FAQ’s
DVD & Transfer Questions
Why do VHS (or other format tapes) lose quality?
Within as little as two years, your video and camcorder tapes start to degrade. Magnetic particles that make up the picture and sound on your tapes will begin to wear off every time the tape is played. If you copy your tape to another video / camcorder tape, the copy will be even further degraded in quality from the original. None of these things happen with a DVD. Transferring your tapes to digital DVD eliminates the threat of losing any more of your tape’s quality. In addition, your DVD can be copied without any quality loss at all. As your original master tape has the least quality loss, it is recommended that you send that to us.
How much footage will fit onto my DVD?
Using our Standard Transfer service (Direct Copy), we can transfer up to 2 hours of one tape to one DVD. However, by using either our Enhanced or Premier Service, we can transfer up to 3 tapes with a total time of 1hr and 30 mins. By using time-base correction and digital noise reduction, we can improve the picture and sound quality of your tapes nearer to when the tape was originally recorded. Prior to being transferred to DVD, your footage is encoded by computer to improve the quality further. The quality is superior to a Standard Transfer, however it depends on your needs and budget which service is best for you.
However, if it is too late and your video is already in a fairly bad condition, unfortunately transferring it to DVD will not repair a degraded tape. The good news is that we are able to have your tape transferred now before it is too late.
Can you put more than 2 hours on a DVD?
While it is technically possible to transfer more than 2 hours onto a DVD, it greatly reduces the quality of the DVD. We do not offer this service because we only use a high quality DVD transfer process. If your video is longer than that, additional DVDs should be ordered.
How long does it take to create my DVD?
This depends on the complexity of your order. Highly customised orders sometimes take longer. We will send you a confirmation email as soon as we receive your tapes / photos / slides. Our turnaround time is usually ten working days, but you should allow up to 28 days in busy periods.
What tape formats do you transfer?
Formats we accept are: VHS, VHS-C, SVHS, SVHS-C, Hi8, Digital 8 and MiniDV tapes. We transfer from PAL and NTSC.
What is a chapter point?
Think of a chapter point as a bookmark. If you order our DVD Menu Option, you can specify up to 8 chapter points. These will allow you to instantly access scenes from the menu, and skip forwards and backwards from chapter to chapter with your remote control. This is much quicker than fast-forwarding / rewinding a tape, and does no damage to your DVD.
Our wedding videotape is a professionally edited tape with various segments and titles. What is the best way to transfer this to DVD?
We can do this for you, but if it was professional filmed, you must get permission from the person / filming company before we can transfer it for you. We would suggest adding a Custom Scene Menu to your DVD, so that you can jump to certain important wedding scenes. This would also allow you to customise your scene index menu with your own captions such as “Ceremony”, “Vows”, “Rings”, “Reception”, “Cutting the Cake”, etc. instead of just having a number menu. The menu can also include a background photo of your choice. A FREE photo scan is include on Premium Transfer orders.
Can you add music to my DVD?
Yes we can. Depending on the music used, we may need to apply for a specialist music licence to use it.
Will my DVD play in widescreen format?
Your DVD will be recorded in the same aspect ratio as your original recording.
Do you transfer NTSC / SECAM video tapes?
We transfer from both PAL (European format) and NTSC (US format) tapes and produce DVD’s in both PAL and NTSC. However, we do make a small charge for transferring from and to NTSC. We may include SECAM at a later date
Do you transfer tapes that contain illegal, adult content, nudity or pornography?
Absolutely not! This is against our company policy and is clearly stated under the terms and conditions found linked in the footer. Also, as clearly specified, when you send in an order, you are agreeing to these terms. If a tape is found to contain any adult content, nudity or pornography, (which is a violation of these terms and conditions) your payment will be refunded – less any postage and handling fees. In addition, we are unable to accept any further orders from you.
Do you rewind my tapes if they are not rewound, and is there a fee for this?
We suggest you send in your tapes rewound unless you have specifically left it at the point you want us to transfer from. But we understand that sometimes customers no longer have their camera or a way to rewind them. In this case we usually waive any rewind fees if there are only a small number of tapes. However, if we receive large orders of tape that are not rewound, there is a £3 per tape rewind fee.
Can I play my DVD in my computer?
Yes you can. If your computer has a DVD-Rom driver your DVD will be playable in it provided you have DVD player software installed (such as PowerDVD or WinDVD).
How do I know if my new DVD will play in my DVD player?
The DVDs we produce will play in nearly every DVD player on the market. We only use DVD’s from Verbatim, the world’s leading disc manufacturer. If your DVD player supports either the DVD-R or DVD+R disc formats, it will be compatible. We are able to produce any format DVD, to virtually guarantee that your DVD will play on your player. Using the online order form, it is extremely important that you request either a DVD-R or DVD+R. If you leave this blank, we will automatically use a DVD-R disc, and any additional costs to transfer your footage to a DVD+R must be paid by the customer.
What if the DVD I receive is defective or damaged?
Each and every DVD we send out is inspected for any scratches or physical defects. We will not send out any visibly defective discs – not even with a small scratch. All DVDs are briefly scanned for video defects. However, if upon watching your DVD, you discover any video recording defects that we may have missed (not physical defects) that are not evident on your original source recording, please contact us and we will re-transfer your tapes free of charge. We only do this after you return your DVD(s) and tape(s) to us for inspection and after we have determined that the issue is not due to DVD player incompatibility.
Do you edit my video at all or take out blank footage?
Your tape(s) are transferred to DVD exactly as they are. We do not edit your tapes or delete any dead footage unless you have ordered custom editing. If you are interested in having any edits done, please contact us for an editing quote.
Ordering and Delivery Questions
How can I make sure my material reaches you safely?
We strongly recommend that all orders sent to us are sent by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery / Special Delivery. We will confirm by email when we have received your order.
Will my material be returned to me?
Yes, you can rest assured that your tapes, photos and slides will be professionally handled and safely returned to you along with your finished DVD(s).
What Payments methods do you accept?
At the present time, we accept online credit card, debit card and PayPal payments. Customers can send a cheque (in UK Pounds drawn on a UK bank) payable to Memories to Discs. Also, we now accept payments direct to our Business Bank Account. In order to do this, you must advise your Bank of your order number, together with our Bank Sort Code and Account Number. If you fail to do this, we are unable to assign your payment to your order.
What if I need help filling out the order form?
We would be happy to help you with any questions you have regarding placing your order. If you need any help at all filling out the order form, please contact us at info@memories2disc.co.uk or give us a call.
Can I order copies of my DVD?
Yes, you can order additional copies of your DVD(s) with your order for £8 per DVD.
Miscellaneous Questions:
Will my material be kept confidential?
The contents of all your material is kept strictly confidential and we respect your right to privacy. At no time will any contents of your material be disclosed to a third party. Also, since our transfer process is semi-automatic, we do not view customers’ videos (besides, it would be impossible to watch all tapes if we wanted to!). Completed DVD projects are briefly scanned for quality and your tape may be reviewed in case of technical problems only. In addition, all information is wiped from our equipment when we send your completed order to you. We do not hold any copies of your material, nor use it for any purpose whatsoever without your direct written consent.
We also hold a DBS Enhanced Certificate (previously CRB Check) last updated – July 2016.