Help / FAQ

General Questions

Ordering and Shipping

Technical

Q. How does this whole process work?

A. The process is as follows:

  1. You submit your order via this website.
  2. You are given an email receipt which includes shipping instructions.
  3. You label, pack, and ship your tapes to VidiSave.
  4. We send you an email when your shipment has been physically received at our office.
  5. We send you an email when we begin to process your order.
  6. We send you an email when we ship your order, which includes your UPS tracking number and expected delivery date.
  7. You enjoy your new DVD's, etc...!

Q. Do you offer a money back guarantee?

A. If you are not satisfied with the quality of your DVD's, VidiSave will issue a full refund (less shipping costs, if any) upon the return of all undamaged DVD's, original cases, and labels/case inserts. The refund request must be made within 30 days of the date we ship your order and is void thereafter. Refund requests are limted to $250. If you have an order greater than $250 and are concerned about quality, please send a small test order first. This policy excludes the cost of any customer requested tape repair and transfers to external hard drives.

Q. What tape formats do you accept for conversion?

A.  We currently accept VHS, VHS-C, SVHS, Video8 (aka 8mm), Hi-8, Digital8, and MiniDV tapes. We do not currently accept PAL or SECAM tapes (PAL and SECAM are formats used outside the United States.)

Q. Do you convert film reels or slides?

A. We do not currently offer film or photo slide conversion.

Q. Do you accept PAL or SECAM tapes?

A. No, we do not accept PAL or SECAM videotapes at this time. PAL and SECAM are video standards used in many places outside of the United States.

Q. Can I request that you only transfer a portion of my tape?

A. Absolutely. Just provide us with the in and out time as shown by a VCR (or camcorder) display and a short description. For example, "Start at 5:00 (where the lady in the red hat enters) and end at 1:12:30 (where the scene changes from a park to a house)". We request a short description because your counter and our counter may not accurately report the same elapsed time. Providing the description ensures an edit at the appropriate point. It should be noted that we edit the static from the beginning and end of each tape by default. Additionally, if your tape is being transferred to DVD we also remove 95%-100% of static/blank/blue space between clips.

Q. Does anyone watch my tapes? Are my tapes kept private?

A. It is our policy not to watch client video, but we will see portions of your video. The distinction is that any video we see is purely incidental to the task of transferring from analog to digital. For example, we may check short portions of the video to make sure the conversion was performed correctly. In addition, we will see portions of the video during the editing and DVD creation process. In every case your video is kept private.

Q. Do you keep copies of my video?

A. In order to facilitate the ordering of additional DVD copies after your initial order has been shipped, a digital copy of your DVD will be kept for 15 calendar days (we do not keep copies of video transferred to an external hard drive.) After the 15 day period has expired the digital copy is destroyed.

Q. Can I submit copyrighted materials for conversion? Can I submit my VHS movie collection for conversion?

A. It is a violation of Title 17 of the United States Code to reproduce copyrighted materials without the written consent of the copyright holder. VidiSave is unable to accept copyrighted materials for digital conversion unless written authorization from the copyright owner is provided. If we receive copyrighted material it will be returned with a refund, less return shipping and a $1 processing fee (per tape.) Examples of copyrighted tapes are Hollywood movies, television programs, sporting events, and instructional videos (the law applies to store bought tapes and tapes you have recorded at home from your TV). The basic rule of thumb is this: If you bought it or recorded it from the television, its probably copyrighted. Please note that if you have home video on the same tape as a recorded TV program we can still accept your order. We will simply edit out the unwanted TV footage from your video.

If you are able to obtain written authorization, or if you are the owner of the copyright, authorization must adhere to the following requirements:

  1. Authorization must be written.
  2. It must specifically state who is granting authorization (a person or a company) and that they are the lawful owner of the copyright.
  3. It must specifically grant us (VidiSave, Inc.) authorization to reproduce "Title X" (insert your title here) tape.
  4. It must specifically state the total number of copies authorized to be created.
  5. It must be signed and notarized.

Q. What should I do with my tapes after I have them transferred?

A. We advise that you keep your tapes. Imagine the worst case scenario: You threw your tapes away after they were transferred to DVD(s), but now your DVD(s) is damaged due to scratches, mishandling, fire, etc... Now your video is lost forever! To avoid this situation VidiSave recommends the following.

  1. Keep your tapes in storage (in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight (not your basement as it is usually too humid) for later use - This is the simplest solution, but it has one major drawback - videotapes degrade over time. If your DVD becomes damaged 10 years from now and you remove your tapes from storage for re-transferring, it is very possible that the video on your original tapes will be significantly reduced in playback quality.
  2. Order additional copies of your DVD(s) - Ordering extra copies give you peace of mind knowing that your memories have a greater chance of being passed on to future generations. If your DVD(s) becomes damaged (scratched, mishandled, fire, etc...) you can simply replace it with the backup copy. Some people even find it prudent to store their backup copy in a bank safe deposit box or some other secure and fireproof location. Additional copies can be requested with your initial order or for up to 15 days from the date we ship your completed order. Copies are priced as low as $5.00 each.

Q. How do I order?

A. We have designed the ordering process to be as easy as possible while still offering the ability to customize your order. To get started, click "Services/Pricing" from the main menu at the top of your screen, or click here.

Q. What is your turnaround time?

A. We generally ship your order 3-9 business days after receiving your tapes, depending on the size of your order and the number of orders ahead of yours. Large orders (15+ tapes) may take a few days longer. With all orders, please allow an additional 1-5 days for return shipping, depending on your shipping method.

Special Note: During the holiday season (our busiest time of the year), turnaround times can be longer than usual. Thank you for your patience.

Q. Can I request rush processing?

A. Yes. You can receive rush processing for an additional $10 per tape. Rush processing will guarantee your order is shipped within 1-2 business days of the date your tapes are received (our regular turnaround time is 3-9 business days). Rush processing can be selected during checkout.

Q. How much does return shipping cost?

A. Return shipping costs are determined by your zip code, the estimated weight of your package, and the shipping method selected (UPS Ground, UPS Next Day Air, etc...). You can determine your return shipping charges at any time by using the shipping estimator from within the shopping cart. A typical order with UPS Ground shipping will be in the $6-$12 range, but can be higher for large orders. Additionally, if you choose to receive your tapes and new media (DVD's, external hard drive, etc...) in separate shipments the cost will increase accordingly.

Note: The shipping charge is for return shipping only. You are responsible for the cost of shipping your tape(s) to us. You may use whichever shipping service (UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc...) you feel comfortable with. Having said that, we recommend using a shipping service that offers advanced tracking capabilities such as UPS or FedEx.

Q. Will I get my original tapes back?

A. Yes, we will return your original tapes.

Q. What payment methods do you accept?

A. We accept most major credit/debit cards, Paypal, and personal checks/money orders.

Q. Is my credit card transaction secure?

A. Yes. Our site uses 128-bit encryption when processing financial information. Our payment processor, Paypal, is a globally recognized leader in online payment processing. Please visit Paypal for detailed security information. Additionally, for greater security, we do not store credit card numbers after your purchase has been made.

Q. I live outside the United States. Can I submit an order?

A. We're sorry, but we currently ship orders within the United States only.

Q. What is your shipping and mailing address?

A.

VidiSave, Inc
206 N Randolph St.
Suite 11
Champaign, IL 61820

Q. What are the technical specifications of the final video?

A. Please refer to the following specific product pages for each output format, as each may be different:

Q.  What kind of video quality can I expect?

A. The primary driver of final video quality is the quality of the original tape itself. The video quality of your finished DVD will be virutally visually identical to the original tape in its current condition. Due to our superior equipment (as compared to the average home user), you may notice some improvements - a reduction in video and color noise and timing errors - but beyond that your DVD will look like your source tape. So, if your tape looks good, the DVD will look good. Likewise, if your tape is in poor condition, the DVD will reflect that. Generally speaking, the older the tape the more likely it is to have reduced quality. Also, it is worth noting that VHS tapes recorded in EP or LP modes (i.e. modes that allow longer recording times) are often in poor condition, sometimes after only a few years. If your tape is in extremely poor condition, you may want to consider sending it to a company that specializes in video restoration. However, video restoration can be expensive ($50/hour is not unusual) and improvements may not be as dramatic as one might expect, if even possible for any specific tape.

Q.  What will the resolution of my video be?

A.   We convert your video at a screen resolution of 720x480. VHS, VHS-C, and Video8 tapes have approximate equivalent resolutions (the 720 part of "720x480") of around 240-300 horizontal lines, Hi8 and SVHS around 400, and Digital8 and MiniDV around 500. Having said that, comparing lines of resolution between analog and digital formats is misleading. There is nothing magical about putting VHS video on a DVD with 720x480 resolution that makes the video better (beware of transfer services that imply otherwise...) The video signal simply gets upscaled to the proper size (the official DVD specification only allows 2 sizes, 352x480 and 720x480.) The video will never get "better" than what was recorded to the tape just by being transferred to DVD or any other medium (i.e. external hard drive, etc...), regardless of the final screen resolution. That is not to say that improvements can't be made when transferring your existing videotapes (analog video noise can be removed, timing errors can be fixed, color corrected...), but the video will not be superior in the same sense that HDTV broadcasts are of higher quality than regular standard definition broadcasts.

Q.  What DVD format do you use?

A.   We use DVD-R discs, which are compatible with approximately 96% of existing DVD players. If your DVD player does not support DVD-R discs, DVD+R discs are available upon request.

Q.  What brand of DVD's do you use? How do you burn your DVD's?

A.  We are proud to exclusively use Taiyo Yuden blank DVD's. Taiyo Yuden is recognized as a leading manufacturer of high quality DVD blanks. DVD burns are performed with a Primera Bravo Pro Disc Publisher at no higher than 8x speed. The combination of high quality DVD blanks plus high quality burning equipment plus low burn speeds equals DVD's that should, with proper care, last for decades.

Q. Do you offer tape repair services?

A.  Yes. We can perform most types of repairs for an additional $10. If your tape cartridge has a structural problem (broken cartridge, broken door, etc...) there should be no loss of video. In these cases we will either repair the existing tape cartridge or move the magnetic tape to a new, empty cartridge. If the magnetic tape itself is broken (i.e snapped in two) we can splice it back together. A small loss of video (usually not more than 1 or 2 seconds) where the splice is made should be expected. If part of the magnetic tape is mangled or crinkled and/or hanging out of the cartridge (i.e. if your VCR or camcorder "ate" your tape"), that portion may need to be cut out to prevent further damage, although not always. It should be noted that there is no way to correct a mangled or crinkled area of tape in the sense of making that area play normally again. Any method that "flattens" the tape will destroy the underlying data. We can not fix more serious problems such as mold or flood damage. For this type of repair, visit Video Interchange at http://www.videointerchange.com .

Tape repairs are requested during the order setup process (after you have added tapes to your cart.)