What kind of tape do I have?

Did you know the average lifespan of a videotape is only 12 years? If you have important tapes lying around, they may be deteriorating. Donít lose your precious memories - Now is the best time to bring your tapes to Video One for a quick-and-easy transfer to DVD.

So you bought a camcorder in the 90’s and you made tons of home movies. Now your old camcorder is who-knows where, and you’ve got this stack of little tapes you can’t play. We can play them here! Have Video One make those tapes into DVDs so you can see what you’ve been missing.

Or maybe you paid someone ten years ago to take Dad’s old 16mm film canisters and transfer the film to tapes. Those tapes are nearing the end of their lifespan, so it’s time to get them transferred to DVDs. We can do that!

Maybe you’ve got a bunch of tapes, and you’re not sure what kind of tapes they even are. No matter what kind of tape you have, Video One can quickly and easily transfer it to DVD for you.

Let’s try and identify what kind of tapes you have.

Is your tape SMALL?

Audio Tapes

Small tapes could be audio tapes or video tapes.
We can convert audio cassettes to CD or mp3 for only 50¢ per minute.
Got an audio tape the size of a matchbox? Those little tapes are usually made with a pocket voice recorder. We can convert those..

VHS-C

This camcorder format was introduced in the 1980’s. This is a small tape, about the size of your palm, about 1 inch thick. These tapes go inside an adaptor that plays inside a regular VCR. Don’t have your adaptor anymore? Most people don’t. Not to worry, we can transfer your VHS-C tapes to DVD so you can watch them again.

8mm / Hi8 / Digital8

This is probably the most common camcorder tape we get here at Video One. These tapes are the size of a standard audio cassette, but a little thicker. 8mm, sometimes called Super8 (don’t confuse it with 8mm film!) was made from 1985 to 1988. These tapes are either 2 hours or 4 hours. In 1988 an improved version was made called Hi-8. Hi-8 tapes can be anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours long. A format called Digital8 was introduced in 1999. Digital8 is a digital video format, recorded on Hi-8 tapes. Tapes recorded in the Digital8 format can be up to 1 hour in length.

MiniDV

These digital videotapes are the size of a matchbox, and they can be many different formats. The most common is DV, which stands for Digital Video. No matter what format your MiniDV tape is, whether it’s DV, DVCam, DVCPro or HDV, Video One can transfer it to DVD for you.

MicroMV

Did you know there is a videotape format even smaller than MiniDV? MicroMV was made by Sony from 2001 to 2006 and these tapes can only be played in the camera they were recorded with.  If you bring in the camera, we can transfer the tapes to DVD for you.

Is your tape ENORMOUS?

U-Matic or  ¾”

This tape was produced in the 70s through the late 1980ís. It is big and clunky. Very big and clunky. Heavy too. Don't worry, we can transfer it to DVD for you..

Betacam L Size

This is a professional tape format, and it’s about twice as big as a standard VHS tape. We can transfer your Betacam tapes to DVD, no problem

Digibeta

This is a digital format used by professionals. The cassette is blue-grey in color and about the size of a notebook. We send these to an outside facility. We have a one-week turnaround for Digibeta transfers.

Is your tape MEDIUM-SIZED?

VHS

You’re probably very familiar with standard VHS tapes. If you’ve got old VHS tapes, chances are, those tapes are beginning to deteriorate right now. When you bring your tape in for DVD a DVD transfer, most likely the picture will show signs of wear. We can’t promise to make your old tape look better, but we can promise you we won’t make it look worse!

Betamax

On the other side of the 1980’s tape format war was Sony’s Betamax. Beta still lives on today in multiple professional formats like Beta SP and Digibeta, but Betamax is the oldest, reaching back to the 1970’s. Betamax tapes are a little shorter and fatter than VHS tapes, and they usually have a circular window next to a square label. Video One can transfer your old Betamax tapes to DVD or any format you need.

BetaSP

Betacam SP, or Beta SP is a professional tape format that is the same shape and size as a Betamax tape. BetaSP is still used today, and the cassette itself is usually dark
gray in color, with “Betacam SP” printed on the cassette. We can transfer those.

DVCAM

These tapes are smaller and thinner than a VHS, and are usually gray in color. This is a digital format used by professionals. We can transfer and convert DVCam to DVD or any other format you need..

HDCAM

An HDCAM tape is black with an orange lid, or black with a cyan lid for HDCAM SR.
These are masters for HD broadcast TV shows and we rarely encounter them. If you bring one to us, we can find a vendor to transfer it for you.

Bring them all to Video One!

Video One charges just $25 per tape to transfer most tape formats to DVD, for up to 2 hours, and $120 for each additional hour. We recommend putting no more than 2 hours on one DVD, but we can accommodate material of any length. DVDs from Video One can be 1 hour at the best possible quality, 2 hours at standard quality, and up to 8 hours at the lowest quality setting.

Remember, to take care of your DVDs, as they are actually more susceptible to damage than your original tapes! Take care to never touch the underside of a DVD, as the oil from your fingerprint can damage the disc. Always put your DVDs in a case when not in use, and take care to avoid scratches. Once a DVD is scratched, it’s likely to be damaged permanently.

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