Starting a new project

[jmofosho]

I've been reading on here for a couple of days and the amount of information has been very informative. I apologize if my question is ignorant or has been posted here before but I am planning on starting a local VHS to DVD conversion store. At the moment I am converting my relatives videos to get the feel for the editing and amount of time.

-I am currently running a Mac
-Have a basic VHS player
-Use Encore for editing and DVD Menus
-Have a ADVC 110 for my transformation

I have been able to do everything but my biggest concern is time. Currently I am recording around 8 hours of VHS and it takes around 10 hours to record all of this to my Mac. After that I have to send this stuff to Encore for the other DVD conversions (DVD menus, etc.) which alas takes more time.

My main question is: What would be a good plan to service more than one client without it taking a couple of days? I want to be able to do this professionally and to do this for many customers. Right now it looks like I can only do a couple a week. I also want to do the best quality of work for clients.

My only idea right now is to purchase DVD recorders and VCR's. I've thought about pulling a James Bond and try to find a local place to see what they do.

It seems like everything else time is the biggest factor. I appreciate any insight/feedback or any reading materials that can help educate me on my options. Once again I apologize if this question is too vague or ignorant.

[filmboss80]

Make sure you don't fall into the trap of prioritizing you own comfort zone over giving customers the best possible service. If you are to make this an actual business, then you will need high quality gear that maximizes efficiency. As you have guessed, a basic VHS player will not cut it, as there will be people bringing in all kinds of old recordings that will require a heavy-duty tape transport system and time base correction. Something like a Panasonic AG-1980 S-VHS unit would be good to start with.

You are correct in assuming that the quickest and simplest means of putting out a DVD from a VHS source would be to skip the computer capturing route and just feed the VHS video signal into a dedicated DVD recording deck. As a alternative, whenever clients need editing and the addition of narration, music, etc., you can tell them it is a longer turn-around (and a higher cost). Only for those more complicated projects would you capture to your computer. Encore is DVD authoring software, not a video editing program. You will need to acquire something designed specifically for video editing before taking the project into Encore for authoring. Final Cut or Premiere would be needed for a Mac-based system.

I am hard-pressed to ever encourage anyone to start a business without first learning all the ins and outs of the craft. It does a great disservice to the customer and will result in you garnering a bad reputation. And so, I hope you continue to study and learn before you open your doors of business.

Good luck.

[jmofosho]

I really appreciate the response. Say I follow all the steps and get the most efficient equipment and hone up on my video knowledge. If I had 8 hours of video, how much time could I cut off the 10 hours of recording?

Basically with all the knowledge and equipment would it be possible to get a couple clients done in one day?