Frequently Asked Questions

We specialize in digitizing 5 categories: Tapes, Film Reels, Photos, Audio, and Discs

It is heartbreaking to lose your treasured photos and home movies to flood, fire or theft. In addition, physical media degrades over time. This leads to faded photos, lost details, and poor quality or unwatchable movie footage. Digitizing plus cloud storage ensures your memories are safely preserved forever.

We use professional grade equipment (such as our Lasergraphics scanner) to digitize your tapes, photos, discs, and films at the highest resolution. Our software and technology captures every detail, ensuring crisp visuals and clear audio, which cannot be matched by amateur scanners.

We offer competitive pricing with our Best Price Guarantee and flexible service options to fit your budget. You can View Pricing Here.

Simply contact us for a free consultation or schedule your service through our website. We’ll guide you through every step, making it easy and convenient to preserve your memories.

You can choose from:

• Cloud Hosting: This is our preferred method, providing secure access to your files anytime, anywhere. It also offers automatic backups and easy sharing with family and friends, ensuring that your memories are always protected.
• USB or External Hard Drive: For local storage, these options allow for convenient access and sharing across your devices.

We recommend using cloud storage for the best protection and ease of access. Cloud storage provides offsite backup, ensuring your memories are safe even in the event of physical damage or loss. Additionally, having local backups on USB or external drives provides an extra layer of security.

You can view your digital files on your iPhone or Android phone, computer, tablet, and smart TV.

We offer three convenient options:

• Drop Off: Visit our local office for in-person service.
• Courier Pick Up: Schedule a secure courier to collect your items from your doorstep.
• UPS Shipping: Use our prepaid UPS shipping to send your items, and we’ll notify you when they arrive.

Most projects take between 1 and 4 weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the order. Rush service may be available if you need a quicker turnaround. Contact us to discuss.

Yes, we can repair broken cassettes and torn ribbons. For film reels, we provide splicing of damaged sections to ensure the best possible outcome.

Unfortunately, we do not have the proper environment to safely remove mold. We recommend Pacific Video Repair for that service.

Our technicians use archival gloves and professional-grade equipment to handle most media, minimizing the risk of damage. Each item is cataloged and tracked throughout the process to ensure it is returned in the same condition in which it was received.

We offer a "once-and-done" solution. You will only need to pay for digitizing once, then your files can be securely stored in the cloud. Our high-end, professional grade equipment, such as our Lasergraphics film scanner and Epson 12000XL photo scanner, captures every detail, providing vastly superior results compared to consumer scanning gear. Furthermore, our scanning technicians have many years of experience and know exactly how to produce archival quality photo, movie and audio files. For editing digital images and movies we use advanced software that would be prohibitively expensive for most DIY projects. Scan5 can save you time, money and troubleshooting headaches. Peace of mind is priceless!

Yes, we offer custom editing services, including trimming, organizing, and combining footage to help tell your story the way you want it.

No, we can only make edits after everything on a tape has been digitized.

Yes, we can cut out specific portions if you provide us with timestamps after reviewing your digital files.

Yes, we specialize in large-scale archival projects for institutions like universities, school districts, and companies. Whether it’s digitizing historical photos and documents or preserving extensive media collections, we offer custom solutions to meet your needs.

Yes, we have extensive experience handling large projects. We can digitize thousands of films and vast photo collections, providing tailored solutions for organizations, schools, and government entities.

No, we do not handle undeveloped film. For developing film, we recommend contacting a dedicated film lab. However, we can digitize developed 8mm/16mm movie film, negatives, slides, and prints.

The cost difference is primarily due to the cost of equipment. For example, a U-Matic player is 10 to 20 times the cost of a typical VCR. In addition, we must bake U-Matic tapes in a special incubator oven for 8 hours to ensure a quality result.

Yes, of course. We return all materials to our customers as we receive them and notes will indicate which (if any) items could not be digitized.

We use a Lasergraphics Archivist film scanner. You can read a lot more about it HERE.

Yes, our film scanner has a built-in roller cleaning system. In addition, custom software is used for a "digital cleanup" to reduce dust and scratches.

Not at this time. For that service we recommend TMTV.net

We scan at up to 5K resolution and have the ability to transfer most film soundtracks.

Assuming your films are in good physical condition and were stored correctly, they should look incredible after we digitize them. You can ask for a sample movie before we transfer all of your reels.

We will return most films on 7-inch takeup reels. Films can be returned on their original reels for a fee, upon written request.

Yes, but you must use one of our UPS prepaid labels. You can get started HERE.

We recommend using ziplock bags to help waterproof your smaller items. Use bubble wrap or other cushioning to prevent any movement within the box. Feel free to call us to discuss further.