Digital Converters Logo
Cart icon

What do you want to convert?


FAQs.

We'll be pausing processing on the 21st December until the 3rd January. Any orders arriving over this period will be returned shortly after we begin work again. We'll still be responding promptly to emails during this time.

1. Placing an order

Q. Will my order be back for Christmas?
We expect most orders arriving before the 20th December to be back before Christmas, if not we'll have your order completed shortly after our return on the 3rd January.
Q. How long will my order take?
You can see an up to date turnaround time displayed on each service page once you have entered how much media you have, or feel free to get in touch.
Q. Do you require payment up front?
For orders which are less than £100 total, payment is required upfront.

If any tapes are blank, we will refund this automatically.

You can select ‘Pay On Completion’ for any larger orders of £100 or more when checking out. You will receive an invoice once your media has been transferred and is ready to return to you.
Q. How do I use a promo code?
Promotion discounts are entered in your basket. After applying the code, the discount will be displayed on your order summary.
Q. Is initial postage or collection included in the service?
For orders over £100, collection or postage via Royal Mail is included. For smaller orders, we offer collection or postage for a small cost, or you can arrange postage yourself.
Q. What if my tapes are blank?
We never charge for blank tapes, or tapes that cannot be recovered (although this is rare!).

If we cannot recover any content from your tapes, the payment will either be refunded or not be charged on your invoice.
Q. Do you offer discounts for large orders?
Yes, we offer bulk discounts of up to 30% off depending on your order’s size. This discount is automatically applied when ordering on our website.

Number of Tapes/Reels/Discs   Discount
1 - 4No Discount
5 - 910%
10 - 1915%
20 - 3920%
40 - 9925%
100+30%

Number of Photos   Discount
1 - 99No Discount
100 - 19910%
200 - 49915%
500 - 99920%
1000 - 249925%
2500+30%

2. Getting your order to and from us

Q. Will my media be returned?
All of your original media will be returned along with any physical digital copies you have ordered.
Q. How can I arrange courier collection?
We offer collections from anywhere in the UK. If your order is over £100, this collection service is free. It is available for smaller orders for a small cost.

The process is simple:

  1. When you place your order, select the pre-paid Royal Mail postage option.
  2. After booking in your order, you'll be able to choose a day for your order to be collected, and usually there is an estimated collection time window provided. Royal Mail will bring a label with them, attach it to the package and bring it to us.

Click here if you'd like to get started.
Q. What postal service should I use if I want to post my media?
We would recommend opting for the pre-paid Royal Mail Tracked drop off/collection option during checkout as we know this service is extremely reliable.

If you want to send it with an alternative courier of your choice, please make sure the courier is tracked.
Q. How should I package my media?
We always recommend using a cardboard box to get your media to us safely. This should be securely sealed, with your order information enclosed.

Everything you need to know on how to correctly package your media is provided in the instructions, which are shown immediately after placing an order.
Q. How will my order be returned?
We use Royal Mail Tracked to return all orders, if your order is over 20kg, we'll dispatch your order in multiple packages back to you. 

As soon as your order is dispatched, we will send you an email and include your tracking information.

3. What we can and can’t do

Q. My tape is broken, mouldy or will not play?
We offer free repairs as part of our service. We can fix most tapes; however, if your tape is irreparable, we will refund you the money for that tape.

We also provide a free cleaning service for mouldy VHS tapes before conversion.

For more information, see our VHS Video to DVD service page.
Q. What formats do you convert?
You can convert most types of videotape format with us, including VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, Video8, Hi8, Digital 8, Mini DV, MicroMV to digital.

If you own cine film: we digitise 8mm cine, 9.5mm and 16mm film.

If you own photographs: we convert slides to digital, digitise photos and convert negatives to negative. For any other size, please get in touch for a quote.

If you own audio cassettes or reels: we can transfer compact cassettes, reel to reel, and dictaphone tapes.
Q. Do you convert copyright material?
We can, but we need express permission from the copyright holder.

If you contact the copyright holder and let them know you own the original and want to use Digital Converters to convert the tape for personal use, they will usually say yes.
Q. Do you offer a editing service?
Our system is designed around extracting all the content from each item, if you opt for memory stick or cloud transfer, you can edit the media yourself when you get it back. If you would like us to edit something for you, you can request this prior or after your order is complete, and we'll provide a quote (usually £5 per edit).

Here's what we do by default:
Tapes:
We only remove blank footage (e.g. static, blank screens). This service is included in your conversion. If you are looking to edit your footage, you can read more on how to do so on our blog!

Cine:
Your reels will be colour corrected and trimmed. If your reels are silent, we will add an audio soundtrack in the background to liven up your videos! Please let us know if you would prefer it to be silent.

Photos:
Your photos will be cleaned prior to transferring, and rotated and cropped appropriately.
Q. Do you add music to your cine transfers?
Yes, by default, we add music to silent cine film transfers.

This is some piano music, which generally works well with most footage.

If you would prefer us not to add sound, please request in the order comment form during checkout.
Q. Can you convert magnetic or optical cine sound?
Yes, we convert all types of cine sound.

There can be issues with the audio sync when converting cine to digital, but we’ll do our best to make sure this is good as it can be (sync issues occur with all cine transfer processes, not just ours).
Q. What film gauges do you support?
We support all consumer film gauges, which includes 8mm cine, 9.5mm and 16mm.
Q. What types of photos can you scan?
We can digitise loose photos, convert slides to digital and convert negatives to negative.

Loose photos are photographs that are not framed, mounted or in albums. Please make sure that your photos do not have any blu-tack, sellotape, staples on the back, as this may cause problems during scanning.

To digitise your photos, visit our digitise photos page.
Q. What size photos can’t you scan?
Loose photos:

  1. Photos larger than A4 size or any sides smaller than 6cm
  2. Photos supplied in albums or frames
  3. Photos with blu-tack, sellotape or staples
  4. Very thick or laminated photos
  5. Irregularly shaped photos (not rectangle)

If you are unsure, please feel free to contact us or include them in your package anyway. We won’t charge you for anything we can’t scan.
Q. Can you scan projector slides or negatives?
We can convert all slides to digital including 35mm and we can also convert negatives to negative. For other sizes please get in touch.
Q. Can you organise my photos into folders?
Yes. If you would like us to do this, please request it in the order comment section during checkout, or contact us.

Please make sure all the photos are clearly labelled and separated into different folders before sending them to us.
Q. Will my photos be transferred in the same order?
We’ll do our best to return the photos in the same order, but occasionally there may be a photo not in the same place when it requires special attention. Photos supplied in folders or boxes will all be returned in the same container.