Here Are The Most Frequently Asked Questions
You will find answers to the most asked questions here. Click on the specific category in the menu below to see questions relating to the topic selected. Please feel free to email ron@reelbox.com.au if you have a question not found here.
- Billing
- Film Reels
- Memorial Slideshow
- Photo Scanning
- Shipping
- Technical
- Time Frames
- Trouble Shooting
- Video Tapes
Yes. We can digitise all VHS and camcorder NTSC video tape formats into MP4 video files and PAL DVDs. There is no additional cost for this service.
Yes. We don’t copy protect your DVDs. We recommend DVD-R DVD discs.
We always do the best we can to provide you with the best transfer result utilising the best possible transfer methods. Unfortunately old video tapes do deteriorate and are sometimes damaged in VCRs over the years. When tape is damaged, this will result in video that can be a bit jumpy and white noise lines begin to appear. Often to the audio can be affected with aged/ damaged video tapes also.
These lines are called “overscan” lines and are a normal part of old VHS video. Back when we had the old ‘box’ TV sets these overscan lines were hidden from view because the TV would automatically crop the image all the way around. Our modern flat screen TVs display video in a different way called ‘progressive’ which means that we see the whole image without the cropping resulting in the ‘overscan’ lines being visible.
Your computer could require a player that will allow playback of DVDs or MP4 video files. You can download a free player at https://www.videolan.org/
Please contact us if you are still having issues. We keep your files on our secure server for 30 days from invoice date only.
If you believe you may have a faulty USB or DVD, you will need to contact us within 30 days of your invoice date. We can supply you with FREE limited access to our secure cloud server. You can then download replacement files at your leisure. Faulty DVDs will also be replaced at no charge during the 30 day period.
NOTE: Your files will be deleted from our cloud server after the 30 day period has expired. Your items will need to be re-digitised at your expense after this time.
DVD format is Standard Definition 576p MPEG2 video.
You only pay for your order when it is completed. We will email you an invoice and you can pay with any of the following options:
- Online with credit cards including, Visa & MasterCard (1.95% + 30c fee), American Express (3.3% + 30c fee).
- Internet bank deposit. (no additional charges from Reelbox)
- ZIP (no additional charges from Reelbox)
You will receive an email with full instructions at time of invoicing.
Sorry we don’t accept PayPal at this time. We also do not accept Cheques or Money Orders.
We re-master your analog video into easy to use MP4 files using the H.264 CODEC. MP4 is the most universal video file format to date and is compatible with Mac, PC and Smart TV.
Video Tapes, Film Reels, Slides, Negatives & Photos will be each be digitised as individual digital files stored on either a USB or Hard Drive. We can provide you with a DVD copy as well, please note DVD is an extra which will come with the USB version of your media.
USB drives are sold separately. You are welcome to provide your own USB or Hard Drive for a small handling fee of $4.95 per device.
Yes. A PRIORITY service is required when you need to have your order completed sooner than standard time frames or you require it to be completed by a certain date. What this simply means is that you jump the queue and we start your order the day it arrives and have it completed within 14 days.
*Arrangements will need to be made PRIOR to sending your order to confirm availability. Please call us to confirm availability of this service as it can be seasonal and workload dependent. Once your order has arrived at our facility it will go into standard queue times unless prior arrangements have been made.
Costs for Fast Tracking
All Services incur a 25% loading for a Fast Tracked Service
Yes. You are welcome to send us your own EMPTY Hard drive or USB flash drive. There is a small $4.95 (per device) handling charge for us to copy your newly digitised files to your own storage.
Please note: We are not responsible for loss or damage to existing data on your storage medium. We highly recommend sending us blank drives or backup any exiting data prior to sending to us.
Depending on the format you are supplying us to have digitised you would need.
Video Tapes: Approx 1.5GB per 1hr of footage.
8mm / 16mm Movie Films: Approx 150MB per 50ft of film.
Photo Scans: Approx 5-10MB per image
Note: USB Drives hold less than stated on the packaging. ie 8GB USB drives only hold 7.2GB.
No. This is not part of the standard transfer service.
We will simply digitise all the footage that you provide us. Unfortunately there is no fast or easy way to determine if tapes contain replicated or identical footage. This can only be done by watching all your footage through in realtime and then comparing side by side if sections or the entire tape is duplicate.
You can request that we check for duplicate footage however please be aware that this process can be more costly to you than simply digitising all your tapes.
Converting old video tapes to digital MP4 video files brings numerous benefits, enabling you to unlock the full potential of your cherished recordings. Here are some advantages worth considering:
- Preservation and restoration: Video tapes, like VHS or camcorder tapes, degrade over time due to factors such as wear, deterioration, and magnetic interference. Converting them to digital MP4 files preserves the content in its original quality, preventing further deterioration and ensuring its longevity.
- Easy accessibility and convenience: Digital MP4 files can be played on various devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. This allows for easy access to your videos anytime, anywhere, without the need for outdated playback equipment. You can relive those memories with just a few clicks.
- Space optimization: Video tapes can accumulate over time, occupying valuable storage space. Digitizing them frees up physical space and reduces clutter, making your living or storage areas more organized and efficient.
- Editing and customization: Digital video files can be easily edited, enhancing your ability to personalize and improve the content. You can trim unwanted sections, enhance image or sound quality, add titles or captions, and even merge different tapes to create compilations or thematic collections.
- Easy sharing and distribution: Sharing your digitized video files with friends, family, or colleagues becomes effortless. You can send them through email, upload them to social media platforms, or store them in the cloud, allowing others to enjoy and engage with the content more conveniently.
By converting old video tapes to digital MP4 files, you safeguard your memories, enjoy easy accessibility, optimize storage space, customize and enhance the content, and effortlessly share it with others. It’s a valuable investment that revitalizes your video collection in the digital era.
Yes. When your order arrives it is assumed that you have sent us tapes with footage you would like transferred. However few of us own a VCR anymore to check them, so it can be difficult to know which tapes have home movie footage on them and which have old episodes of Neighbours or that fav 90s movie taped from the TV.
We will check your tapes thoroughly for home movie footage, however if we find any tapes that only have TV shows we simply put them to the side with a $5 Tape Checking Fee.
Yes.
We will invoice you for the return shipping costs on completion of your order. Orders under 5KG will be sent back via express post. If your order is more than 5KG we will send your finished USB & DVD separately via express and your original media items regular tracked parcel post.
Basically… we are REALLY busy :-)
Here at Reelbox, our team is committed to giving you the best transfer & digitisation services available. We generally have anywhere around 2000 video tapes, 50,000 feet of film & 10,000 Photos in our order queue at all times.
We believe in quality, so we do everything by hand and we won’t compromise. We want to ensure the best quality digitising experience. The digitisation process takes time. In fact, it is all done in “real time”.
For example: if you have 10 tapes with approximately 2 hours of footage on each, it will take 20 hours to digitise.
Our State of the Art digitisation facility houses more than 50 high speed networked computer systems running flat out all day every day.
Unfortunately, storing films in a dark cool location is not a sure fire way to keep your films from deteriorating. There are many things which can contribute to the deterioration of film, such as:
- The Brand of film
- The materials which that particular film brand uses
- The chemicals used when originally processed
- Humidity
- Temperature
- Harsh Lighting
- Usage & Playback through a projector
- Exposure to water
- Exposure to fire
Just to name a few…
Due to the age of the format there is a good chance your films have already started to deteriorate, in order to keep your precious family memories from deteriorating further we recommend having your film scanned to high definition MP4 video files stored on USB, Hard Drive or ‘The Cloud’. Once scanned, the content of your films will be safe from film deterioration.
Yes, all photo, slide and negative scans can be edited and enhanced once in a digital format. By default we apply a basic colour correction to photo scans, however we don’t offer enhancements or restoration of your photos at our bulk scanning price.
If you’re looking to doing some editing yourself we always recommend Adobe’s Photoshop as it is the most versatile program on the market for photo editing. https://www.adobe.com/au/products/photoshop.html
If money is a little tight, don’t worry. Pixlr X is a free online photo editing platform which you can use as an alternative. https://pixlr.com/x/
No. Some companies claim that this is the best method to digitise video tapes. This is far from the truth. DVD recorders will produce an obsolete compressed video file format called MPEG2 (inside a .VOB container). The MPEG2 format was developed in the late 90s and has been superseded by a far more efficient format called MP4. Companies providing MP4 files from DVD recorded files are actually re-compressing an already compressed file thus further degrading your digital files. While it is true that DVDs are still using this format today, there are far better methods of digitising your tapes.
We can boast 15+ Years of experience and expertise digtising hundreds of thousands of video tapes. We only use the highest grade analog to digital interfaces (no cheap usb adapters) to capture a 100% uncompressed video file direct to our computers. We then compress ONCE only to MP4 at a high bitrate to provide you with the best quality digital representation of your old video tapes.
We wouldn’t be satisfied providing you anything less than the best.
It is very rare that we cannot retrieve any footage from any tape format. In most cases we can rescue damaged footage. If for any reason the tape(s) cannot be played, playback is unwatchable or major issues affecting the audio playback are encountered, we will contact you during the process to inform you of our findings. You then have the option for us to digitise your problem tapes based on our assessment.
Yes. We only remove old recorded TV shows & movies, blank or blue sections to provide you with your valued home movie footage only.
We never remove or edit out home movie scenes.
Yes. By request only.
By default, we DO NOT transfer any TV shows or movies recorded from the TV on VHS video tapes. We only digitise Home Movie Footage unless you have specifically requested us to digitise a particular Tape(s) that has TV or Movies on it.
