Getting Memories from ‘Reel to Real’ with Western Canada’s Largest Media Transfer Experts

• What media formats can I transfer at Transfer to Digital?

  We transfer nearly every media format from the past 100 years, from film and negatives, to video tapes, to slides and photos, to reel to reel audio… even records and 8 track tapes. 

  If you don’t know what format of media you have, please review our transfer services page and browse through the categories.  We have many images that will help you identify what your media is. 

  If that fails to clarify, please drop by one of our office locations with your media and we’d be happy to help you identify them.

• How much will it cost to transfer my media?

  Be sure to visit our pricing page for a quick pricing guide.  If more specifics are needed, click on the details button for each media category and a table detailing the prices for every media type in that category will be shown (with pictures).

  We also have a super handy tool that will enable you to get an accurate instant online estimate.  You just need to enter the types of media you have and their quantity.  If you have a hard time identifying your media and quantity, it’s probably best to just bring your collection in to one of our locations and we’ll be able to get you sorted.

• How long does the transfer process take?

  Transfer turnaround varies from a matter of hours to weeks, depending on the media type and our current queue of transfer orders.  It’s common to get your tape transfers done in a week.  Sometimes 1 tape can be done on the same day. Typically, film transfers take longer, usually in the 2 to 4 week range.  Keep in mind that the months leading up to Christmas are typically our busiest, so bring in those Christmas projects well in advance. 

  If you have a deadline for getting your transfers (an event or family visit), be sure to ask us when you drop off your media for the estimated turn around and make sure we’re aware of your deadline.  If we’re aware of your desired timeframe, we can usually make it happen.  If you have an urgent need to get something transferred quicker than our estimate, we offer a 30% rush fee surcharge that you can pay to jump the line.  Don’t worry, we always give the same level of care and attention to all of our transfers.
• I don't live in the Lower Mainland nor in the Okanagan. Can I mail my media to you?

  Yes, we receive media mailed to us all the time, from all regions in Canada.  I know that many will have reservations about trusting their only copies of family memories with a mailing service, but our experience with Canada Post and other couriers has been very good.  When sending media via Canada Post, use their second tier service with tracking (XpressPost).  This adds an extra level of security for your collection.

  It’s important to note that not all media types are transferred at our Vancouver (Burnaby) location.  If you have film or slides within your collection, please mail your media to our Kelowna location as this is where all our film and slide orders are transferred.

  Do not despair if you dropped off or mailed film or slides to Vancouver.  The owner personally transports all media between our two locations in Vancouver and Kelowna. Any order (containing film and slides) will be brought to Kelowna, transferred there, and ​either personally brought back to our Vancouver location for you to pick-up or shipped back to you.

  The shipping addresses for our locations can be found here.

  Be sure to include your name, phone number, and email address with your media when shipping it.  We recommend that you create your own estimate, which can be easily done on our website here.  You will then get an email that you can print out (if you have a printer) and include it with your shipment.  This estimate will automatically include all of your contact information.

  Once we receive your shipment, we will review its contents, and call you to let you know that it arrived safely.
• What does Transfer to Digital do with the original media after it's transferred to digital?

  By default, all original media is returned to you.  We recommend keeping the originals until you’ve fully reviewed the transfers to ensure your satisfaction.

  If requested, we can also keep your media at our offices after the transfer until you’ve completed a review of the transfers.  Once you’ve done your review, just let us know, and we’ll recycle your original media.

• Do you offer discounts for large media collections?

  Yes.  We have 2 different tiers of discounts based on volume.  You can find these discounts clearly outlined via the details button for each category on the pricing page.  If you have a very large collection, give us a call and we can see if we can offer an even greater discount than what is posted.

• What file formats are the digital transfers provided in?

  Video tape transfers are provided in a MP4 video file (with H264 compression) at a 720 x 480 resolution.  All of our tape transfers are provided deinterlaced.

  Film transfers are also provided in a MP4 video file, albeit at a higher resolution of 2048 x 1536.

  Images are provided in high quality JPG files.  Our basic photo/document scanning service provides a resolution of 600dpi.  For higher quality scans, you can ask for flatbed scans at 1200dpi.  Negatives are scanned at 2100dpi, and slides at 4100dpi.

  Audio transfers are provided as lossless WAV files or high bitrate MP3 files, whatever your preference.

• How do you send the digital transfer files to us?
  There are 3 possible options for getting you your digital transfer files:

  1. On a USB stick that we sell you. We have all capacities of USB sticks from 16gb all the way up to 256gb.  We source the fastest USB sticks, so you’ll know you’re getting a quality stick from us.  If your data exceeds 256gb, we also sell 1tb portable hard drives.
  2. On a storage device that you bring in (when you drop off your media or at any time until the transfers are complete).  This can be a USB stick or portable hard drive.  Keep in mind that not all USB sticks are created equal and some are very slow, so copy times can be lengthy if you bring a slow USB stick when collecting your media and transfer files.  If you’re uncertain about what capacity of storage you will need, we’ll let you know what the required capacity is after your transfers are complete.
  3. Via online cloud delivery (through Google Drive).  We can send you an email with download links, through which you can download your transfer files to any device on which you have email access.  Keep in mind that these links are just that, links.  They are not the files themselves, so you can’t just keep the email with these links and think you have the files stored safely.  We can’t keep your media on our servers indefinitely, so these links will become inactive after a few weeks.  You just need to ensure that you have downloaded all of your files to all of your devices in that timeframe.  Cloud delivery is the most inexpensive option as we only charge a nominal fee on online delivery if the size is over 32gb.  However, many people prefer to have a physical storage device with their files and avoid any technical hassles with downloading their media from the cloud.
• Should I transfer my media to DVDs or CDs?

  Short answer: No.

  While we do offer the service of transferring your media onto DVDs and CDs (for an additional fee), discs are pretty much obsolete in today’s world.  Fewer and fewer people have DVD and CD players, and few modern computers or laptops are sold with them.  Discs are also easily damaged and you can’t easily share them with family and friends unless you make copies ($$).  We see many DVDs and CDs that are damaged and they often have sections that are unreadable.  If that’s the only copy, those memories are lost forever.

  If you choose to transfer your media to discs only, please be aware that you’ll probably want to transfer them from those discs to digital files on a USB stick within a few years.

  On the other hand, digital files will have decades of easy accessibility, can be easily stored in multiple locations to ensure their preservation, are easy to share with family and friends online, and easier to edit into highlight reels (which we strongly recommend you do… or have us do for you).

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