Do you have old movie reels, tapes and slides you want transferred to DVD and don’t know where to start? First, review the reels, tapes and slides and make a “keep pile” and a “trash pile”. There is no use spending money transferring junk that you will never view again to DVD. Next, take the trash pile and offer the items to family members that might want them. Finally, do a little shopping for the correct service you need and compare prices. The prices listed below are from Costco, and will give you an approximate idea about the costs of such services. The average time to do a transfer is about 3 weeks.

Video Transfer Service involves taking information contained on a VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, HI-8, Digital 8, 8mm Videotape, MiniDV, or Betamax format and transferring that information to a DVD. The average charge is $20 for up to 2 tapes, 2 hours total.

Film Transfer Service involves taking information on 8mm, Super 8, or 16mm movie reels and transferring that information to a DVD. The average cost is $20 for the first 150 feet transferred, and $0.12 per additional foot.

Slide Transfer Service involves taking information on 35mm slides in cardboard or plastic mounts and transferring that information to a DVD. The average cost is $20 for the first 50 slides then $0.35 per additional slide.

Most companies that do the transfer will return your original media, but always check first. If you use an internet company, it may cost you extra for shipping.

If you have a lot of VHS tapes to transfer to DVDs, you can purchase a Sony DVDirect Multi-Function DVD Recorder. The recorder will transfer home movies and digital pictures to DVD quickly and easily, without a PC. The recorder connects with most camcorders, VCRs, DVRs or digital cameras. The recorder costs about $150 and you can also use it to back up your digital camera photos.

Don’t forget to back up all of your holiday photos on DVD!

For more information on this and other tech issues, contact Brad at (702) 294-1392 or www.applebyarts.com.