Frequently Asked Questions

Simply drop off your home movies and pictures. In a few weeks, you’ll get your originals back plus new digital keepsakes.

Mix and match format types from VHS tapes to Super8 film.

Tapes: VHS, VHS-C, 8mm video (video8), Hi8, MiniDV, Betamax, Betacam SP

Film: 8mm film, Super8 film, 16mm film

Pictures: Prints, Slides, Negatives

Audio: Audio Cassette, 8-Track, Records, Reel-to-Reel

Disk: Floppy Disk, CDs, DVDs, Zip Disk

It takes approximately 2 - 6 weeks once we receive your home movies and pictures. Receive regular email updates throughout the whole digitizing process to answer all your questions.

We know how important every home movie and photo is, that is why we handle each of your precious memories with care and keep you informed every step of the way.

You will get all of your tapes, film, or photos back plus a choice of Thumb Drive or Digital Download so you can relive your memories as digital files. All analog media is carefully converted by hand, right here in Richmond, Virginia.

Yes! You can use a USB-C to USB-A adapter to view the thumb drive. If you don't own an adapter, we do sell adapters for only $10.

We will immediately let you know if we find that one of your video tapes are blank and discuss what steps to take next. As standard practice, we convert the entire tape as it is because there could be footage at any point on the video tape. Please note, the processing for video tapes takes the same amount of time whether the footage is an hour long or only a few minutes. For this reason, we charge for video tape conversions per item instead of based upon the length of the footage.

Yes! Once your video tape is digitized, we have many different methods of enhancing the quality of your video. Some methods include: noise reduction, color correction, and video editing.

Yes, you will get back all of your original analog media along with your newly digitized home movies.

When most people decide to preserve their personal memories by digitizing them, they typically want it done once and not have to re-digitize them every 10 years as technology changes. Wouldn’t you rather do it with a company that is dedicated, committed and that specializes in such quality service, and where you know that your personal content will be dealt with professionally and with care? We think you would.

A lot of larger transfer companies use older, over-used, worn out equipment that produces sub par quality transfers. RVA Rewind has over 30 years experience in transfering analog media to digital formats and we record them at the highest quality possible.

Your digitized video tapes are given back to you either as digital downloads from our website or on a thumb drive. You get to choose one of the two options, more than one option can be chosen at an additional charge(s), for how you would like to receive your digitized videos.

Digital files on thumb drives are usually formated as MPEG-4 (industry standard) or other video formats upon request.

Digital Downloads are just available as the industry standard MPEG-4 file format.

Upon request we offer DVD’s but usually don’t recomend them as DVD’s are becoming phased out. Each digitized tape gets its own DVD disc, we will only combine tapes onto a DVD if they are 30min or less in length.

As standard practice, we convert the entire tape as it is because there could be footage at any point on the video tape. Please note, the processing for video tapes takes the same amount of time whether the footage is an hour long or only a few minutes. For this reason, we charge for video tape conversions per item instead of based upon the length of the footage.

Original Video Tape Quality (color correction, noise reduction, and video editing are add-on features that are available as an additional charge) Preserved in a Digital Format

MP4 Digital File (the most common format for digital video files)

*Uncompressed/ProRES Digital File (larger file size, used for high-quality video editing)

720 x 576 Dimensions

5-7 GB Average File Size for MP4

Fun Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)

H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (part 10), 480p, 29.97 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 1500-3000 kbps

DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB

Yes. We will keep your tapes in the order that you give them to us and we will do our best to put your digitized videos in the same order. If your video tapes are labeled with a title or some other identification, you can help us by providing us with a list that indicates the order you would like.

When most people decide to preserve their personal memories by digitizing them, they typically want it done once and not have to re-digitize them every 10 years as technology changes. Wouldn‘t you rather trust a company that is dedicated, committed, and that specializes in such quality service. Where you know that your personal content will be dealt with professionally and with care? Many larger transfer companies use older and inefficient equipment that produces sub par quality transfers. RVA Rewind has over 30 years experience in transfering analog media to digital formats and we record them at the highest quality possible.

Yes, you will get back all of your original film reels along with your newly digitized films.

We will do our best to process your film in the order that it is given to us in. If your film reels are labeled with a title or some other identification you can provide us with a list that shows the order you would like them.

Yes! Once your film reel is digitized, we have many different methods of enhancing the picture quality of your film. Some methods include: image stabilization, film grain reduction, scratch and dust removal, as well as color correction.

Your film reels are returned the same way you gave them to us. Original Film Quality (color correction, noise reduction, and video editing are add-on features that are available as an additional charge) Preserved in a Digital Format.

MP4 Digital File (the most common format for digital video files)

1440 x 1080 Dimensions

1-2 GB Average File Size for MP4

Fun Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)

H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (part 10), 480p, 29.97 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 1500-3000 kbps

DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB

We will immediately let you know if we find that one of your film reels are blank or damaged and discuss what steps to take next.

Yes we do digitize film reels that have sound! There is an additional 15% charge for film reels with sound in addition our standard digitizing price.

Sound on 8mm film was introduced in 1973 with Super8 but most people didn’t really use it that often.

When most people decide to preserve their personal memories by digitizing them, they typically want it done once and not have to re-digitize them every 10 years as technology changes. Wouldn‘t you rather do it with a company that is dedicated, committed and that specializes in such quality service, and where you know that your personal content will be dealt with professionally and with care? We think you would.

A lot of larger transfer companies use older, over-used, worn out equipment that produces sub par quality scans. Not only that but we scan at 2X the resolution as most transfer companies. RVA Rewind has over 30 years experience in transfering analog media to digital formats and we record them at the highest quality possible.

Your digitized photos are given back to you either as digital downloads from our website or on a thumb drive. You get to choose one of the two options, more than one option can be chosen at an additional charge(s), for how you would like to receive your digitized videos.

Digital files on thumb drives are usually formated as JPEG (industry standard) or other picture formats like PNG or TIFF upon request.

Digital Downloads are only available as JPEG or PNG file format.

Upon request we offer DVD’s but usually don’t recomend them as DVD’s are becoming phased out.

Yes, you will get back all of your original photos along with your newly scanned and digitized pictures.

Yes, we will keep your pictures, slides, and negatives in the order that you give them to us and we will do our best to keep your digitized photographs in the same order. Whether you opted for a thumb driveor digital download you will find that the photo files are easy to reorganize to your liking with a computer should a digital photo or two be out of order.

Yes! For an additional charge we offer these add-on services for your digitized photos: color correction, noise reduction, dust and scratch removal, and image repair. We do ask that you clean off any visibly dusty or dirty photos (prints, slides, and negatives) before giving them to us. By doing this you are helping us to be as efficent as possible so we can get your digitized memories back to you faster.

Original Photo Quality (color correction, noise reduction, dust and scratch removal, and image repair are add-on features that are available as an additional charge) Preserved in a Digital Format

Photo Prints - 600 dpi

Slides / Negatives - 4800+ dpi

A digital photo file’s image resolution is measured in Dots Per Inch (DPI). We have several different scanning methods that we can use to process your photos. The process that we use depends upon which scaning method is best for your images. These scans meet a minimum standard DPI of:

Photo Prints: 600 DPI

Slides: 4800 DPI

Negatives: 4800 DPI

Please note, the exact measurements of the photograph’s digital file will depend on the physical size of the photo itself.

Loose photos, slides, and negatives can be placed in ziploc style baggies or envelopes. If you end up having more than one baggie or envelope of photos, we ask that you write the number order that each bag/envelope should be in on the outside. We do not require photos, slides and negatives to be loose leaf and placed in a bag/envelope, we can still process your photos even if they arrive in albums, frames, cases, carousels, or sleeves.

You only transfer and preserve your personal memories, family history and unique legacy once. Wouldn‘t you rather do it with a company that is dedicated, committed, and specializes in such service, and where you know that your personal content will be dealt with professionally and with care? We think you would.

Your digitized audio files are given back to you either as digital downloads from our website or on a thumb drive. You get to choose one of the two options, more than one option can be chosen at an additional charge(s), for how you would like to receive your digitized audio files.

Digital files for are formated as high quality .M4A, .MP3, .AIFF, or .WAV files depending on your preference. Other audio formats are available as well.

For the best quality, if you send in audio cassettes, each side will be transferred to its own CD, or as a separate file if you opted for a thumb drive or Digital Download.

Yes, you will get back all of your original analog media along with your newly digitized audio files.

We will immediately let you know if we find that one of your tapes or records are blank and discuss what steps to take next. As standard practice, we convert the entire tape as it is because there could be audio at any point on the audio cassette or record. Please note, the processing for tapes takes the same amount of time whether the audio is an hour long or only a few minutes. For this reason, we charge for tape and record conversions per item instead of based upon the length of the audio.

We carefully record each audio tape in one take from start to finish, so we do not seperate audio tracks as part of our standard service. However, we do offer track separation as on of our add-on services.

Original Audio Quality (noise reduction, equalization, and audio editing are add-on features that are available as an additional charge) Preserved in a Digital Format

M4A Digital File (16bit 44.1khz)

MP3 Digital File (16bit 44.1khz)

AIFF Digital File (24bit 96khz)

WAV Digital File (24bit 96khz)

We can convert your audio tapes and records into these types of digital files: M4A, MP3, AIFF, and WAV.

Yes! Once your audio tape is digitized, we have many different methods of enhancing the quality of your audio files by helping with noise reduction, tape hiss, equalization, and audio editing.

If we have problems with one of your disks, we will move on to the next disk in your set. Once we are finished with all the disks you have given us, we will contact you about the disks that had probelms. If some of the disks are important to you, we have software that might be able to restore and save the information.

We do not transfer Iomega Jazz disks at this time but we are looking into it. We are always looking to offer new services. Contact us if you have a Jazz disk. We might be able to make this happen.

At this time, we only transfer the data as-is from your disk. We do not convert files from one format to another format. It is something we plan to offer in the future but not at this time.

We do not transfer 5¼-inch floppy disks at this time. We might offer this service at a later date. Check back soon.

We have performed some minor disk repairs in the past but we do not offer disk repair services at this time. It might be a service we introduce in the future. Check back soon.