Audio Formats - Records
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LP (33 1/3, vinyl, microgroove) - Is your record 12 inches (or 10 inches) in diameter? Does it spin at 33 1/3 rpm? It is probably an LP (Long Playing) microgroove record. LPs are made of a flexible material (vinyl) that does not shatter on impact (like the old shellac 78s). LP records are 'pressed' in an industrial process and made in large numbers (not to be confused with one-of-a-kind or studio records that are produced in a different process). Some people call these colloqually (and incorrectly) '78s'. |
LPs do not spin at 78rpm, are vinyl (not breakable shellac) and have much longer play (thus the name, Long Play - LP). LPs are the most common type of record found in collections.
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Home made records (78 rpm, 45 rpm or 33 1/3 rpm such as "Recordio", "Wilcox Gay", "Voice-O-Graph", "Silvertone", "Federal Perma", etc.) - Are your records one-of-a-kind records? Made by some type of recorder (at home, in a department store, at USO, etc.)? With a generic (brand name) label and hand written information? They fit our "home-made-records" category. The diameter can vary from 5 to 12 inches. They can spin at any rpm speed (we'll figure it out and process at correct rpm). The material can be soft as cardboard or hard as metal (and anything in between). |
Please see our Gallery of Home Made Records (records we have received and processed at our studio). Common mistake: calling these records '45s' (and submitting them for transfer as 45s). Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing), we can not process home-made-records as 45s (we will process them under the correct classification and price).
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USO records (sponsored by "Pepsi", "Coca Cola", USO), Automat Recording Machine records - These records were made for 'your man in service' during (and after) World War II. Or they were made in a department store or by a home recorder. The diameter can be anything between 5 and 12 inches. They can spin at any rpm speed (we'll figure it out and process at correct rpm). The material can be soft as cardboard or hard as metal (and anything in between). Please see our Gallery of Home Made Records (records we have received and processed at our studio). |
Common mistake: calling these records '45s' (and submitting them for transfer as 45s). Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing). We can not process home-made-records as 45s (we will process them under the correct classification and price).
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Studio produced records (lacquers, acetates, glass substrate, demos, one-off records) - Was the record produced in a studio? It may be a lacquer, an acetate, a studio demo, or an one-off record. The substrate may be made out of glass (or aluminum). It may have a 'Professional Recording Studio' label. It may spin at any rpm speed (we'll figure it out and process at correct rpm) and it may play from the outside in or from the inside out. |
Please see our Gallery of Studio Produced Records (records we have received and processed at our studio).
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Commercially released 78rpm records - Are your records 10 inch in diameter? Are they thick, hard (non-bendable), heavy and breakable (shellac)? Do they have professionally printed labels (with the name of the record company, artist and song)? Were they pressed (in the 1930's-1950's) in thousands of copies? Are they in a binder ("album")? Common mistake: sending 'Home Made Records', 'Studio Produced Records' or LPs under the "Commercially Released 78rpm' category. |
Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing). We will process records under correct classification and price.
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16-inch Records (Transcriptions) (33 1/3 rpm or 78 rpm, such as "U.S. Armed Forces Radio Service" broadcasts) - Is your record 16 (or 17) inches in diameter? It is a Transcription. |
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45 rpm records (7-inch "jukebox-type" records) - These are the typical 7-inch "jukebox-type" 45rpm records: big hole in the middle (regular hole possible), mass produced, with a colorful label. They have one song on each side. Common mistake: sending discs that fit our 'home-made-records' category as 45rpms. Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing) between formats. |
We can not process home-made-records as 45s (we will process them under the correct classification and price).
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12-Inch Singles and 45RPM Extended Play (EP) records (DJ, Disco, Dance, Mix records that fit the definition of a 12-Inch Single) - Usually DJs and people who have '12-inch Singles' and '45RPM Extended Play (EP)' records know what they are. To the untrained eye, 12-inch singles look exactly like a 12-inch LP record. The difference lies in the fact that 12-Inch Singles have wider groove spacing (and play only about 10-12 minutes per side). This gives better sound quality and is the preferred format by DJs for Dance, Disco, Techno, and Club music. |
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Dubplates ("dubplate specials": reggae, dancehall, dubstep, drum and bass, soca, chutney, hip hop, etc.) - Usually DJs and people who have 'dubplates' know what they are. Dubplates can be 7, 10 or 12 inches in diameter and are usually issued in small quantities, for DJ or band use. |
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Edison Diamond Discs, Edison "Recreations", other 78rpm Acoustical Discs - 78rpm (or 80rpm and other) records marked with the Edison trademark, made from 1912 to 1929. Also under this category: Acoustical Discs - records produced with the sound being piped in with a sound horn, without the use of microphones. These are all records made before aprox. 1925 (when microphones were invented). |
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Edison Red (plastic) discs - These records are marked with the EDISON trade name and are made of a thin, red plastic material. They spin at a lower rpm speed than most records (therefore thay can be long) and appear to have been produced by dictation equipment. |
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Vertical Cut records - The early records were cut using the vertical cut recording process (also known as the Hill and Dale process). Edison, Pathe and many small record companies are cut vertically. Unless you know a bit about the history of your record you probably will not know if your record was cut vertically. If you do, great, select this category. If you don't, not to worry, we will determine if your record was cut vertically and will process (and price) correctly. |
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16 2/3 rpm (or 16rpm) records - They look exactly like 12-inch LPs, but they are marked as 16 R.P.M. (or 16 2/3 RPM) records. |
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8 1/3 rpm (or 8rpm) records - The National Library Service for the Blind issued many 8RPM 'Talking Books'. Most 8rpm records are 10-inch in diameter, but there are some 12-inch and 7-inch. This format was developed by the American Foundation for the Blind. |
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Unusual record formats - Records that do not fit any of the above categories. |
Audio Formats - Tape
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Reel-To-Reel (open reel) tape (1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, stereo or mono, half-track or quarter-track tape, 2-track, 4-track or 8-track tape) - Recording tape (magnetic tape) on a reel. Tape width: 1/4 inch (1/2 inch for RAW transfers only). Reel diameter: from 3-inch to 10-inch. Any track configuration acceptable, up to 4 track for 1/4 inch tape (and 8 track for RAW transfers). Common mistake: it is on a reel, it looks like tape, but it isn't! What is it? It is a reel of FILM (we can not transfer film). How can you tell if it's film or tape? Hold the 'tape' in front of a light source. Do you see timy images? It's film (please do not send). |
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8-track tape (8-track cartridges played in cars and home stereos) - Shell size: 4" x 5 1/4" x 7/8". Tape width: 1/4 inch. |
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Cassette tape - Also known as Compact Cassette. Plays in home stereos, cars, boom boxes, walkmans, etc. Shell size: 4" x 2 1/2" x 3/8". Tape width: 1/8 inch. |
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Micro-cassette tape - microcassettes are mostly used in dictation machines, portable voice recorders and answering machines. Music was also recorded on micro-cassettes. Shell size: 2" x 1 1/4" x 1/8". Tape width: 1/8 inch. |
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DAT tape - Digital Audio Tape (also known as R-DAT). Used for recording audio digitally. Shell size: 2 7/8" x 2 1/8" x 7/16". Tape width: 4mm. It is mostly used by audio professionals and can be recorded (and played back) by field and protable recorders, as well as stationary professional equipment. Please note: there are computer backup systems that use DAT Tape. We DO NOT offer a computer data transfer service. |
Audio - Other Formats
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Wire Recordings - A spool of thin wire that is recorded magnetically. Used in home wire recorders and players. Many wedding (and other church) services were recorded on wires, as well as family gatherings, music and radio shows. There were several formats of wire recordings. Please be advised that we only accept wires compatible with the "Webster Chicago" system (approx. 2.25 inch hub diameter and 2.75 inch outside diameter). |
If the spool has these dimensions, the wire is compatible regardless of the brand name printed on the reel. Please do not submit wires that are encapsulated in a shell or have spools of other dimensions. Also, the wire must be in good condition: must have one clear beginning and must have been spooled by a machine (wires with no clear beginning or wires that were spooled by hand can not be played back).
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MiniDisc - It looks like a small CD, encapsulated in a cartridge. Cartridge size: 68mm x 72mm x 5mm. Audio is recorded digitally. MiniDiscs were recorded and played back by portable equipment (personal recorder or walkman-style) or by stationary equipment (home stereo, professional equipment). |
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Video Formats
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LaserDisc (LD) - They look like oversized CDs. Or like metallic LPs (with a big hole). Also known as "DiscoVision" or "LaserVision". Most LaserDiscs are 12-inch in diameter. If they bear the LaserDisc logo, smaller discs are also LaserDisc compatible (like CD-Video discs). Please note: there is an older format of video disc (CED) we do not support. It looks like a vinyl record, encapsulated in a protective caddy. If your videodisc is encapsulated, please do not send it in for transfer. We also do not suppoprt VHD discs. |
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VHS and VHS-C - The most common video tape format. Comes in two sizes: VHS is regular (big) size, VHS-C (VHS-Compact) is the smaller size. VHS-C was used in camcorders and can be played in regular VHS players with the use of an adapter. Most movies on tape were released in the VHS format. VHS shell size: 7 3/8" x 4 1/16" x 1'. Tape width: 1/2 inch. VHS-C shell size: 3 5/8" x 2 5/16" x 7/8". Tape width: 1/2 inch. |
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SVHS and SVHS-C - Super VHS. The high quality VHS format. Tape sizes are the same as for VHS. SVHS tapes are marked with the SVHS logo. |
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Beta / Betamax - The consumer format VCR tape. It was first, it was better, but in the format wars VHS won. Beta / Betamax shell size: 6 1/8" x 3 3/4" x 15/16". Tape width: 1/2 inch. |
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ED Beta (Extended Definition Beta) - The tape size is the same as regular Beta. ED Beta can only played by specialized (and very rare) ED Beta machines. Incredible, but the tech specs of ED Beta tape are the same as DVD! |
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SuperBeta (High Band Beta) - The tape size is the same as regular Beta. The picture quality is improved compared to regular Beta. A tape recorded in Super Beta (High Band Beta) mode can only be played in a compatible Super Beta machine. |
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Beta SP / Betacam SP - A Professional version of Beta tape, used mostly by television studios and professional facilities. (If you tape was made at home, in a home VCR, please select Beta / Betamax above.) Btea SP (Betacam SP) tapes come in two sizes, we support both. Note: there are professional Beta formats we do not support, please make sure the tape you send is marked Beta SP (or Betacam SP). Common mistake: we occasionally receive U-matic tapes for transfer from customers who think that they are Beta tapes. |
The easy way to tell if it is a U-matic tape is to look at the tape width: if it is 3/4 inch wide, it is U-matic, we do not support the format, please do not send in the tape. Also, U-matic shells are larger than the Beta tapes (8 5/8" x 5 3/8" x 1 3/16"). Beta SP small shell size: 6 1/8" x 3 3/4" x 15/16". Tape width: 1/2 inch. Beta SP large shell size: 9 15/16" x 5 11/16" x 15/16". Tape width: 1/2 inch.
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Hi8 and Video8 - Video8 came first, followed by Hi8. Very common camcorder tape. There are professional playback machines (such as the ones used by us) that give the best playback quality. Hi8 and Video8 cassette tape shell size: 3 11/16" x 2 7/16" x 9/16". Tape width: 8mm. |
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Digital 8 - A digital video format (equal in tech specs to miniDV). Used in camcorders. The tape size is the same as Hi8 and Video8. |
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miniDV and DV - The first consumer Digital video tape format (today still popular). miniDV (small shell) size: 2 9/16" x 3 1/16" x 9/16". Tape width: 6.35mm. DV (large shell) size: 4 7/8" x 3 1/16" x 9/16". Tape width: 6.35mm. |
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DVCAM - The professional version of DV. We accept DVCAM tapes in both small and large shell. The tape and shell sizes are the same as DV and miniDV. |
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DVD - Conversion from DVD NTSC (American) to DVD PAL (foreign) (or from DVD PAL to DVD NTSC). Diameter: 12 cm (4.72 inches). |
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VCD (Video CD) - On the outside, they look exactly like CDs (or DVDs). Diameter: 12 cm (4.72 inches). |
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QUADRAPHONIC (Quad) Records, Reel-to-reel Tapes and 8-Track Tapes
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| Quadraphonic recordings (four discrete audio channels) represented the highest and most advanced form of spacial audio fidelity of the 1970s. In fact, quadraphonic recordings were decades ahead of their time. Due to complicated setups and expensive equipment most people resisted adopting the technology and it all folded. Too bad it died (and did not produce more recordings), as today, 40 years later, multi-track audio reproduction is the standard. The Quad recordings produced in the 70s are absolutely amazing! The lucky few who still have in their collection (or can still get their hands on) Quadraphonic recordings are now able to use our service to play Quad recordings in their full 70s glory! It you see that your LP, reel-to-reel or 8-track tape is marked QUADRAPHONIC or QUAD it is entirely worthwhile to get the quad recording transferred to CD as a Quadraphonic Conversion. Please note that in order to enjoy our Quad CDs you need to have playback equipment capable of playing DTS or DOLBY DIGITAL recordings. This is most commonly found in Home Theatre setups. (Please do not order a Quadraphonic Conversion if you will play the CD on a boombox, as it will not work). It was known as "The greatest sensation of the music world!" - "4 Channel Dimensional Stereo". One final thought: the Quadraphonic technology is exactly the same vintage as the Voyager spacecrafts. Just as the Voyagers, after performing brilliantly for four decades, are sadly approaching "end of life", our equipment and this service will not last forever. It is almost impossible to re-acquire, so when it dies this service will forever disappear. So if you are reading this and have Quadraphonic recordings, best to get it done now.
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