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It is safe to say that transferring film from video 8 tape and it’s later derivatives was probably the easiest medium so far for the home user. Traditionally the camcorder would be connected to a VHS player, the output v iewed on a TV and the film recorded on VHS tape for convenient viewing later. The most obvious problem is the quality drop-off. VHS has a lower resolution than video 8, even lower than Hi8 and far lower than digital 8 or miniDV. Nowadays it is not that difficult to connect your camcorder to your PC or Mac using an analogue to digital converter card or for digital 8, miniDV and microMV simply connect via firewire 1394 which most modern computers have as standard. You only then need some software such as Pinnacle Studio and a lot of time!
So why bother giving your tapes to a professional company such as Timeless Moments Limited? Well there are of course several reasons:
- the camcorder long since bit the dust
- the camcorder works but has several problems, not least it chews up the tapes
- the camcorder image quality is not that good any more due to wear and tear
- some people don’t have the time
- some don’t know how to do it or have the necessary equipment
- and some people simply want the best possible film from their o
 wn footage.
So there are a few reasons why our services and those of our competitors are in constant demand for this type of work. When you remember also that the problems of deterioration mentioned on the VHS page are just as applicable to camcorder tapes you can see why it is imperative that your recordings are transferred to digital as soon as possible.
How can we improve the image quality?
Well for a start we don’t use camcorders to transfer the films. We use only high end VTR decks like those pictured here which can cost many thousands of pounds. Why are they so expensive? Well the reason lies with the on-board components and electronics, the latest VTRs offer digital noise reduction, time base correction, speech frequency boost (very useful for wedding speeches) and a pure digital output to the PC. These features ensure the absolute best quality image and audio available short of a trip to Universal Studios!
What about 8 cm DVDs and HDD camcorders?
Simply send you DVD to us for transfer. For HDD camcorders you may send the entire camcorder, we will transfer the contents immediately and send it back to you by insured Special Delivery.
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