How I Digitize Your Memories
No mail-away warehouse and no batch machines left running unattended. Every tape, photo, and reel is handled by me, on professional gear, one piece at a time. Here is exactly how your collection becomes something you can watch, share, and keep for good.
The Equipment
Video tape decks
Serviced decks for VHS, S-VHS, Hi8, Digital8, MiniDV, and camcorder tapes. Each tape plays through in real time, so nothing is missed or clipped at the ends.
Film reel transfer
8mm and Super 8 silent reels are cleaned and transferred frame by frame, so the motion stays smooth instead of flickering.
Photo and slide scanners
A flatbed for prints and documents, plus a dedicated film scanner for slides and negatives. Full resolution, dust knocked back, colour and exposure corrected.
Audio transfer
Cassettes and reels played back on serviced decks and captured as clean digital audio you can play anywhere.
Disc recovery
Aging CDs and DVDs read and rescued before the discs degrade past the point of being readable.
How Your Collection Becomes Digital
Intake and inspection
Your collection is logged, photographed, and checked piece by piece. Anything fragile, mouldy, or end-of-life gets flagged before any work starts.
Careful capture
Each item is digitized on the right gear for its format, at full quality, and watched as it goes so problems are caught in the moment, not after.
Review and delivery
Every file is checked by hand, named so it actually makes sense, and delivered on a labelled USB plus a private download link.
Built to Last, Not Just to Look Good
I save master-quality files, not the kind of compressed copies that fall apart the moment you zoom in or play them on a big screen. Videos come out as high-bitrate MP4s that play on any phone, computer, or smart TV. Photos come out as full-resolution images with the original detail intact. The goal is simple: files good enough to be the new originals, so your family never has to digitize any of this again.
Your Originals Never Leave Town
Nothing gets mailed, nothing gets shipped to a warehouse, and nothing is subcontracted. Your collection stays in my Colwood workshop from drop-off to pickup, and the originals come back to you in the same condition they arrived. The digital copies are a backup, not a replacement. You keep everything.
Questions About the Process
What file formats do I get my memories in?
Video comes as standard MP4 files that play on any phone, computer, or smart TV. Photos, slides, and negatives come as high-resolution JPEGs. Audio comes as MP3 or WAV. These are universal formats, so there is no special app or software needed to open them.
What resolution do you scan photos and slides at?
Photos are scanned at a resolution high enough to reprint them larger than the original. Slides and negatives go on a dedicated film scanner at even higher detail, since the originals are so small. If you have a specific reprint size in mind, tell me and I will scan to match.
Will my old tapes look better after digitizing?
Digitizing captures exactly what is on the tape, faithfully. I can clean up obvious issues, but a worn VHS will not magically become HD. What you gain is a stable digital copy that will not degrade any further, plus the ability to actually watch it again. For photos, restoration is a separate service if you want fading or damage repaired.
How do you make sure nothing gets lost?
Every item is logged at intake against a written inventory, and every finished file is reviewed by hand before delivery. The count you drop off is the count you get back, and the originals never leave my workshop.
Ready to See Your Memories Again?
Bring me a single tape, a shoebox of photos, or a whole basement of mixed media. I will sort out what you have and give you a clear, written estimate before anything starts.