BETAMAX TRANSFERS (NOT BETA)

NOTE: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING BOTH WAYS. WE DO NOT SEND A BOX. WE BILL FOR RETURN SHIPPING WHEN THE JOB IS COMPLETE. *Unless you choose to have your tapes recycled. Expedited or rushed services only apply to availability of digital files for download and may still be subject to delays based on the condition of what we receive.

This listing is for the transfer of BETAMAX Tapes to digital files.

HISTORY:
BetaMax VCRS first came on the scene in 1977. BetaMax tapes are the same thickness as a VHS tape but slightly shorter with only one window showing the inside tape.

VERSIONS:
BetaMAX VCRS and tapes were for home use. BetaCAM players and tapes were for professional use. The tapes can fit in each other’s players but BetaMAX VCRs cannot play BetaCAM recordings because the signals are different.

WE ARE UNABLE TO TRANSFER BETA CAM
BetaCAM tape labels begin with BCT. BetaMAX tapes have a funny looking B on it and the label will say L-125 on up to L-830.

LENGTHS AND QUALITY:
BetaMAX tape recording times vary based upon the size of the tape and the speed of the recording. The slower the recording speed, the more that could be fit on a tape. However, that slow speed also made the quality of the recording worse. Keep in mind that nobody imagined looking at these videos on screens as big as we have today, so be realistic with your expectations after transfer.

Please note that the price you pay is per tape and covers up to 2 hours transfer per tape. Tapes exceeding 120 minutes will be charged an additional transfer fee for every portion of each two hour block thereafter.

There are three different recording speeds for BetaMAX. Below is a chart so that you can have an idea of how long a full tape can possibly go based upon the L-number on it.

L-125 up to 45 min
L-165 up to 60 min (1h)
L-250 up to 90 min (1h 30)
L-370 up to 135 min (2h 15)
L-500 up to 180 min (3h)
L-750 up to 270 min (4h 30)
L-830 up to 300 min (5 h)

COMMON BETA MAX FORMAT ISSUES:
SINCE BETAMAX AND BETA CAM COULD BE USED IN EACH OTHER’S MACHINES it is possible that you could have a BetaCAM tape that was recorded on BetaMAX since it was common for folks to bring home tapes to use if they were no longer needed at work or at school. So we really can’t know for sure until we try to transfer them.

WE DO NOT TRANSFER FOREIGN BETAMAX TAPES.
There were three different recording formats depending on the country the tape was recorded in: NTSC, PAL, SECAM. We only transfer NTSC which is common to the Americas. If your tapes are from someone who served on active duty overseas, it’s a safe bet that they are still NTSC since military PX sold NTSC units.

• We do have a digitizing partner for most studio grade transfers upon request but the pricing for those are considerable higher than our consumer focused services.