Transfer:
The turnaround time for a VHS to digital conversion depends on these factors:
- Length of the VHS tape being digitized
- Speed of the computer processing equipment being used
- Details of the ‘conversion’
- Shipping time to a 3rd party
- Lead time if using a 3rd party
- Level of personal service
There is no ‘one time fits all’ unless the time is long enough to encompass most projects. Some 3rd party quote times in terms of days, while most quote times in terms of weeks.
The Length of a VHS Tape and Turnaround Time
There are a wide variety tape sizes, taping options, and the variable of how much a customer has filled the tape.
A standard VHS tape is designed for 2 hours of video, give or take a few minutes. Shortly after the release of the VHS standard camera/tape system, two additional formats were released: LP, or long play, and EP, or extended play. Long play camera settings can capture up to 4 hours using the same standard VHS tape and up to 6 hours for EP recording. The trade off is that the quality of the video is lower in these high-volume formats since more video information is captured in a smaller section of magnetic tape.
The length of the recorded video matters because VHS tapes must be played on VHS players in real time in order to capture the video to then be digitized.
Not every tape is filled to capacity. For tapes that were used to record TV advertising spots, for example, there could be as little as 30 seconds recorded on a tape. Football games recorded from a TV could be 6 hours long including commercials, halftime, pre-game, post-game, and timeouts. Note that a standard DVD holds about 2 hours unless the video is compressed (lower quality), so a 6-hour VHS tape will typically use three DVDs in a normal conversion project.
Custom VHS tape sizes were also produced for various commercial reasons, such as recording skydiving, scuba diving, and bungee jumping adventures. These custom tapes can be very short because the events that are being recorded are very short.
Speed of Processing Equipment
Unlike the capturing process, which is real time, post-capture encoding depends on the speed of the equipment being used. When the VHS conversion industry first started, a 1 hour VHS tape could take several hours of post-processing time. Modern equipment can process a 1 hour video in a few minutes.
The impact of equipment speed is that high speed equipment can be used shortly after capturing. For slower equipment, post-capture processing is usually performed overnight.
Details of the VHS Conversion
Different options can cause additional turnaround time. For very high quality requirements, both the capture settings and the post-capture settings can be ‘turned up’. The result is larger files captured, meaning more data for post-capture to process as well as for more data for post-capture to produce.
In addition, options such as scene-by-scene lighting adjustments, ‘scrubbing’ the tapes for blank spots between scenes, or custom editing to remove unwanted video all add to overall turnaround time.
Basic editing is included in most high-quality 3rd party conversions meaning that each frame is adjusted to be clean and sharp with no border flutter and the blank tape at the beginning and end are removed.
Finally, if DVDs are the final output, this requires additional time for every DVD to ‘burn’ and label, whereas digital output skips this step and simply copies files to USBs or external hard drives.
Shipping Time
Many conversion services are no longer local. If you choose one of these, the time to ship to the provider and return must be added to turnaround time.
Lead Time
If using a 3rd party digital conversion service, turnaround time depends on the provider’s volume at the time of order. Holidays, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving, will have a longer lead time than mid-summer for example. Order early for Christmas – as early as Halloween!
If no 3rd party is being used, then lead time depends on learning curve, equipment purchase, equipment setup, and then the time to perform the actual conversion.
Level of Personal Service
Are you able to talk directly with the person who is doing the conversion process? Cutting out the middle man can save days of turnaround time. Simple miscommunication between the clerk at the front desk (or the ‘one size fits all’ online order form can add duplicate shipping, turnaround times, and frustration. The fastest turnaround happens when the customer and the actual technician talk directly before starting.
Turnaround VHS to DVD: Next Steps
- Call or text Jamey (About Jamey) at 720 204-5464.
- Set an appointment (every project receives my individual attention).
- Drop off your tapes (and records, cassettes, slides, or negatives, too). Check Pricing!
In a week or less, pick up your new digital conversions.
