www.captivadigital.com
Copyright © 2004
Captiva Digital, LLC
All rights reserved
Captivideo Service
Do you have videotapes with precious memories of your children or grandchildren? Have you switched to DVD players to watch movies at home and now have no way to view those old videotapes?
| You recorded all of those
special moments so you could keep them forever. Did you know those tapes that you've been saving will fade away over time and your memories will be lost forever? |
 A precious memory recorded to videotape 10 to 20 years ago ... |
 ... is quickly fading away now because videotapes do not last! |
Don't wait until it's too late ... Act now! Rescue those video memories from tape and save them on DVD to enjoy today and for many tomorrows. With DVD, you can keep those memories alive forever ... DVD's will last 100 years and more, they will not fade away like videotape, and they will make exact digital copies every time that can be played over and over (without wearing out like videotape).
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(Make sure the latest Windows Media Player is installed) |
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Our service includes the following for all video collections:
- Converting your videotapes to high-quality DVDs.
- Scanning the videotape box and tape labels so that information is preserved on your DVDs.
- Creating menus and chapters for easy direct access to your video recording.
- Labelling each DVD with dates and unique identification.
- Creating a Captivindex DVD with all menus and labels and unique disc identifiers for quick reference. A printed version is also available.
- Packaging discs in slim jewel cases or zippered DVD case (depending on collection size).
- Personalized pickup and delivery of your videotapes and DVDs.
To learn more about these unique features and how they appear on your DVD, take The Captivideo Tour.
While our professional conversion service uses a premium process
that is more than just a simple video transfer, our pricing is simple
and is based on the level of quality you choose, at a flat rate per hour of video (plus a small handling fee per tape).
(See Video Encoding and Quality for details.)
Premium
High quality conversion with up to one hour of video on each DVD to ensure
the best viewing quality on all current and future DVD players and screens.
Standard
Good quality conversion with up to two hours of video on each DVD.
The resulting digital video quality is less than our Premium service,
but costs less because fewer DVDs are produced.
Discounts may be available for Captivideo collections over 20 DVDs. Call us for details.
Additional copies of DVDs are available at a nominal fee for each copy made.
Our enhanced packages include a Captivindex DVD for conveniently locating a video memory in your Captivideo DVD collection (showing all menus and labels on that DVD) is available as an option for a nominal fee.
See our Pricing & Feature Comparison (Make sure the latest Adobe Reader is installed)
Videotape Formats
Videotape Wear
Videotape Quality
Video Encoding and Quality
We can process video from VHS, VHS-C, SVHS, 8mm, Hi8, Digital8, and Mini-DV tapes.
Call us if you need to convert older or foreign formats.
We convert to and from PAL, SECAM, and NTSC video standards.
Videotape degrades in several ways with time and use.
The glue used to bind the magnetic material to the tape
ages and fails rapidly after 10 to 15 years.
It disappears, and with it, your precious video memories.
Also, videotape ages and wears faster as it gets older.
And the more you play it, the sooner it will fail.
Copying to new videotape loses clarity each time you transfer.
While we are able to halt the aging process and enhance
the video signal slightly, we are currently not able to
restore your faded videos to their original clarity and vibrance.
That is why it is critical to convert your videotapes as soon as possible.
Optimally, we put up to about one hour of video on each DVD.
In our Premium Captivideo Service, up to one hour of video is encoded on DVD
at a high bit rate to ensure the best viewing quality for all types of video
on all DVD players and on future high definition players and screens.
In our Standard Captivideo Service, up to two hours of video is encoded on DVD
at a lower bit rate to provide good (but not the best) viewing quality
and may not perform well on newer DVD players.
At this lower bit rate, digital artifacts (such as pixelization) may appear in
scenes showing fast full-screen motion, fade-ins and fade-outs, and out-of-focus shots.
Once a video is encoded at a lower bit rate, it cannot be upgraded to a higher bit rate
for better viewing quality; to improve the viewing quality, you must convert the
original videotape at the higher bit rate using the Premium Captivideo Service.
Older DVD Players
If you have an older DVD player, be aware that they inherently
have lower performance than today's players.
At your request, we can encode your video at a lower bit rate
to accomodate your older DVD player, but the resulting digital video
will not be optimal and will not perform as well as it could should you
upgrade to a newer DVD player in the future.
It may play motion picture DVDs fine, but may have special needs
when playing custom DVDs. Call us for details.
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