Archive VHS video to DVD

Tapes are a pain.

Compared to DVD discs, videocassette tapes take up more shelf space, break and get stuck in the recording unit more often, offer lower video and sound quality, waste your time cueing up, don't play on computers, don't travel well in person or in the mail, and never, ever impress the neighbors.

Tapes are a pain.

Compared to DVD discs, videocassette tapes take up more shelf space, break and get stuck in the recording unit more often, offer lower video and sound quality, waste your time cueing up, don't play on computers, don't travel well in person or in the mail, and never, ever impress the neighbors.

Bring us your old home movies and video tapes - we'll transfer them to DVD for you. VHS, VHS-C, BETA, 8mm video, Mini DV, and of course, your old 8mm and 16mm movies. Here is more information about our Video to DVD Transfer services.

We'll put your video onto a Platinum Archival DVD.

Every DVD has scene selection "smart chapter markers". Our proprietary DVD Deluxe system detects where your video camera stopped and started or the scene changed. Chapter markers are placed at these points so you can easily skip through your finished DVD.

Are you looking for quality Video Services in Westfield, New Jersey? Look no further than Home Video Studio for all your video service needs. We do Photo montages, Photo Keepsakes, Photo Videos, Duplication services, High concept videos, Home movie transfer, Conversion PAL to NTSC, Sports scholarship videos and more.

HomeVideoStudio.com/dan

908-301-9300

March Madness Scholarship Videos Highlight Mad Skills

The NCAA College Basketball Tournament is arguably the "crown jewel" of all college sports. It features the best of the best that collegiate athletics has to offer. Even the casual fan is swept up in its drama, destiny and, once in a while, an unlikely Cinderella story. That's why its called March Madness!

Did you know that most of the athletes you will see attend college on scholarship? Do you have a student athlete who is gifted in any sport? Are you aware that more and more coaches depend on video to begin the scholarship selection process? Scholarship videos are a specialty at Home Video Studio. The action and excitement of athletics is the stuff of great video and we have the experience, equipment and expertise to present your child's talent on a silver platter.

In a world of college athletics vying for scholarship money may be one of the biggest competitions your student athlete may face. And like any champion they need an edge! Here are a few tips we have found in our experience of producing Sports Scholarship Videos:

•  Coaches use DVDs to evaluate skills that can help their team win. Make it easy for them!! Your video should be clear and of good quality.

•  A Sports Scholarship video is not unlike a resume. It needs to be concise and portray a candidate's abilities quickly.

•  One of the first things, if not the first thing a coach needs to see is the athlete's information, including name, school, position, uniform colors, jersey number and current grade level. And don't forget your contact information! What if the coach wants to offer a full ride scholarship and can't call you?!

•  Don't forget sports statistics and academic statistics such as awards, accomplishments, planned college major, SAT or ACT scores, etc.

•  You might include references from coaches and teachers or expert evaluations from scouts or other respected figures.

•  Use your best highlights first. And use highlight tools like arrows, mattes, etc to isolate the athlete. Never repeat a play or show it from a different angle - no matter how good it was!

•  Make sure player is presented as well-rounded. Not just all offense or all defense, for example.

•  Most coaches like to see, besides a highlight DVD, a whole game. Put one or two whole games, edited down to just sports action (eliminate time outs, cheerleader routines, etc) after the highlight section, or better yet, consider a separate disc for the whole game(s).

•  Finally, don't forget the packaging. A book is judged by its cover! The greatest Sports Scholarship video in the world might be passed over if the packaging isn't appealing.

Just like a sports competition you may only get one chance in the Sports Scholarship arena. Make sure you do it right! As you can see, there's a lot that goes into a Sports Scholarship video. We daresay more than you may feel comfortable doing yourself! That's why we're here. We are able to provide all the above necessities to present your student athlete in their most favorable light - from shooting your athlete in action to using your video to edit or any step along the way. Call us today 908-301-9300!

HVS Westfield Website:

Video Tape is Dangerous . . . to your memories.

All forms of "Visual Media" are subject to a limited life span. The hidden danger of video tape is the relatively quick degradation of the tape and the signal recorded on it. For your convenience we have included a table below from the www.filmpreservation.org website that provides a limited guideline for preservation of most of the visual media you might have around your house.

Let's focus on VHS video tape for the moment. It was first introduced as Sony's Betamax format in 1/2" cassettes with a 60 minute record capability. It was never designed to archive "family memories" - it was born to be a cheap distribution medium in the late 70's for commercial/industrial training materials. The average shelf life is estimated to be around 5 -10 years* before it is rendered useless from various factors.

Close behind Sony, JVC followed with a lesser quality offering called VHS. (Video Home System) In VHS format the way the signal was recorded made for less picture quality than Betamax, but a two hour recording capability was a prize feature, so we as consumers adopted this system. This gave rise to inexpensive video cameras and recorders and home-based videography was launched.

The good news is we now have precious, never to be repeated memories captured. The bad news is that it's stored on what was never meant to be a long term storage solution, but rather an inexpensive and reasonable industrial distribution medium.

Your fondest "memories" now exist solely on a disposable by design medium . . . who knew?

What can you do?

It's simple! Take all of your old VHS tapes with kids, weddings, sports, pets, family and travel memories to your nearest Home Video Studio and have them transferred to a Gold Archival DVD. This is a real storage solution because our 24k Gold Archival DVD is rated to last for 100 years. This DVD is so tough that you can scratch it with a nail and it will still play.

Now, let's not forget that we can also organize and edit these tapes together and tell a more specific story. So think about how you might add to the family tree/archive with these old treasures and then distribute those to the rest of the family.

And even if you had Umatic 3/4" or 1/2" Betamax tapes there are still resources at Home Video Studios to capture those to DVD.

Sure it's another thing on your "to do" list, but it's a very important one, as it involves something totally irreplaceable . . . your memories.

As you are preparing your tapes to be transferred to Gold Archival DVD here are a few tips you need to know:

How to Handle Your Video Tapes

•  Never touch the tape itself. Hold it by the side of the cassette

•  Rewind the cassette before storing it.

•  Keep away from curious kids; avoid dropping or banging the tapes.

•  Keep cassettes away from magnetic fields (Top of the Old TV)

•  Don't leave a cassette in the car where it will be exposed to heat and cold

•  If using a new cassette and it's still cold, let it warm up to room temperature.

•  Occasionally fast forward and rewind a tape that's being stored a long time.

How to Store Your Video Tapes

•  Store in conditions that are stable, cool and dry.

•  Stay away from hot, humid and dusty.

•  Store cassettes in the cassette case.

•  Store your tapes vertically and not flat to distribute the gravity pull equally, stably and avoid edge damage.

And from the www.filmpreservation.org site we get the following information:

Chemical decay is due to spontaneous chemical change. Fading of color dyes in photographs and degradation of binder layers in magnetic tape are examples of decay caused by chemical reactions occurring within the materials themselves. The speed of these reactions depends primarily on temperature, but moisture also plays a role. In general, the warmer the temperature of the storage area, and the higher the Relative Humidity, the faster the media collection will be affected by chemical decay.

Excessive dampness is a very serious environmental threat to media collections because it contributes not only to mechanical decay but to biological and chemical decay.

Excessive dampness is a very serious environmental threat to media collections because it contributes not only to mechanical decay but to biological and chemical decay as well.

Home Video Studio's website.