What is the video quality?
There's a lot of factors to take in when it comes to video quality. Below are some helpful definitions.
- TV resolution is the measure of how crisp your TV’s picture appears. Pixels are responsible for resolution – the more pixels, the better the detail. For example, HD resolution starts at 1080 pixels wide and 4K goes up to 2160 pixels.
Your TV’s screen size is the diagonal measurement from one corner to the other. As a result, screen size has very little to do with resolution – that’s more of an aspect ratio problem. Most VHS tapes were filled full screen to fit the old 4:3 tube TV aspect ratio, versus the more modern 16:9 widescreen. So, playing an old VHS on a new TV may stretch the picture.
- Video quality is only as crisp as it is smooth. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the video. And that’s achieved by how quickly a pixel can change color “or refresh” in one second. Old CRT TVs that were standard when VHS tapes were popular typically had a 32 hertz refresh rate. Modern TVs can go all the way up to 240 hertz!
So, what will the file specs be of my videos?
Our capture and transfer process involves a straight transfer, so the quality of the digital files you receive should be as close as possible to the native quality of the original media. We don't provide any editing services.
- 480p at about 24-29 frames per second –that’s half the resolution of HD and a lower refresh rate than today’s TVs.
- Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)
- H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (part 10), 480p, 24-29 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 1500-3000 kbps
- DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB
Will you enhance my footage at all?
Digitizing your videos can preserve them, but it probably won’t look like the HD you’re used to today. We make sure to provide a 1 to 1 transfer, retaining the original quality! But we are not able to improve or enhance the quality in anyway.
The quality fades quick though, so make sure to digitize your videos ASAP!