Do I need to have Special Audio and Video Adjustments during my Supervised VHS to Digital Transfer?

It's important to realize that most VHS Videotape to Digital Video or DVD transfer companies that offer very affordable pricing are probably going to do a "real time" VHS transfer to Digital. If these companies had to stop and start every time the video image changed to a new angle, or the sound level needed adjusting, it could take many many hours just to transfer one vhs videotape to digital or dvd.

However, assuming the VHS to Digital Transfer houses send you back your VHS Videotape originals, which they should, they are doing you a tremendous, low cost service, and here's why. What if you actually reviewed the DVD's or digital file transfers and discovered that out of the lets say 2 dozen tapes you had transferred to digital or dvd, 3 of them were so sentimental, or just full of so many good memories that you wanted those specific digital copies to be the best quality for both audio and video that was reasonably possible.

Well the good news is if all of your VHS tapes were transferred and returned to you so that they could be more easily reviewed from a digital source, you are no longer wearing out the original VHS videotapes. As long as you can match up the transferred VHS videos to the digital copies, then once you have identified the best 2 or 3 VHS transfer you can consider retransferring the VHS originals at the best possible quality in a supervised video session, one in which you can even be present.

Isn't a digital copy the best possible version of a VHS videotape transfer to digital already? No. Both the beauty and the flaw of any analog format is that any Analog / VHS Videotape format could have both the sound and video signals dramatically improved during the actual playback and transfer to digital, if the right equipment and expertise was used by a Video Transfer Expert.

Most amateur video was shot in real life situations. Shooting into backlight, such as a window in the background can adversely affect the color and contrast of the image. The camera person speaks to someone, then the person they spoke to responds, the Sound Level and Sound Equalization of both people speaking can be significantly different. The person behind the camera may sound loud, but muffled, the person in the distance may not be loud enough.

While these audio and video adjustments can be made in the digital world, getting the optimum quality while doing the original transfer from a VHS Videotape to a digital format will simply allow for even more digital enhancements to occur in the digital realm if one wants them. Once you know what is on your videotape master  by reviewing the digital video or digital file copy, booking a session for your favorite couple of videotapes is something you should be contemplating. 

Contact Alessandro Machi at vhs at AlessandroMachi.com if you want to book a session in his amazing Analog to Digital Studio. Alessandro's Studio Credits include over 25 IMDB credits and a Los Angeles Emmy. He is also currently ranked top 25 out of 20,000 Lifetime Tongal Ideationists. Mr. Machi also won the prestigious Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Internship Scholarship Award in the Commercials Category many moons ago.