The Sentinel-Record

Visit The Photo Finishers to transfer video tapes to DVD

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No More VCRs means the time to transfer video tapes to DVD is now and The Photo Finishers does it locally right here in Hot Springs.

Now is the time to have family movies on video tape transferre­d to DVD. In July 2016, the last VHS VCRs were manufactur­ed by Funai Electric in Japan and the last Beta machine rolled off the assembly line in 2002. “There will come a time when consumers will no longer be able to play their videos,” says Waco Hill, owner of The Photo Finishers, in the press release, “and we have taken steps over the last few months to insure that we can work with any video format our customers have so their memories won’t be lost.”

“Many don’t realize that video tape has a limited life span, depending a great deal on the temperatur­e and humidity condition that the tape has been exposed to over the course of it’s life.” Under ideal conditions, a magnetic polyester polyuretha­ne tape such as VHS could expect a usable life of up to 30 years, but if the tape (especially poor quality tape) is stored in an environmen­t with higher humidity and temperatur­e, they can degrade quickly and have an expected life of five years or less.

“As new technology emerges, it is essential that your video be migrated to the newer media so you can still watch it and preserve it for yourself, your children and grandchild­ren.” Analog tape doesn’t last forever, and VCRs are no longer manufactur­ed. One’s home movie video will be lost and unplayable if not converted to a newer format like DVD. All the hard work, time and effort put into creating the video will be wasted and memories lost forever.

“We have been doing film to video and video slide shows since very early on, and we have continued to invest in new technology and training to provide services for all the new digital video file formats, as well as the capability to migrate all the memories you have stored on film and analog media to modern storage devices such as DVD, CD, Blu-ray or drives. In short, we can take all your old tapes, regardless of format, and transfer the video to a modern DVD format so you can enjoy them as new.”

Since 1996, The Photo Finishers has served the photo and video imaging need of clients in Hot Springs and all over the United States. “From very humble beginnings, the list of basic photo/video services has expanded to encompass truly dizzying amount of services performed locally by the experts at the Albert Pike location.”

“My goal with this business is, and has always been, to offer the most complete variety and highest quality of photograph­y and video services available anywhere under one roof, and I think we have been very successful with that. We are constantly updating our hardware and software to meet the needs of our customers,” states Hill. “It’s really hard for me to think of any photo or video imaging service — traditiona­l or digital — that we have not provided over the years. It seems like we do it all.”

“We do lots of video tape transfer to DVD, including VHS, 8mm, Beta, MiniDV and more, we even have very substantia­l volume discounts … so it’s a very affordable service.”

In addition to video, The Photo Finishers transfers analog audio tape like cassettes or reel-to-reel to CD format. Audio and video restoratio­n and repair services are available, if needed, to improve originals.

Hill adds that all printing and video transfer service is done locally inside The Photo Finishers Albert Pike location. The time to transfer one’s video is now. No one knows how long tapes will be playable or how long equipment can be maintained, so the recommenda­tion is bring in the video now before it’s to late.

For 21 years, The Photo Finishers has been located at 1819 Albert Pike Suite F in Hot Springs.

For more informatio­n about The Photo Finishers services, call 501-624-4029 or visit http://www.thephotofi­nishers. com or The Photo Finishers Facebook page.

 ?? Submitted photo ?? VIDEO PROFESSION­ALS: Waco Hill, left, and Sandy Rader welcome customers to come see them if interested in transferri­ng video tapes to DVD or with other video imaging needs.
Submitted photo VIDEO PROFESSION­ALS: Waco Hill, left, and Sandy Rader welcome customers to come see them if interested in transferri­ng video tapes to DVD or with other video imaging needs.

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