When you are finished recording all of your film it is time to take your digital tape and capture it into your computer. If you have a pc you can use Windows Movie Maker and for a Mac it will be iMovie.  Once captured into the computer you have two choices, do a little editing to remove unwanted shots or go straight to creating your DVD master.

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The turnaround time of your DVD duplication order will depend on how many recording towers there are at the facility.  Also the file size of your DVD disc will determine how long each run will take.  Usually a DVD disc will duplicate in 5 – 8 minutes. So if you are looking for a fast turnaround check to see how many duplication towers they have in there facility.

If you are looking for a good quality DVD duplication, then this will depend on three things, the quality of your master,  the quality of the duplication towers and what grade DVD disc are being used.  A good quality disc in duplication also gives you a better chance that the DVD-R will play in about 99% of the DVD players out there. Most DVD players that were manufactured after the year 2005 should be compatible with today’s DVD-R disc.

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When getting a video production quote, this really becomes a consult process.  The company will need to be made aware of all the details that are involved in making the video so they can provide you with an accurate quote. Once the video project is defined then the production company can give you an exact quote.  When the price has been agreed upon by both parties you are ready to move on to planning out the production process.

I would recommend getting at least 3 quotes and not basing your final decision on just price alone. You should make sure that each quote is an apple to apple match. If the price is not broken down ask for a revised estimate with a line item break down.  By doing this it will make it easier to do your comparison between different companies and hopefully make the right decision.

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There are several options to transfer your video tapes to DVD, and if the transfer process is done correctly the DVD’s can look better than your original tapes.

Listed below are a few methods I would recommend considering when doing you video to DVD transfer.

The first method would be to capture your video tapes through an analog to DV converter which will encode the tapes into a DV format.  This method is the most time consuming method but it gives you the chance to do edit out unwanted scenes, add titles, transitions and music. The reason it takes longer is you will need to capture the footage, edit the footage and compress everything into an MPEG 2 format to create your DVD master. This results in hours of computer time and your time.

The next method would be to use a capture card that would convert the videotape to an MPEG 2 format as the video is being played into the computer.  This would be a real time capture so a 30 min. video would take 30 min. to capture into the MPEG format.  This is a great way to covert your videos to DVD if you are not looking to edit them.  So if you original tapes do not need editing I would use this method and it also gives you the benefit of creating a custom DVD with menus.

The last method for transferring your video tape to DVD would be to use a standalone DVD recorder.  The DVD recorder works almost like your old VHS VCR did.  Basically you would connect your video tape player using the audio video output jacks and connect them to the DVD recorder. Hit play on the video tape player and record on the DVD recorder.  This is recorded in real time.  When the recording is complete most DVD recorders will have a basic menu option where you can go in and title your segments.

Whatever method you choose to transfer your video tape to DVD, it is the best way to preserve your memories.

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When you are doing CD duplication you have two choices of printing directly on the CD. You can use a silver inkjet printable disc or a white flood disc.  The printer can print in four colors and if your design requires any white in the printing then you must go with a white flood disc. If you are looking for a gloss coat finish, there are manufactures that have inkjet printable disc in a gloss coat but you will pay more for the disc

Once the duplication process is complete you now are off to packaging.  There are many choices of packaging from a jewel case, slim line case, amaray case or trim pack.  All of these cases require different types of packaging material.  So depending on how you are designing your CD for resale will depend on what type of case you are using.  Once packaging is complete you will want to have your final product shrink wrapped to give it that retail ready look.

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The first advantage of hiring a slide scanning company is it will save you hundreds of hours.  Scanning each slide on a standard consumer grade printer and then enhancing it in a photo editor could take a LONG time.  Plus, some slides many need to be cleaned.  And why repeat this boring process hundreds or even thousands of times?

A professional slide scanning service will also be able to transfer your slides at a professional level that would take a lot of money and time to accomplish yourself.  They’ll use the highest quality printers and have extended knowledge in photo editors to make your slides appear brand new.

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While this new technology offers a lot of advantages, it brings about one problem: how does one go about getting all their old VHS tapes and film to these newer formats?  The answer is through the video transfer process.

Video transfers are performed by video conversion companies.  They will take your old formats and convert them to DVD or another digital format.  You also have the advantage of requesting multiple DVD copies, allowing you to share your precious memories with family and friends.

By far the greatest thing about video transfers is it allows you to preserve your memories.  Film and VHS was only made to survive a few years at their highest quality.  By transferring your memories to DVD or another digital format you’ll allow your memories to live indefinitely.

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By hiring a professional photo scanning service you’ll have the following benefits:

Higher Image Quality: If a company specializes in photo scanning, they will most likely have the most up to date equipment to scan your photos at the highest quality.  Consumer grade printers and scanners that can be found in most households could never match the quality of a professional scanner.

Done By Professionals: A photo scanning company will have skilled professionals scanning your photos.  They will also have extensive knowledge in photo editing, bringing faded or deteriorated photos back to life.

Fast Turn Around: Photo scanning companies will have the resources and employees to get your order done quickly.

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DVD Duplication is not to be confused to DVD replication.  Duplication and replication are 2 different ways to manufacture identical discs.  Duplication involves burning information into a DVD-R through a laser, where Replicated discs are “stamped” from a master template.  Replication is generally intended for large orders, mostly 1000 or more discs.  The machinery to manufacture a replicated disc is also far more expensive and labor intensive.

With that being said, DVD Duplication is great for small and time sensitive jobs.  If a duplication company has several duplication towers ready, a duplication job of 500 discs could be completed in a few hours.

After the discs are duplicated the customer also has the option of print directly on the disc, generally through print screening or ink jet.  The customer would also have the option to choose different types of packaging.

DVD Duplication San Diego