Who are some top services for VHS transfer?
 

Hi, i've followed many of the guides and guidelines here for transferring some old and problematic VHS tapes, but was unsatisfied with the results. I sent them to a vendor, which improved on some of the issues but introduced some new issues.

Who out there offers some real know-how and experience in transferring these tapes? (I'd love to go with DC Video in burbank, but they're not within my budget right now. Looking for someone comparable in knowledge and experience, who might end up being a bit cheaper)

Thanks!

We offer transfer services. :wink2:

Great! Where can i find out about rates and services?

If they offer them here then they might not like me telling someone else who does it also...

lordsmurf promoting this site's service is a rarity and I'm glad he's doing it. He rarely recommends or endorses any type of company or service which is understandable since his and this site's reputation is potentially on the line if the product/service is substandard.

Edit: Here's the link to pricing/services

Yes its good seeing him say they will do it :)

Thank you lordsmurf,happy new year my friend!!

What if someone wanted VHS to VHS transfer like PAL to NTSC copy.... (Someone who loves analogue for example)

"Foreign tapes. We can also convert foreign formats (PAL and SECAM) to NTSC, either to a new VHS tape or to DVD."

Assuming that page is still up-to-date.

Formats accepted:
- NTSC
- NTSC-J (Japan)
- PAL
- PAL-N
- PAL-M
- SECAM (non-French)

Output available:
- lossless (Huffyuv, Lagarith, etc)
- semi-lossless (ProRes422)
- lossy (MPEG, H.264, H.265, etc) ... and in whatever container needed (AVI, MP4, MKV, etc)
- streaming specs
- digital formats (VCD, DVD, BDAV/Blu-ray, DV)
- analog formats (VHS, S-VHS, Hi8)

But, as a note, some of those workflows require more work/effort, and costs will reflect that.

For example, a PAL VHS > NTSC VHS conversion could happen multiple ways, with quality varying greatly.
- The most ideal way is to capture PAL as PAL, use Avisynth to convert NTSC. Then to keep the workflow easy, output that NTSC to high bitrate MPEG BD/DVD, and simply record it with a VCR. Aand I'd use my JVC HR-S3800, a real workhorse recorder, to VHS, S-VHS, or S-VHS-ET.
- The easy-but-crappy way is to use the PAL>NTSC mode on one of our Cypress units. Then again, if you want the nostalgia of analog, that's how signal conversion was done in the 1990s.

There are many more abilities that I have, in terms of file acceptance (MXF, DNxHD, etc), and outputs, but it's not something that we advertise. Mostly leftover abilities from my studio days, not necessarily something I want to get back into.

Do you mind if I copy/paste and/or link to your post the next time the subject of transfer service and the proper way to do an analog Pal to NTSC or vise versa? Comes up here or at videohelp? Why have you keep silent for so long? :D

Just link directly to my post. :)
I don't know that I've been silent about PAL/NTSC conversions, just that it's not something that comes up often. Or perhaps it's just not conversations that I participate in? The majority of folks now convert formats natively (PAL as PAL, NTSC as NTSC), and watch worldwide on media players. It's really the best way anyway. The only real need to convert formats is for mixed-content creation, such as documentaries. And sadly, that last group, tends to use lousy NLE conversion, the documentary footage is butchered and sometimes unviewable.

Thank you Lordsmurf :)

Im glad to see all the VHS discussions on our site here..... Alot more than when I first joined here.......

Good seeing!!