Hey,
I have a lot of VHS tapes that are rotting away. I wanted to know if anyone recommended a online service that restored/converted VHS/VHS-C to DVD. I found a bunch of them such as yesvideo.com but i've heard some bad things about them. I know it would be cheaper to just use a VHS to DVD converter, but one of tapes has its wheel broken and i hoping they can restore the color etc. What do u guys think?
Your best bet is to look locally - shop around, ask alot of questions on their transfer methods (ie. equipment used, process) and cost of course. The best ones will use time based correctors which try to fix any tape issues. They'll also check for colour and audio issues although this can vary quite a bit per tape depending on whether or not you used to transfer the VHS-C to VHS then re-use the tapes again. If so, there will be 'different' recordings on the VHS which are usually not the same in terms of quality and consistency with tape issues. Some companies will say they run colour and audio balance issues BEFORE transferring, but this is incorrect if the tapes does have different recordings b/c not all the 'sections' of footage will require the same corrections.
Also, look for personalizations - some companies will just dump chapter markers every x minute (like every 10 minutes), but while some will go through and put chapters at major scene changes (birthdays, vacations etc...). It's something small, but can be a nice personalized touch.
Finally, take a tape and have different companies do samples for you - say the first 10 minutes and use the same tape for different companies so you have an exact sample to test.
Bear in mind one thing, no matter how good a company is, it does come down to the condition of the original source material.
Best of luck,
Keebler
