I need some opinions please.

[Jason R]

Hello All,

I was wandering if you could share you opinion with me? I am thinking about maybe starting a little side business. Taking peoples old movies and converting them and burning them on DVD’s. You know like your old baby movies or maybe a vacation video. I also can take old pictures and put them on a DVD in a slide show complete with music of your choice. All I am asking for is your opinion not your business. So if this would be something you would be interested in please let me know. Thank you for your time.



Jason

 

[Gary DiPietroSr]

Jason, I was in Circuit City the day and they offer the same service. I would be interested in it. You might want to check them out for price comparison. Good Luck, Gary

 

[Todd Z]

I just had a local guy do 4 reels here and charged me $150. It all fit on 2 DVDs...

I don't know what the call for this is, but the guy told me here he does the 1 old reel a month and 3-4 VHS to DVD a month...

GOOD luck with it if you do decide to do it...

Todd Z

 

[patrick oconnor 2]

how about old football games to dvd. should be a great market for that?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I had this done with about 30 reels (of various lengths) to VHS about 5 years ago. It was over 3 hours of video all said and done, and it was all old 16mm and 8mm home movies without sound, all shot back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.



I had to label the reels in chronological order including a rough estimate as to the year, and the videographer did the rest. He dubbed them, adding music and effects, and the music even tracked the time periods from the clips with music that was timely for that period in time.



The whole thing cost under $300, and I got 3 copies of a two tape set (T-120 high speed dubbing).



I wouldn't expect to pay any more if I were to have it done as DVD...maybe even less.



Oh, and be prepared for all the do-it-yourselvers to talk about the Hauppague cards and various capture devices and PC burners and software that allow you to do it yourself. Guys like that are your competition; that and the chains and large guys that do this in bulk.



For me, what with dozens of reels and no reel projector anymore, that all just didn't make sense.



It can be a good business, but I suspect the margins will be tight. If you look at it as a side-business that keeps you doing things you like, pays for the toys you want, and makes a little money in addition, then I say go for it.



TJR

 

[Michael Hale]

I agree there is alot of competition. I for one am in the process of converting over 50 or so C-VHS tapes to burn to DVD (save storage space and change to newer video format). I'm editing the video myself to delete dead areas of tape. Nothing fancy like music or titles within the video.

 

[Gavin Allan]

A good idea if you can keep the costs reasonable and the quality high. My little brother bought a scanner for slides and has been working on converting the family's slide collections into DVD. He does a real good job. Mom took some to Wal-Mart and they cut the quality way down, decreased the picture size, and generally cost a bunch of money for a crap job compared to my brothers.



Good luck!



You gotta somehow get to the rich old grandmas who want their lifetime photo and slide collections converted and saved to pass on to their children and grandchildren.