pre-Paid satchels. And we will be holding digital copies of your transfers for 6 months as part of your warranty. So in that way there is much less risk on the return journey. Some people add "signature on Delivery" to the package they send us, but we feel it's not really needed when we return ship to you because we do hold those digital copies. But we can add it if requested.
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