Thoughts on setting up a format-transfer business? at DVinfo.net

Kell Smith · June 10th, 2009, 11:21 AM

I'm considering setting up to be able to transfer people's older formats to digital. Right now I just have people get it transferred at a service. I'd like to be able to do it , but

a) am on a low budget which prohibits buying a bunch of equipment, and
b) am concerned about quality and would want to be able to offer the best quality possible.

I must admit my knowledge of older formats is a bit lacking, but it probably wouldn't be that hard to catch up.

I do have some older equipment out in the storage room - a film projector (have to check what it is for more details, I don't even know), and some older video cameras that I have picked up at yard sales, and also a reel-to-reel. So some of that might be helpful

As to current equipment, I have a mini dv deck, and my pd170 although I wouldn't want to wear the heads on that unnecessarily. And of course my Mac. My VHS VCR is a consumer junky unit, so that would probably need to be replaced with something of higher quality. My stereo is nice, although older, a garden variety Technics dual deck.

The question is, is this feasible, can I do this without spending a mountain of money, and can I still offer good quality as compared to the other professional services? Because I would not want to offer something second-rate.

Your thoughts (or experiences if you have done this)? Thanks

Adam Gold · June 10th, 2009, 11:56 AM

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Chris Davis · June 10th, 2009, 12:31 PM

I'm in the same boat. I've also learned that this forum may not be the best to ask for advice on this type of work. It seems to be mostly shooters/editors/producers here.

Anyway, I set up this service as a way for my teenage son to get involved in the business. We learned very quick that it's virtually impossible to make a profit with the typical capture-render-author-burn workflow. A two hour tape easily becomes a five hour ordeal. You need to find a more direct method, and right now we're exploring some consumer DVD recorders that convert to MPEG in hardware on-the-fly, so the transfer pretty much becomes a real-time process.

I decided not to offer film transfer, since that's almost an art in itself. We do MiniDV/Video8/Hi8/Digital8/VHS/VHS-C/etc.

With places like Walgreens offering transfer services, you probably cannot compete on price. Therefore you need to compete on reputation or on service.

For me, it's not about making a ton of money. It's more about taking a young man and turning him into an effective businessman. It worked with his older brother and I hope it works this time as well.

Kell Smith · June 10th, 2009, 05:10 PM

It certainly sounds like more trouble than it's worth.
I guess I was hoping it might bring clients in and keep them. I keep losing potential clients once I suggest they have the tapes transferred. They get a quote, it costs too much, or who knows - maybe they go to the transfer company and have it edited, and I never see them again. But it's an extra step and for whatever reason, I lose them in that step before they even get to my door.
I think also they might get overwhelmed at the prospect of going through their home movies.
Also it seems to be where the market is. Everyone I talk to expresses interest in home movie transfer. Only a small percentage of those are interested in making something out of them, editing a project, and fewer still seem to follow through.

June 10th, 2009, 11:21 AM	#1
Kell Smith Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 436	Thoughts on setting up a format-transfer business? I'm considering setting up to be able to transfer people's older formats to digital. Right now I just have people get it transferred at a service. I'd like to be able to do it , but a) am on a low budget which prohibits buying a bunch of equipment, and b) am concerned about quality and would want to be able to offer the best quality possible. I must admit my knowledge of older formats is a bit lacking, but it probably wouldn't be that hard to catch up. I do have some older equipment out in the storage room - a film projector (have to check what it is for more details, I don't even know), and some older video cameras that I have picked up at yard sales, and also a reel-to-reel. So some of that might be helpful As to current equipment, I have a mini dv deck, and my pd170 although I wouldn't want to wear the heads on that unnecessarily. And of course my Mac. My VHS VCR is a consumer junky unit, so that would probably need to be replaced with something of higher quality. My stereo is nice, although older, a garden variety Technics dual deck. The question is, is this feasible, can I do this without spending a mountain of money, and can I still offer good quality as compared to the other professional services? Because I would not want to offer something second-rate. Your thoughts (or experiences if you have done this)? Thanks

June 10th, 2009, 11:56 AM	#2
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/taking-ca...ey-ground.html http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/taking-ca...-business.html http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/taking-ca...-raw-dump.html The "Search This Forum" function is your friend.

June 10th, 2009, 12:31 PM	#3
Chris Davis Trustee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willmar, MN Posts: 1,400	I'm in the same boat. I've also learned that this forum may not be the best to ask for advice on this type of work. It seems to be mostly shooters/editors/producers here. Anyway, I set up this service as a way for my teenage son to get involved in the business. We learned very quick that it's virtually impossible to make a profit with the typical capture-render-author-burn workflow. A two hour tape easily becomes a five hour ordeal. You need to find a more direct method, and right now we're exploring some consumer DVD recorders that convert to MPEG in hardware on-the-fly, so the transfer pretty much becomes a real-time process. I decided not to offer film transfer, since that's almost an art in itself. We do MiniDV/Video8/Hi8/Digital8/VHS/VHS-C/etc. With places like Walgreens offering transfer services, you probably cannot compete on price. Therefore you need to compete on reputation or on service. For me, it's not about making a ton of money. It's more about taking a young man and turning him into an effective businessman. It worked with his older brother and I hope it works this time as well.

June 10th, 2009, 05:10 PM	#4
Kell Smith Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 436	It certainly sounds like more trouble than it's worth. I guess I was hoping it might bring clients in and keep them. I keep losing potential clients once I suggest they have the tapes transferred. They get a quote, it costs too much, or who knows - maybe they go to the transfer company and have it edited, and I never see them again. But it's an extra step and for whatever reason, I lose them in that step before they even get to my door. I think also they might get overwhelmed at the prospect of going through their home movies. Also it seems to be where the market is. Everyone I talk to expresses interest in home movie transfer. Only a small percentage of those are interested in making something out of them, editing a project, and fewer still seem to follow through.