VHS to DVD Transfer

Still holding on to home movies or other films from the 1950's or 1960's?

Often, these films are without the sound that can bring pictures to life. With new technology, it's possible to add a variety of sounds and tunes to previously sound-less films and movies. Imagine the memories that could be enhanced by adding a variety of .mp3 sounds such as:

• Children's Music


• Classical Music


• Holiday Music


• Soft Music


• Upbeat Music


• Nostalgic Music

With DVD technology in the process of replacing old forms of film such as 8mm or 16mm, adding sound to these previously silent films, when choosing to convert to DVD, might be an thought to consider.

A video tape degrades with time because it is made of magnetic media. What you see ten, twenty years later is nowhere as sharp as when the tapes were first created. So, what is the shelf life of a magnetic tape (which includes Betamax, VHS, 8mm and mini-DV)?

If you ask a professional or a photo studio that question, the answer you get can range anywhere between 5 to 10 years. This is because it depends a lot on how 1) you handle it, 2) how you store it and 3) how often you played and rewound it - as opposed to letting it sit for years and years.

You have heard that VHS tapes, and any magnetic media tape for that matter: Hi8, 8mm, miniDv, VHS-C, Super VHS tapes - have a shelf life of about 10 to 15 years depending on the condition they are kept. If the VHS/VCR tapes are not transferred to DVD, the tapes keep on deteriorating to a point where the images fade out completely.

Unfortunately, it may not be easy to find a local video transfer lab. There are online video transfer labs that can do the work for you but too many of us are not comfortable putting our precious, irreplaceable VHS/VCR home movie tapes in the mail. The reason there are so few local on-site video transfer labs are mainly: 1) it's not a hot business for entrepreneurs. The perception is that it's a sunset industry, as our video capture devices get more and more digital, the demand for converting analog tapes keeps shrinking. 2) the lab equipment and lab technicians for this line of work is becoming harder and harder to come by. And 3) local brick-and-mortar VHS to DVD services have to compete with online retailers that charge less.

The video transfer services that exist locally, have been doing it for a long time. Their lab is well equipped, and the technicians are the same people who have been doing it for years. If you live in Massachusetts, you are in luck. Play it Again Video is such a store. They are located in Newton, MA.