DIGITLY REMASTER tapes to hd then put onto a usb stick done in 5 steps

[elm]

HI to everyone I have got a question I need to ask

right I came across this site www.alivestudios.co.uk and they DIGITLY REMASTER all types of tapes to hd then put it on a usb stick.


I have had a look on there site it is done in 5 steps but it only shows you a picture of all the stuff that is used it does have a bit of text but it does not say what the 5 steps are.


I know that last step is a usb stick my guess is when the 4 steps are done the 5th step is a usb stick but what are the 4 steps used on the site.

here is a link to the site which tells you the 5 steps
https://www.alivestudios.co.uk/video_workflow

I have also upload the picture from the site which tells you the 5 steps so can anyone please help me.

with this what are the 4 steps that is used to DIGITLY REMASTER tapes to hd

[davexnet]

The steps are somewhat obvious. You tell them what output format you want,
and any custom editing you might want. They create a file and send it to you on a USB stick

The steps follow a logical order if you think about it. Why don't you send them a tape
then you can report back to the forum on the results.

Or dd you plan on buying the equipment and doing it yourself?

[elm]

yes that is what I was thinking is buying the equipment and doing it myself cos I have got some family videos vhs.

and I don't really want to send them off in case they get damaged or lost in the post so I was thinking about doing it myself.

but I need to know the 4 steps I know that the 5th step is gonna be something like this the file is put on a usb stick then posted to you.

I think that might be the last step so I only need to know what is used in the 4 steps cos I did message.

them and ask and I said what is used in the 4 steps but they still have not got back i just need to know the 4 steps so i can buy the equipment

[smrpix]

You are aware that the Teranex boxes run $1200 - $1600 and the tape cleaners are 10 to 15 grand, right?

[manono]

He also seems to think the "Edit and Restore" part involves opening the video in a simple program with the fully restored output popping out when done, as if it's some sort of an automated process. You can't solve that one with money. You might actually have to learn something and put in some serious time.

Any idea what these folks charge for their services?

[lingyi]

The pro decks they use (if they really use pro decks for all their work), had to have been either constantly correctly maintained or restored - $$$ since they're long past their intended lifespan.

And the filtering and color corrections they show aren't done automatically in the capture device. lordsmurf explains it well in the other thread you posted in:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/391017-VHS-conversion-to-digital

"There's really no magic to capturing well. The primary obstacle is buying/using/maintaining the right hardware. And time, LOTS of time. Patience is required. When you see an error, try to fix it, don't just accept it. Experience helps, of course, but people like me help others navigate through it. What makes capturing harder is arguing the wisdom freely given by others that have been there, done that. This is a learned skill, and not much difference from photography."

[JVRaines]

Tape cleaning is not routine. Cassette videotape is extremely thin and should be left alone unless it is shedding or contaminated. "Cleaning" a shedding tape actually removes material and there is a risk of damaging the recording.

Of course you need a deck to play back the tape. The machine must be capable of handling any special signal formats, it must be in good repair, and it is advantageous for it to have well-designed time base correction, noise reduction, and dropout compensation.

A Teranex upscales the single-definition image coming from tape to a high-definition format. This can be done just as well in software, or not done at all, leaving the scaling to display hardware. There is no reason to invest in a Teranex unless you need real-time scaling.

Editing and "restoration" (which is really enhancement or remastering) are complicated software processes which require considerable expertise. You should always keep an untouched copy of the original digital conversion no matter how much editing or enhancement is performed.

The output format can be conventional compressed AVC/h.264 and AAC streams in an MP4 file for everyday use. However, if you want to meet serious archival standards, you should also keep a copy of the original conversion in uncompressed or losslessly-compressed form such as FFV1 and WAV streams in an MKV file.

[smrpix]

He also seems to think the "Edit and Restore" part involves opening the video in a simple program with the fully restored output popping out when done, as if it's some sort of an automated process. You can't solve that one with money. You might actually have to learn something and put in some serious time.

Any idea what these folks charge for their services?

They say £60 - £120 per tape depending on format.

[DB83]

What struck me is they are charging £65 per tape for the first 9 and £55 thereafter. But whether it's one tape or 10 if they are really doing these processes then each tape will take the same amount of time.

Substantially more expensive than other services I checked some time back (£25 or so per tape). And you do not always get what you pay for.

[manono]

They say £60 - £120 per tape depending on format.

Thanks for that. I apologize for being too lazy to visit the site and read up on it.

[lingyi]

The more I read on the site, the more I suspect their claims are dubious at best, especially their blog https://www.alivestudios.co.uk/blog/ from which I've pulled a few choice excerpts.

"Betamax Video Colour Correction Example

On the left you can see the Betamax tape playing on a normal video player without any colour correction. On the right we are using our remastering deck to stabilise the image, then I have carried out various stages of colour correction to bring the picture back to a more natural and realistic state.
This level of remastering and colour correction is standard on all video tape transfers carried out here at Alive Studios."

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK5TGphPF30

"Video Tape Cleaning Example

Old video and camcorder tape formats like VHS, Betamax, Hi8 etc. can suffer from dirt, debris and even mould stuck to the ribbon, as shown in the photo to the right taken from a customers job recently. This causes the picture to skip, bounce, and have distracting interference such as lines and white fuzzy flecks.

One of the things that makes our transfer superior to others is the cleaning process we undertake prior to transfer. Our decks also feature continuous cleaning even as the tape is being transferred.The result is a much smoother, less jumpy and cleaner image." Bold - my emphasis.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=46NbLxVR8FA

And from the page the OP linked to:

"At Alive Studios you will be assigned a personal editor from our small team of experts, each of whom have a minimum of 10 years experience in restoring archive film."

Because we all know how well knowledge of film restorations techniques work on home videos.

And finally, their instructional videos:
https://youtu.be/iIKjaDLSvm4
https://youtu.be/2jmc_ndP5c8

They may be experts at video restoration, but they fail at editing, video composition, lighting and audio. I especially like the tan the woman gets in the second video!