VHS, Betamax, cine film and other conversions
Most of us have got a lot of video tapes, and chances are you're finding that you play them less and less, as the convenience and flexibility of DVDs has taken over. But by converting your existing videos to DVD, you can enjoy all your old favourites without having to buy new ones.
It's the same with cine and other home filming formats. Why let your favourite family moments sit in a cupboard gathering dust when we can easily convert them for you? Home movie conversion makes a great present too, especially if you add a special cover or artwork!
VHS to DVD conversions
| Service | Price |
| Straight copy to DVD with no separations* | £12.50 |
| Each Separation** | £5.00 |
| DVD Case | £1.50 |
| DVD Case with Custom Artwork | £3.50 |
| Extra copies | £2.50 each |
*This Price includes your first copy of the disk and a wallet
** Separations are when you have two or more films or programmes on one tape and you'd like to separate them. Please make clear before we start precisely what you want separated and how.
Converting other formats
We can convert almost any format for individual prices, please contact us.
Here's a quick look at the various conversions we can handle especially useful if you're not sure what you've got!
Cinefilm
- Photographic film wound on a spool
- Used in a movie camera
- One of the first ways to capture special memories, replaying them on a home projector
Betamax
- First consumer videotape, introduced by Sony in 1975
- The tapes hold a maximum of just over 4 hours
- These were used in the first available consumer camcorder, the Sony Betamovie, in 1983
VHS & Super VHS
- Introduced in 1976, VHS was the standard home video until about 2003
- Most VHS tapes are in SP mode (2 hours), EP mode (6 hours), or LP mode (4 hours)
- A higher quality version, the super VHS, was introduced in 1987
VHS-C & Super VHS-C
- Compact tape, introduced in 1983
- Recording time 40-120 minutes, depending on quality
- Inserted into a small adapter tape and played in VCR
- Became popular due to relative small size of the camcorder, the S-VHS-S, alongside the S-VHS from 1987
Video8
- Released by Sony in 1985 to counter the popularity of VHS-C
- Called the 8mm after the width of the plastic tape, not to be confused with 8mm film
- Video8 could record 2 hours on one tape
- The main drawback was it could not be played in the VCR
- The Video8 was a success due to the size of the Video8 camcorder and the high quality of the video compared to VHS
Hi8
- Hi8 was the response to the S-VHS format
- Exactly the same size as a Video8 tape, but offered better picture quality
- Hi8 is still considered a
Digital 8
- Same size as the Video and Hi8
- Introduced in 1999 and used the DV codec, just like the MiniDV- the pair are indistinguishable in terms of picture quality, and both hold 60 minutes of video
- Due to the larger size of the Digital8, the MiniDV became the accepted standard
MiniDV
- After its introduction in 1994, the MiniDV remains the dominant format for home and semi-professional video production
- Smallest size tape just 120x90x12mm
- Perfect for editing, because it suffers little dubbing loss
- It can show less detail due to the nature of digital compression
DV and DVCam
- Format is similar to the MiniDV - DV and DVCam are larger tapes and mainly used in professional video production
- Developed by Sony and subject to fewer video dropouts
- Plus, we can convert DVCPro, the Panasonic DV variant
MiniDVD (camcorder DVD)
- Introduced to take advantage of the popular DVD format
- 8mm in size - half the size of a regular DVD
- Can record 30 minutes of good video quality or up to 2 hours at lower quality
- Convenient for camcorder use but won't play in many DVD players
Other formats
- We can also convert Phillips 1500, 1700 and 2000, U-Matic, Betacam and Betacam SP
VHS and other media conversion in Reading and beyond find out more now
Whatever VHS or other format you have, don't let it go to waste. With DVD conversion, you can easily watch your favourite films, programmes or home videos, wherever you are. For more details, simply contact us
Fine Images Print & Promotion, based in Three Mile Cross, Reading, Berks and covering all of Berkshire and beyond, including Wokingham, Maidenhead, Slough, Bracknell and Newbury . For printing, scanning, media conversion, photo books, photo restoration, book keeping and other office services.