Knowledge Blog

The MP4 is a widely popular format for digital video.  It is playable on any computer operating system and can be streamed through the internet.  It's possible to store hundreds of hours of MP4 video to a single flash drive smaller than your thumb.

We're often asked how long it takes to digitize VHS memories.  The answer... it depends.  More importantly, who is doing the digitizing?

The Inescapable Truth

No matter who is doing the digitizing, capturing VHS signal is done in real time.  Therefore, a two hour video takes at least two hours to digitize.  One machine plays the tape, while another captures the signal into a digital format.  Most VHS cassettes hold up to six hours of signal, so good digitizers will play through the entire tape (six hours) to ensure they don't miss an important video event later in the tape. 

VCR no longer working? Do you even know what's on those VHS cassettes? No worries! At Heirloom, we inspect all videos before for signal before digitizing.

VHS is the acronym for Video Home System.  VHS used a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) to record and play analog video tapes.  VHS rose to popularity in the 1970s, but has been surpassed by the technology inherent with digital video.