Walgreens will transfer videotape to DVD. (1 Viewer)

[Jay Taylor]

I see that Walgreens is now offering to transfer videotape to DVD for $29.99.

The formats they will transfer are VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, 8mm video, mini DV and DV cam.

I'm considering doing this for a 2-hour VHS tape of old family movies that were converted from 8mm film. I know the quality will suck due to my original being not very good but it would be nice to have the old family movies on a DVD rather than tape.

Has anyone tried this service?

Jay Taylor

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'd also be interested in this. Also, do they allow the transfer of commercial VHS tapes? I have quite a few that I'd transfer before they get worn away to nothing.

 

[JohnS]

Man this is great.
I want to transfer alot of old home movies from when I was a little kid

 

[Jeff Kleist]

They will not do commercial tapes, I'll tell you that right now

 

[Jay Taylor]

Adam,

The Walgreens' add stated "No Copyrighted Material".

Jay Taylor

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Thanks, Jeff and Jay. Still, there's a lot of home video content that I'd like to transfer. Thanks for the info.

 

[John_Berger]

A couple of chain drugstores do this. I know that my local CVS does, too.
That's all fine and good that they will do that for such a low cost; but IMHO if you have the time and money, you're better off getting the hardware and doing your own for several reasons:
You can perform the appropriate editing without losing quality by editing to a second videotape which is then sent out.
You can add appropriate chapter stops on the DVD. Do these guys even include them in relevant spots? I'd be surprised if they do.
You can create the DVD/VCD file structure once on your hard drive and duplicate it as much as you want to for friends and family. I'm sure that they'll be glad to provide additional discs for an extra cost, but what if you want to send another disc out six months later? You'll have to pay the full fee again to get another DVD.
Again, I certainly don't expect everyone to have the time or money to do this kind of thing - particularly the time. Manual video capturing and editing is a long process, but not so long as to be prohibitive in my opinion.
Always remember, though: they're pandoring to the lowest common denominator. That's fine, but that means that whereas you care about getting a duplicate because they are treasured memories, they don't care as long as they get your money for a process that is just as automated as their one-hour photo.
And of course what if there is a problem with the disc? You have to send it back and hope that they get it right this time. If there is a problem with a disc that you made, just burn another one.
DVD writers are dropping in price every day. If you plan on converting a lot of videos, it won't take too much time before the cost of having CVS/Walgreens do it is equal to the cost of DVD writers. I got my DVD writer as an open-box at about 1/2 of the retail cost. I found a place online that sells DVD-Rs for $3 (DVD-RWs for $5) and I have yet to make one coaster.
Many DVD writers come with software that allow direct-to-DVD which will create the DVD from a single capture. Basically, it's the same thing as what Walgreens will do.
I guess that my view is skewed, though. I'm not saying that they're offering a bad service, but since I create my own DVDs everything that I do has a personal touch. Walgreens/CVS DVDs will be strictly mechanical with no personality whatsoever. If you're okay with that, then they provide a great service that will do exactly what you need.
But at least if you do it on your own, you WILL be able to convert your commercial VHS tapes to DVD!
I'm not trying to derail this thread or to troll. Just giving my two cents on the situation.

 

[Jay Taylor]

Good idea John.
The $30.00 cost of converting each tape to DVD would be a great justification to pitch to the wife to purchase a DVD-R.
Then I could put in a chapter stop where my sister is eating a bug!
Jay Taylor

 

[LarryDavenport]

That's good news, All my student films are in S-Vhs and my S-VHS player broke down years ago.

 

[John_Berger]

Oh, gee. Like I didn't expect that kind of response. :rolleyes
I'm just saying that those who are looking at heavily using this service might want to consider looking at their own hardware instead.
Besides, then you could have your friends pay you $20 to convert their movies for them rather than have them go to Walgreens.

 

[Jay Taylor]

John,

I was agreeing with you, not being sarcastic. It does make sense to do as you suggest and buy the hardware instead of using Walgreens if you have many tapes to convert. Thanks for your suggestion.

I like your idea of being able to put in chapter stops if you have your own hardware. I'll put in stops for embarrassing points in our home movies. Such as when my sister (currently over 40 years old) was only 2 years old and dad was filming her walk down the sidewalk in her pretty Sunday dress. She stopped, got down on the sidewalk and ate a beetle!

Jay Taylor

 

[Robert Spalding]

Meritline.com has DVD-r's for 1.09 a piece. I just bought some today from them. They work great. I've now burned exactly 50 (I bought a 50 pack) and not one toaster. DVD-R is way more compatible than DVD+RW or DVD+r.

just my 2 cents.

 

[Ken Garrison]

Where can I get a machine that'll read the 8 MM film and record it to the computer or show it on TV? My dad has some 8 MM films of when he was in the Coast Guard and we have no way of viewing them.

 

[AmitS]

Where can I get a machine that'll read the 8 MM film and record it to the computer or show it on TV?

several options at:
http://www.super8filmmaking.com/s8vid.htm

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Don't you also have to get an expensive video capture card to connect your VCR to? And what if your VCR is of low quality. I would think the commercial services would have better equipment. There may be some cheap capture cards too, but if you want good quality, aren't you going to have to pay about 200 dollars?

 

[Jay Taylor]

If you can get your hands on an 8mm projector and a video camera you could make your own video tape of the films but the quality wouldn't be the greatest.
The site below will convert 60 minutes of 8mm film to DVD format for $99.00:
Film to DVD at Woodland Film Transfer
Their phone number is 1-800-399-6470.
You may be able to find a company that will do the transfer for less money.
Jay Taylor

 

[Bruce F]

John,

Is there somewhere better that we might discuss the options of how to get that data into my PC? I've got several tapes of stuff I recorded off of TV that I've love to save off to DVD. Most of it is copyrighted (old superbowls, and Science Fiction that I don't expext to ever make it to DVD), so I can't go to my local shop...

But I do have a pretty good PC, and would love to save some of this stuff before the tapes degrade completely.

Please note, I only condone this for personal backup...I'm in the software development business myself, and bootleg copies are the bane of my paycheck....

Bruce

 

[Ricardo C]

I have some family movies I oughta transfer to disc before they get too long in the tooth. I'm talking stuff from when my parents were still dating (early 70s), for Pete's sake
DVD-Rs for a buck, you say? I should take the plunge into a DVD burner already. I could also salvage my Beta tape collection before they disintegrate...

 

[George See]

Has anyone done this? How compatable are the discs i've got an older pro-scan player I wonder would it play? Next question is how safe is it? Should I make a copy of my wedding video before bringing the tape to wallgreens for fear that they will lose it or destroy it? I think i'd prolly make a copy before regardless of your answer but i'm just curious. Do all wallgreens do this? If not have any of you a recomendation of somewhere else that would do this?
Thanks.

 

[John_Berger]

She stopped, got down on the sidewalk and ate a beetle!

Making your own really does have its plusses and minuses. I actually enjoy it, even with all of the headaches that can result from it. I recently recorded a friend's wedding and put it to DVD for him with the participant list in a credit format and stuff like that. Between the chapter stops and the (as he calls them) "Star Wars"-like scene changes, he was tickled pink.
It takes what seems like forever, even with a really beefy ssytem, but there's a gratification that giving money to Walgreen's just can't provide.