National Video Centre Canberra FAQ

I’ve heard that videos deteriorate as time goes by, is this true?

Yes, it is true. But unlike the old film, which fades as time goes by, video tape tends to develop mold, especially in moist affected areas, it’s oxide base starts to come off and a number of other things can happen. It is recommended to transfer your precious video tapes into a digital form, be it a DVD disc or digital files, as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to call us to have your videos assessed by a professional. This is a free service.
I have an odd large video tape that was given to my father after he was interviewed by a TV channel in 1980’s. Can you retrieve the interview?

Most likely your tape is an old Betacam or an Umatic format tape, that was used by broadcasters back then. We have well maintained U-matic and Betacam equipment that we use for transferring those old tapes into modern day digital files. Bring your tape in, we will see what we can do about it.
My son has pulled out some of the tape from the VHS video of my wedding. I took it away from him, put the tape back in, but the tape is now stuck and we can’t play it anymore. Can you fix it?

Yes, we fix broken tapes and tapes chewed by the VCR machines and most likely will be able to fix your video. We can also pull the tapes that are stuck in the machine out of the VCR or a camcorder. Please bear in mind though that damaged bits of tape are best to be cut out . We can attempt playing the damaged bit, but you are likely to end up with some video loss in that particular segment. Luckily, kids don’t normally destroy the whole tape, pulling out just a couple of meters, which only run for a minute or so. If you accidentally broken the tape’s body we can replace it to make the tape usable again and suitable for digitizing. This also applies to audio tapes.
I have an instructional DVD that my boss wanted me to make 150 copies of. I am scared of an idea of burning copies one by one. Can you help? How long does it takes?

Yes, we can help. By burning 150 copies one by one your burner will likely to fail after a couple of hours. In spite of DVD’s and CD’s being largely the thing of the past National Video Centre still maintains a number of industrial grade burners and offers cost effective CD and DVD duplication services. We also have Flash drive duplicators and can easily duplicate even a high capacity flash drives in large (or small) quantities. We also offer printing of CD and DVD face labels and packaging disks to your requirements. We normally take 2-3 working days to do the job, but same day service is available for urgent orders. We can offer CD/DVD replication (factory pressing) service for runs over 500 units.
You mentioned CD and DVD duplication and replication. I’ve heard these words before, but thought it is the same thing. Is there a difference?

Yes, there is. Duplication is burning recordable CD’s and DVD’s. It is a quick process and we can offer same day or overnight service if required. However, if you have a larger scale project (over 500 disks) and time is not critical, replication is what you should consider. Replication is a factory manufacturing process, when your CD’s or DVD’s are factory pressed already containing your data/video. This process is slower, but more cost effective for larger runs. It usually takes 2-3 weeks. DVD’s are largely thing of the past these days, but many musicians still opt for having CD’s made in spite of streaming and online music distribution options. We can help with factory-made (replicated) and burned CD’s and packaging.
CD’s and DVD’s are getting out of fashion. Wouldn’t I be better off with USB Flash drives or with the online streaming video for my clients?

USB Flash drive is certainly more advanced, convenient way of giving the information you need to your clients. Download link is even easier option. But remember that people appreciate more something physical, like a CD or a flash drive they can actually physically have rather then just a downloaded file. Having said that we can also prepare and upload an online streaming video for you. If you do not deal with prospective customers, but, say have a training video you would like to distribute among your employees – either an online video or distributing flash drives are ways to go these days. Don’t hesitate to give us an obligation-free call to discus the available options and to let us work out a viable strategy for you.

I have lots of audio recordings, compact cassettes, reel to reel audio LP albums and even old 78 records that I would like to save digitally. Can you do that?

You came to the right place. National Video Centre is the only company in Canberra that can digitize your valued and historically important audio recordings from virtually any old format. We’ve been recommended by the National Film and Sound Archive for that purpose. No job too small or too big for us. We cover jobs from a single cassette transfer to the whole departmental AV library. We can capture and save your audio materials in a variety of consumer and archival grade formats, including 24-bits Hi-Res Audio. Call National Video Centre on 0437822357 to discuss all your AV digitization and preservation needs.
What about the old floppy disks? I’d love to retrieve my old documents and photographs stored on those. Can you handle that?

Yes. National Video Centre is an obsolete technology specialist. We can attempt to retrieve data from your old floppy disks.

Do you recommend Blu-Ray or any other technology to preserve my home videos?

Technology is changing fast. If you have something really important, it is best to keep it in several digital formats, perhaps even at different locations, moving with the technology. Plus never throw your originals away, even if you had them digitized already. We recommend to transfer your videos to a Flash Drive. We can upscale the Standard Definition analogue videos to an HD format, using modern advanced technologies. Talk to one of our experts to develop your personal viable preservation strategy.
I’v been using my mobile phone to capture my children’s school performances on video. Now my phone’s memory is nearly full. Is there a way to put them on a DVD or save them on a flash drive?

Yes. Here at National Video Centre we deal with such requests on a daily basis. It is possible to save the videos from your telephone onto a flash drive, external hard drive, to your computer or to put together a playable DVD. Please bring your phone in and also all cables that came with it.
I have my son’s 21st coming soon and I would like to combine his early photos and videos into some kind of a video presentation, with background music, captions and voice overs. Can you help?

We are the experts in putting “This Is Your Life” type video shows together, be it for the 21st, 50th or any other family event. Please make an appointment and bring all the bits and pieces with you. We can scan slides, photographs and combine them with the videos taken from VHS, DVD’s, digital photo and files and o on. Call us to discuss the options, put together the strategy for the show and will make it exactly the way you want it to be.
We would like to put together a slide show for a friend’s funeral. It has to be done very quickly.

We will go out of our way to accommodate your request, making it a priority. Please give us a call to make an urgent appointment.

Don’t delay, send your enquiry right now using the form below or phone 0437 822 357.

FAQs

I’ve heard that videos deteriorate as time goes by, is this true?

I have an odd large video tape that was given to my father after he was interviewed by a TV channel in 1980’s. Can you retrieve the interview?

My son has pulled out some of the tape from the VHS video of my wedding. I took it away from him, put the tape back in, but the tape is now stuck and we can’t play it anymore. Can you fix it?

I have an instructional DVD that my boss wanted me to make 150 copies of. I am scared of an idea of burning copies one by one. Can you help? How long does it takes?

You mentioned CD and DVD duplication and replication. I’ve heard these words before, but thought it is the same thing. Is there a difference?

CD’s and DVD’s are getting out of fashion. Wouldn’t I be better off with USB Flash drives or with the online streaming video for my clients?

I have lots of audio recordings, compact cassettes, reel to reel audio LP albums and even old 78 records that I would like to save digitally. Can you do that?

What about the old floppy disks? I’d love to retrieve my old documents and photographs stored on those. Can you handle that?

Do you recommend Blu-Ray or any other technology to preserve my home videos?

I’v been using my mobile phone to capture my children’s school performances on video. Now my phone’s memory is nearly full. Is there a way to put them on a DVD or save them on a flash drive?

I have my son’s 21st coming soon and I would like to combine his early photos and videos into some kind of a video presentation, with background music, captions and voice overs. Can you help?

We would like to put together a slide show for a friend’s funeral. It has to be done very quickly.