How to Choose a Video Conversion Service

Almost everybody has home movies trapped in formats that are hard to view, including video tapes, film reels, and DVDs. Converting your home movies to digital is the best way to view them today and preserve them for the future, but what should you consider when choosing a video conversion service?

Here are ten questions to ask as you consider your options for a video conversion service:

1. What formats are supported? 
   Almost any service will convert common formats such as VHS, Hi8, and miniDV, but do you have rare formats such as Betamax, HDV, or U-matic? Do you have film reels such as Super8 or 16mm? Make sure the company supports all the formats you need to convert.
2. What resolution?
   Converted videos of vintage formats are relatively low compared with today’s technology, but make sure you’re getting the best available quality. For example, most video tapes should be converted at 640×480, miniDV at 720×480, and film reels should be converted in high definition of at least 1440×1080. If you’re getting lower than that you’re losing quality and if you’re getting higher than that it’s probably upscaled and faked.
3. How are projects delivered?
   I worked in the CD and DVD industry for years, and if somebody offers to convert your home movies to DVD I suggest you walk away immediately. Most people don’t realize it, but DVDs are one of the worst ways to store your home movies. They’re slow to use, hard to backup, small in capacity, easy to damage, and prone to decay. On top of that, DVD players are becoming as rare as VCRs. We deliver projects on USB thumb drives (or external hard drives for really large projects) so the videos are easy to access, share, and backup.
4. What file formats are delivered?
   We deliver home movie conversion projects as MP4 digital video files with H.264 encoding. You might not understand the technical terms, but it’s the same universal digital video format behind popular services including Netflix and YouTube. What matters is that the files work on any kind of computer or smart phone and they’re easy to view, share, and edit. If you have a special project that requires something different, make sure your conversion company can support you.
5. What about blank tapes?
   When you no longer have a working VCR or video camera, it’s hard to know if a tape is an unlabeled copy of your wedding video or a blank tape that was never used. At Chaos to Memories, if you bring us a blank tape there’s no charge. And if you bring us a tape of commercial content (TV shows, movies, broadcast sporting events, etc.) we don’t convert it for copyright reasons and there’s also no charge.
6. What about the junk?
   Many video tapes have segments of blue screen, black screen, or static at the beginning and end of each tape. Most “big box” and mail order companies leave all this useless footage in their transfers, but we recommend trimming it off so that you can focus on the memories that matter.
7. How are converted files named?
   Most transfer companies name converted videos something like Tape_01, Tape_02, Tape_03, etc. Those filenames are useless today and future generations might not even understand what a video tape was. Instead, we recommend naming each converted video with the date and subject of the tape. For example, a tape from Christmas 1985 should be named 1985-12-25_Christmas.mp4. When all your converted home movies are named this way it becomes a chronological and searchable home movie archive.
8. How are converted files dated?
   If you convert a film reel from 1964 or a video tape from 1984 in 2024, the date of the digital file will be automatically be 2024. You might understand why this date is off by so many decades, but for future generations this will be very confusing. At Chaos to Memories, we’ve developed a special process that changes the digital capture date of every converted video file to the date it was originally captured. This level of detail is unmatched in the industry, is included in our standard video conversion service, and doesn’t cost you anything extra.

9. Do I get my originals back?
   We think it’s important for you to decide what to do with your original film reels, video tapes, and DVDs. That’s why we return all your original media cleaned, rewound, and labeled.
10. Is there a cloud option for access?
    In addition to a USB thumb drive or external hard drive, we can set you up with a personal YouTube playlist of all your home movies that’s easy to view on your smart phone, smart TV, or iPad. It’s also an easy way to share your memories with family and friends and doesn’t require an ongoing subscription.
    

We love converting home movies for our clients and believe it’s a project worth doing once and doing it right. Learn more about how we convert home movies in this short video and let us know if we can help.

Interested in working with Chaos to Memories?

If you’re near Chicago and ready to get started, come visit our Wheaton Studio Monday – Friday, 10-5. Please bring your memories with you.

Contact us for more information, shipping instructions, and to get started on your project.