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Hard Drive Transfer

Transfer to Hard Drives Top Questions
Below are common questions we get about our hard drive transfer process. If your questions are not answered below please feel free to contact us. Or better still, drop by our brick-and-mortar store and on-site film transfer lab in Newton, MA.

You can also find frequently asked questions about our Video Tape Transfer, Memory Cards/Sticks transfer, Image Scanning, Film Transfer, audio transfer (cassettes, vinyl records, DAT) . Or return to our General FAQ page.

  1. What is an external/portable hard drive?
  2. What is the benefit of transferring to a hard drive?
  3. What kind of video files will be the hard drive contain?
  4. What size hard drive should I bring?
  5. Can you purchase the hard drive for us?
  6. How much does it cost to transfer to a hard drive?
  7. How to decide if I should transfer to a DVD or to a hard drive?
  8. How much does it cost?
  9. Where can I find more information?

Q. What is a external/portable hard drive?

  • A hard drive is a portable object to store large computer files.
  • Instead of transferring your videos to a DVD, you can request to transfer your videos to a hard drive.

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Q. What is the benefit of transferring to a hard drive?

The customers who transfer to a hard drive intend to edit the videos.

  • A DVD is convenient, you can simply pop a DVD into a player and watch your video right away.
  • However, if you plan to edit the videos, you will need to rip it off the DVD, an extra step some customers don’t want to bother with.
  • When you transfer your video files to a hard drive, you can drag and drop the files directly into your video editing software without the extra step.
  • You also get higher resolution files when you transfer to a hard drive.  
  • Video files on a DVD have been compressed, so that it’s optimal for playing and viewing on DVD players.

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Q. What kind of video files will be the hard drive contain?

  • When you request to transfer to a hard drive, we ask you if you will be using the Mac or PC.
  • If you are using the MAC, we transfer to .MOV video files.
  • If you are using a PC, we transfer to .AVI files.
  • If you have other file formats you prefer your video files in, let us know.

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Q. Should I transfer to a DVD or to a hard drive?

DVD is for watching.  If you plan to edit your videos, we recommend going to a hard drive because :
  • You can directly drag the files from your hard drive to your editing software.
  • DVDs require an additional step called DVD ripping to convert the files to a format your software can understand.
  • You also get full-resolution files on a hard drive, whereas DVD files are compressed.  A one hour video is 12 Gig on a hard drive, but only 2 Gig on a DVD.  The bigger the file, the sharper the image quality.
We have created a video to help you decide which serves your needs better:  “Transfer movies  to a DVD or to Hard Drive” video

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Q. How much does it cost?

Please see our pricing page.

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Q. Where can I find more information?

Call us at (617) 332-3300. One of our friendly technicians will be happy to answer your specific questions. Or better still, drop by our brick-and-mortar store and on-site lab in Newton, MA.

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