Posted by sgordon on 10/10/06 05:56

I've starting doing some of this, but I'll be danged if I'd do it
"on the cheap". Reviving one of these tapes starts with baking it,
which takes 3-4 hours, then running it a few times to get the tracking
right, then dubbing it... usually more than once because invariably the
lighting is all over the map and requires 2 or 3 passes and subsequent
editing, then playing with filter settings to make it viewable. Then if
you want it on DVD it has to be encoded to mpeg2. And, the sound generally
can use some sprucing-up too. The reason these are never cheap, is that
it usually takes a couple of days just to get a halfway decent result.
And that's IF the image is recoverable.

There are two outfits in San Francisco (BAVC is one) that do great work
for around $100-150 per tape. Some mail-order places do it for cheaper.
Considering the number of hours that goes into it, you can't argue
with a price like that. For restoring a precious piece of history
that would otherwise be lost, it's really not all that expensive to
have a pro do it right.

blackburst@aol.com <blackburst@aol.com> wrote:
: ...two 7" reels, half-inch (presumably b/w) onto a DV or DVCAM tape(s)?
: Or even DVD?

: Presumably from 1975, they are a play done for my town's centennial. I
: have no idea what they're like.

: They were apparently recorded on one of those old b/w reel-to-reel
: (Sony?) VTRs (EIAJ, is that the term?)

: I 'd like to do this for fairly short money. Any offers from some one
: who has the right machines?
: (Come on, do it on the cheap for a fellow video pro!)

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