This is a great question.
Unlike most other "video transfer services" that are vague about equipment, or pretend to have some special "secret sauce" method, we're completely open about what we use. It's setup that we're quite proud of, and took many years to assemble and tweak into the powerful workhorse that it is today. (And tomorrow, it may be even more powerful, as we keep on top of video tech almost daily.)
If you ever read our web hosting reviews, you'll notice that we're big on quality hardware being used, and of companies that are transparent. And when it comes to what we use for video work, we apply this same standard to ourselves.
The Hardware
Each analog workstation is equipped with:
- a Panasonic AG-1980P
- a JVC 9600 or 9800
- a JVC SR-V10U
- TBC-100, TBC-1000, and/or AVT-8170 TBCs
- SignVideo detailer
- Elite Video BVP-4 Plus proc amp
- Tapco or Behringer audio mixers
- JVC DR-M10 or M100 DVD recorder
- everything has quality wires -- which does NOT mean "gold" or Monster brand!
- dual- or quad-core computer with 5TB+ of storage, with 2-3 capture cards each; one card is an ATI All In Wonder
- multiple Pioneer and Samsung DVD and/or Blu-ray burners
There's also dozens of optional components that are slipped in where needed, when needed. For example, a Panasonic ES10 DVD recorder (for the sync filter).
There's dozens of VCRs, both for spares and for specialty needs. For example, several JVCs are purposely "broken" (misaligned) for troublesome tapes. We can disassemble the VCR quickly (slight custom mod to hardware), and tweak the posts for troublesome tapes. There's also several scrap VCRs here, for repair needs. We maintain equipment regularly, and have a stock of cleaning supplies. Quality VCR maintenance and minor repairs about $900 per year for all the decks.
Although we have numerous capture cards, the ATI All In Wonder cards outperform them all when it comes to consumer analog sources -- VHS, S-VHS, Video8 (8mm), Hi8 and Betamax. (MicroMV needs to be run analog, too. Sometimes even DV and Digital8 needs to be run analog, if the tapes have errors to restore.) We have (or had) cards from Matrox, Canopus, Blackmagic, Pinnacle, Hauppauge, AVer, DataVideo, dozens of "no-name" brands, and even other cards from ATI. The ATI AIW is simply the best here.
And DV should never, ever be used for converting video. IT IS NOT A CONVERSION FORMAT! It was invented for shooting only! And yes, we have DV converters for testing.
Wires always go bad over time, so we stock wires, and throw bad ones away at the first hint of noise.
Professional hardware really is an albatross; "something that causes persistent deep concern or anxiety". That's one of the reason we always tell people to be 100% sure that they want to DIY a project. Because the hardware can be a real nuisance. It's one reason the
video repair forum here is so popular, with new posts made almost daily.
The Software
If you look around digitalFAQ.com, you'll notice that we not only use software -- we create filters AND share them here freely with others. I can't even begin to count the number of "video conversion services" that have downloaded and use our video/audio filters, or DVD/CD/Blu-ray case artwork templates. Simply put, a lot of businesses are only possible because we gave them the tools.
What's always amusing is that many people assume "professional video = expensive software". But when it comes to consumer analog formats, a lot of the software is low-cost or even free/open-source. It's the hardware that is the biggest expense.
... just got a phone call, have to edit this tonight.
