A. There is no official agreement on how long a cassette tape will last but videotapes lose their magnetic signal even if they are not played. The quality of the tape, how it is stored and how often it is played further contribute to decreasing the lifetime of your captured memories. Whatever the situation, experts recommend you make a new copy of important tapes every 3-5 years. And all this is without the worry that one day your VCR will 'eat the tape' and ruin it forever.

There is also the likelihood that at some point in the not too distant future you will be unable to replace an irreparably broken video player, leaving you with tapes that you can no longer play.

In comparison, digital media, such as CDs and DVDs, are estimated to have a lifetime of 50-70 years, or more than 200 when kept in perfect storage conditions. DVDs also require substantially less storage than videotapes - let us help you preserve your precious tapes, and help you recapture lost shelfspace!

Digital Media Lifetimes

A. We take every step possible to ensure that your tape will not be damaged whilst in our possession but cannot be responsible for any accidental damage that occurs, or for tapes that are lost in the mail. For this reason we recommend you make a copy of your most precious tapes and use registered mail services where appropriate.

A. You must own the copyright to any video tape contents that you send to us. This should not be a problem with your birthday, wedding, vacation movies etc but we cannot transfer TV programs or store-bought films onto DVD.

Any tapes that we deem would be violations of copyright will be returned to you along with your check.

In order to transfer copyrighted tapes, please send a signed statement that you own the copyright of the video that you are sending to us or that the original owner has given you permission.

A. Because our transfer process is largely automated your movie will not usually be viewed by us. However, for quality control purposes your finished digital product will be screened for problems before mailing.

If your tape contains material of a more sensitive nature, please rest assured that your privacy is guaranteed: we never make copies of your tapes, or release details of our customers and/or the contents of their orders. We are always discrete.

A. VCD stands for 'Video Compact Disc' and is basically a CD that contains moving pictures and sound. A VCD has the capacity to hold up to 80 minutes on a 700MB CD of full-motion video along with quality stereo sound. A VCD can be played on almost all standalone DVD Players and of course on all computers with a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive with the help of a software based decoder / player. The quality of a very good VCD is comparable to a VHS tape based movie but VCD may be a bit more blurry. The biggest advantage over DVD is that a VCD is less expensive to produce.

We can provide a basic transfer to VCD, see the order form for details.

A. A title can be thought of as a complete movie from start to finish. Typically your DVD will have just one title which will be displayed in the DVD menu on your screen when you insert the disc. If you have transferred more than one tape onto a DVD the menu will contain one title for each tape.

A chapter can be thought of as a scene in your title. Your DVD player allows you to step forward or backward one chapter at a time. During our transfer process we will place chapter marks every 6 minutes unless you specify otherwise. For example, you may have a birthday tape which contains scenes of opening presents, blowing out the cake etc. We can put chapter marks at the beginning of those scenes so you can go straight to them on your DVD - no more fast forwarding or rewinding tapes to find your favorite moments.

A. The menu is what is presented to you when you first start the DVD in your player. In Hollywood movies this is usually includes some options such as "Play Movie", "Special Features", "Select Scene" etc. When transferring your tape onto DVD we will create a menu screen containing a button to play your movie.

Alternatively you can customize your menu screen to provide all the features of a Hollywood blockbuster. Menu buttons can be text or any image that you specify, including stills from your tape. Although this service is more expensive than the basic package your DVD will look just like a commercially produced movie!

A. At a wedding or bitrthday party you typically end up with an album of photos of the event - we can put those on your DVD too! Simply send us up to 100 images and we can add a slide show to your DVD menu which will sequence through your stills. If you would like to add a music track, we can do that too. Adding a slide show makes a perfect momento of the occasion.

A. For our basic transfer service you will receive:

• one labelled DVD containing your transferred tape(s)
• one commercial-style DVD case with your title printed on the insert

Titles, backgrounds etc can all be customised with your own designs. You may add music tracks to menus, custom images on menu buttons and so on. See our order form or email us with your wishlist.

A. Due to the volume of orders received we are unable to keep a copy of the DVD we make for you. Often we find that once family and friends see your DVD they want their own copy so, for a small fee at the time of your order, we will archive your DVD to enable you to make future orders.

Note though that we cannot make changes to the DVD contents without you sending us the original tape and performing a new transfer. If you think you might want to give copies as gifts, be sure to order this service at the time of placing your order.

A. Your DVD will be recorded onto a DVD-R disc, the only recording format approved by the DVD Forum. All PC/Mac DVD players and almost all DVD players made after 1999 should play a DVD-R disc but there are exceptions. A list of known models can be found here.

We regret that we cannot be responsible for your particular equipment being unable to play the DVD disc that we make for you.

A. We aim to process all orders with 10 days of receipt. If you have an urgent need for your DVD please email us to discuss expediting your order.

A. Yes, please email us if you want 5 or more copies of a transfer. We will be pleased to offer a bulk discount.

A. Currently we only accept checks or money orders. In order to keep our prices low we do not wish to carry the overhead that a credit card processing server would entail.

A. Your personal information will never be sold or traded to any third party no matter how good a deal we think they might want to offer you. If this policy changes at any time you will be informed and given the option to be removed from our records.