Digitising

Digitising is the process of making old formats such as analogue video and audio tape recordings into modern, digital formats, ready to use on websites, smart phones, tablets, projectors and screens. Our technicians can fix most faults with video and audio tape.

Digitising Process:

1. Tell us what you have and which digital format you would like your media returned.
2. Send us your tapes (tracked shipping or drop off at our Media City UK office).
3. We digitise (2 to 4 weeks turnaround standard).
4. We return your tapes and the new digitised media in the format you chose.

Restoration & Enhancement

Restoration is the process of repairing or enhancing media which has aged or been damaged. We repair and enhance video and film recordings, sound recordings and photographs.

We cover: video and photograph upscaling and enhancement + black and white to colour + colour correction and recovery + audio restoration, enhancement and noise reduction + dropout and damage repair + research and identification of unknown content.

Sending your tapes

We recommend using a tracked delivery service, such as Royal Mail Tracked 48 or 24 (UK only). If you prefer, you can drop off your tapes in person at our Media City office.

​To avoid customs charges, customers outside the UK must complete a customs declaration form stating:

“CUSTOMER’S OWN PROPERTY FOR REPAIR TO BE RETURNED AFTER REPAIR ”

Turnaround

Standard turnaround is 2 - 4 weeks depending on format, whether there are any issues with your tape(s) and number of tapes.

An express service is available on request, however an increased price may be charged for this. 

Delivery Format

We can deliver your digital files in most formats. For video, standard format is .mp4. The digital file is, of course, included in the quote.

For audio we can deliver as WAV, or whatever format you choose.

Your media is returned digitally on a portable drive or USB stick (depending on the file size). We no longer provide CD / DVD copies. You can either purchase a drive / USB stick, or we can purchase one on your behalf. The cost of this will be included in the invoice.

Returning your tapes

You will need to let us know, in advance, what you wish to be done with your tapes once they have been digitised. We can dispose of them for you, but you might consider offering them to the arts and heritage sectors for upcycling and training purposes if you do not need them back.

Once digitisation is complete, we’ll return your tapes via Royal Mail tracked delivery service, unless agreed otherwise. We also offer special delivery upon request.

You can request to collect your tapes in person. 

Insurance and liability

We know your tapes will be of immense value to you and we will take all possible steps to protect them on our premises.

General insurance cover is unavailable for the tapes we digitise. If appropriate, we recommend you acquire Specialist Insurance Cover before sending us your tape(s). Clients send us their material on the basis that Dig Media will not be liable for any loss or damage to the tapes.

Dig Media does not claim copyright over the content of the digitised output, and transfer of any ownership created in the process of the making the digital output is included in the fee. We are able to digitise any copyrighted work for the purposes of preserving its content, and will not liable for any copyright infringement taking place in the process.

Insurance companies find it hard to determine the value of recordings on outdated tapes unless there is previous documentation of a transaction.

Digitising Pricing

1. ​VHS / Betamax / Mini DV

There is a 30 minute minimum chargeable time of £25 per VHS / Betamax / Mini DV tape, followed by an additional cost per minute for the remainder of the tape

Number of Tapes	Cost (per minute)
1 - 4	£0.50
5 - 9	£0.45
10 - 50	£0.40
51+	£0.35

2. UMATIC / Betacam / DV Cam (no issues)

There is a 30 minute minimum chargeable time of £45 per UMATIC / Betacam / DV Cam tape, followed by an additional cost per minute for the remainder of the tape.

Number of Tapes	Cost (per minute)
1 - 4	£1.60
5 - 9	£1.50
10 - 50	£1.40
51+	£1.30

3. UMATIC / Betacam / DV Cam (Issues)

There is a 30 minute minimum chargeable time of £55 per UMATIC / Betacam / DV Cam tape (with issues), followed by an additional cost per minute for the remainder of the tape.

Number of Tapes	Cost (per minute)
1 - 4	£2.50
5 - 9	£2.45
10 - 50	£2.35
51+	£2.25

4. Cinereel

Number of Tapes	Cost (per 200ft)
All tape amounts	£100

​​The above costs are a guide. A full quotation will be provided based on the information supplied and (where required) following a preliminary technical assessment. All digitising costs include preservation-grade inspection, condition assessment, and initial maintenance where required, carried out by trained technicians using archival appropriate methods.

Pricing does not include postage and packaging (see the sections 'Send' and 'Return for details).

​Materials are handled and stored in accordance with archival best practices throughout transit and processing.

​An admin fee applies for submissions of more than 15 tapes, covering additional documentation, asset tracking, metadata creation, and quality control.

​For U-matic, Betacam, and DV Cam formats, initial remote quotes may change after physical tape inspection and a second quote may be required if restoration is needed.