Betamax to DVD transfers from video99.co.uk  



The UK's most affordable and flexible Betamax to DVD transfers.

A personal service by an engineer with 20 years of video experience.

Costs just £12 for up to 2:30 hours, extra copies £3.50 or less.  Discounts for quantity.  Lowest prices in the UK but the highest quality.

Beta (Betamax / Betacord / Betamovie)

A typical Beta (Betamax) tape

You may have seen my Beta video pages already.  From that arose a steady stream of requests to transfer Beta (Betamax) tapes to DVD.  Many early portable recorders with cameras were Beta.  The world's first camcorders were all of the Beta format, so there are a wealth of precious memories on Beta tapes.  For some six years now, since the earliest DVD recording equipment was available, I've been making people happy by carrying out the highest quality Betamax to DVD transfers.  Beta can give significantly better results than VHS, and my equipment gets the very best from your tapes.  Video99.co.uk has a wealth of expertise in Betamax to DVD transfers and has the very best equipment.

 The world's first camcorders were Beta.

I can transfer all normal domestic Beta (Betamax) tapes to DVD, with the best possible picture quality.  If your Beta tapes may be recorded with HiFi stereo BetaHiFi sound, let me know and I'll be able to use this to get brilliant sound quality too.  As well as UK recorded tapes, I can do NTSC and SECAM television system transfers for Beta tapes recorded on equipment from anywhere in the world.  

I offer two levels of service: 

Basic Menu, £12: Up to 2:30 hours on one DVD, with top quality pictures and sound.  The menus are limited to just a title, but you get a chapter point every 5 minutes so it is easy to move around the DVD.  Extra copies of these DVDs cost just £3.50 each and are recommended.

Deluxe Menu £18:  Up to 1:30 hours on one DVD, with top quality pictures and sound.  Nice menu icons showing what is on that part of the recording, and if you email me with titles I will put them on the DVD for you too.  I place the chapter breaks at points of interest or new recordings.  These menus look like professionally recorded DVD films.  Extra copies are very cheap, just £2.50 each, and well worth taking.

Also available, Betamax to MPEG files for your own computer editing.  The price is small quantities is the same as Deluxe Menu.  For larger quantities of tapes there are good discounts possible.  In particular, if you would like to transfer Betamax to hard disk, the price can be as low as £7 per hour.  Just email me for details.

You might find this useful, it gives you a guide of how long each type of Beta (Betamax) tape runs for.

Probably uniquely within the UK, video99 also supports the NTSC Beta I recording speed, as well as the more popular Beta II and Beta III speeds used with the NTSC television system for international recordings.  Also handled are the quite rare SECAM recordings made on French, Middle Eastern and other foreign equipment.  What this means is that if you have a Betamax tape recorded on equipment outside the UK, video99 is the only transfer service who can definitely handle your recording and will not let you down.

Betamax to DVD transfer; the highest quality service in the UK.

How to request a Betamax video to DVD transfer.

We have a new and easy order page, just select what kind of tapes you have and supply your details.

If you prefer, you can instead fill out this form (a Word document). It should answer all of your questions and provides me with all the important details I need, so complete as much of the form as you can and email it back to me.  I will then confirm the price, or best guess at the price, and let you know the address to send the tapes.  I will then confirm the price, or best guess at the price, and let you know the address to send the tapes.

If for any reason you get stuck filling out the form, just email me and I'll help you personally.  It's a personal service I offer, not like some of the big video editing houses.  I understand that in many cases you will not be able to tell how much material is on the original recordings.  In which case, assume that the tapes are fairly full and send payment accordingly, I will refund any surplus by means of a cheque sent with your finished recordings.  Some models of Betamax machine may be taken as part or full payment for Beta to DVD transfers, so if you have one to dispose of, do mention it to me.

If you want your tapes back after you have the DVD copies (recommended):

Not everyone needs their tapes returned once they have the DVDs, but if you do, please remember to include postage costs. For a single video tape in the UK, this is just £2.50 For larger quantities, and tapes from outside the UK, I will let you know.  Ideally can you ensure you send the tapes in a package which is sufficiently large and robust for me to use to send back your original tapes. Usually I will send the DVDs to you ahead of returning your tapes, then when you've confirmed you are happy with the DVDs, I will return your tapes. This way I can help you further if necessary - for example you can now see you want a different part of a tape transferred on its own or you want extra copies.

When you receive your tapes back, you may notice that the record tabs have been removed. The first thing I do with a tape is make sure that it cannot be recorded on, so protecting your important recordings.

Please read our Terms and Conditions, which form part of the agreement.

Back to the main www.video99.co.uk page.

Also see the video99.co.uk Questions and Answers (FAQ)

More interesting reading on the Beta (Betamax) format.  

See my main Beta in the UK web page too.

I now have a useful page on how to service Sanyo Beta video recorders, fitting reel idlers and belts to them, and where to source parts.  I have also scanned in the entire service manual (28MB download) for the Sanyo VTC-NX100 front-loading Beta video recorder, and this is helpful for servicing most Sanyo models.

Urban myths, true or false.

• Beta is better than VHS:  TRUE.  Due to a higher video write speed on Beta, it is true that a good Beta video recorder will outperform any VHS machine in certain respects, particularly bandwidth (often quoted as vertical lines, nothing to do with 625 lines on the UK PAL TV system), and video noise.  Some VHS models made a real effort to overcome these weaknesses but were always struggling with a fundamentally simpler and cheaper format.  On the other hand a good SVHS recorder will outperform any normal Beta recorder in all important aspects.  The only advantages of VHS over Beta are a slightly higher linear tape speed which gives a marginally better mono sound track on VHS, and a slightly longer playing time using similar tape technology of 4 hours as opposed to 3 hours and 35 minutes on Beta.  (I know 5 hour VHS tapes exist, and if the same tape were loaded in a Beta tape, you would get a tape which should run for around 4 hours 30 mins.)  As well as improved picture quality, another advantage of Beta over VHS is much smaller cassettes.  A minor technical advantage is also that the autostop system used for Beta is a very reliable magnetic sensor, whereas VHS used a cumbersome optical tape-end sensor system which caused a great many breakdowns is early days and still causes some breakdowns and erratic behavoir today.
• There used to be a Beta to VHS adaptor:  FALSE.  This is a magnificent gadget that you load a Beta tape into, then pop into a VHS recorder and you can play the tape.  I like this myth because people still write to tell me that it is true, and that I don't know what I'm talking about when I say: NO SUCH ADAPTOR COULD EVER HAVE EXISTED!  I'm glad we've cleared that up.
• Sony lost a fortune on the Beta format.  FALSE.   Millions of Beta format machines were sold and the professional Betacam version has been a huge success in TV studios the world over.  In economic terms, Sony will consider the Beta format to be one of their biggest ever product lines.
• Sanyo and Sony are the same company.  FALSE.   Though the two companies have often co-operated technically, and both backed the Beta format.  The Sanyo Betamovie camcorders where rebadged Sony units, but this is probably the only occasion Sanyo used Sony equipment.  A look inside a Sanyo VTC-M40 Beta Hifi video recorder will show a large amount of the Hifi electronics are sourced by Sony.  Sanyo also backed Video8 rather than VHS-C in the later analogue camcorder days, but as time went on, virtually all other manufacturers dropped VHS-C in favour of Video8 too.  The two companies have backed differing high density DVD formats, which is a sign that they may be growing apart.  Sanyo and Fisher ARE the same company.
• Beta came out before VHS:  NOT REALLY.  In the UK, both formats arrived at pretty well the same time, and unlike in the USA, they both had similar running times from the start.
• Beta was more expensive than VHS: NOT REALLY.  Sony machines tended to be more expensive than Sanyo.  The VTC5150 from Sanyo was £239.95 in Comet in 1984, a price which compared favourably with any VHS models of the time, and making it a best-seller.
• Beta tapes are smaller than VHS:  TRUE. Beta tapes are significantly smaller in length and width, but are exactly the same depth as VHS tapes.
• Beta tapes run for less time than VHS because the tape runs faster to get a better picture:  FALSE.  I've seen this drivel written on a web site which is supposed to be a encyclopedia.  The only reason the longest Beta tapes run for less slightly time than equivalent VHS because they have a lot less tape loaded in them, hence they are much smaller and lighter.  In fact Beta tape runs much SLOWER than VHS and gets a higher resolution of picture.  How?  It's complicated, but the video writing speed is faster on Beta due to a carefully designed head wrap system.  In effect the Beta format packs more information onto less tape.
• Beta machines are larger than VHS:  FALSE.  Some early Beta machines were larger than similar vintage VHS models, but later models were of similar size or even smaller than typical VHS equipment of the same vintage.  The Sony SL-F30 for example, is just 8cm deep.  Sony Beta  machines are usually heavier than other makes of either format.
• TV studios use Betamax.  FALSE.  They use Betacam which is not the same as domestic Beta (Betamax).  The blank tapes are sometimes compatible though.  You CANNOT play domestic Beta tapes on Betacam equipment, even though they will physically fit, you will get fast sound and no picture.  I know, I've tried it!  I can also transfer Betacam and BetacamSP studio tapes to DVD.

TESTIMONIALS  

Some previous testimonials for www.video99.co.uk Beta video transfers

• "Hi Colin DVD is great! Thanks for excellent service in super fast time. I have no hesitation recommending your services to anyone. Regards David" Beta to DVD 25.07.10
• "I have just received the DVDs on to which you transferred my old Betamax video tape and I just wanted to say that I could not have been more impressed with the speed and efficiency with which you carried out my request. Your fee for your work was very reasonable, much less than I had expected to have to pay. I will certainly recommend your service to all my friends and colleagues. Thank you very much. Cheers, Terry"  Beta to DVD, 22.07.10
• "Hi Colin Just to let you know that the DVDs have arrived and the quality is very good. I am now happy for you to return the video. Many thanks for providing such an excellent service. You have kept me informed at each stage of the transfer from betamax to DVD, making suggestions along the way that I had not considered. Your rates are very competitive. I will be searching out other DVDs for transfer and will recommend you to family and friends Many thanks Eileen"  Beta to DVD, 15.04.10
• "Hi.colin thanks for doing those betamax to dvd transfers and audio tape transfers I am very pleased with the results.ray"  Beta to DVD, cassette to CD.  31.03.10
• "you run a great fast service with good communications and would recommend you to anyone. Thanks All the best Ron"  Beta and Video8 tapes to DVD.  26.02.10
• "Colin, Just a note to let you know that the DVD s arrived safely this morning. I have watched it, and am so pleased to see film clips of years gone by. It is priceless .Thank you so much for taking care and for excellent service  Maggie"  Single Beta tape to DVD, 02.02.10
• "I found Colin to be extremely helpful and the service first rate. I received a DVD of some old Betamax footage within a few days of posting him the original tape, (which cost me half of what other websites were charging)! Many thanks Colin – I’ll certainly recommend you to friends! Many thanks again, Tom"  Beta to DVD, 14.12.09
• "Colin at Video99 is a consummate professional, with very high standards. These include technical excellence and very good, helpful communications. Video99 did a first-class job for me and gave a special discount too."  Quantity of Beta tapes to DV-AVI files on hard disk.  05.11.09
• "Hi Colin The DVDs arrived promptly and my Dad has thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing over the contents. He feels there no need to return the original tape so just bin it if that is ok. We would like to thank you for your very quick, efficient and helpful service. If we need anything else transferred we will definitely be in touch. Thank you again. Chris"    Very difficult (sticking) Beta tape, eventually found one machine which would play it and the results were quite good in the end.  09.10.09.
• "Colin Fantastic service, and you can quote me on this.."  NTSC Betamax tape to PAL DVD.  26.09.09
• "Thanks very much for all your efforts in transferring the tapes for me. I particularly appreciated (a) the ability to have a quick conversation now and again to understand all the options and to ensure that I got exactly what I was looking for, and (b) the way you kept me fully informed as to progress. Turn round times were excellent and, if I ever discover any more tapes that I need transferring, I definitely will get in touch with you again! All the very best, Chris"  Betamax tapes to Deluxe Menu DVDs and also DV-AVI video files on hard disk.  13.09.09
• "Colin Very many thanks for the DVDs received safely today. I am most grateful to you for dealing with this so promptly. One of the sailors featured in the programme, was a great friend who we raced with for several years. He has recently died and we are attending his memorial service. I plan to give one copy to his sons - who also appear in the programme. Hence the urgency. I am so pleased with the quick turnaround. I would not hesitate to come to you again or recommend you. Regards, Victor"  Urgent Beta to DVD transfer, turned around same day.  03.09.09
• "Hi Colin I have received my DVD today and i was amazed at how well you had managed to copy the Betamax video as it 24years old. I am well impressed with it and would recommend you to anyone without hesitation. Kind Regards Pam"  Beta and S-VHS tapes put to one DVD.  25.08.09
• "Dear Colin, Received the DVDs today in good order,brought back a lot of cherished memories,thanks to your brilliant efforts I cant praise video99 highly enough,and to top it all the price was amazingly good, I would have no problem in recommending your good self and video99 to any one wanting that little bit more extra personal service,without a hyped-up price. Many many thanks. John"  Betamax wedding tape to DVD.  20.08.09
• "Dear Colin, I received the hard disk and the DVD's today and they are all playing great on my DVD player/TV as well as my Apple MacBook Pro. Thank you for such a prompt service - 5 days from Dublin to Plymouth and back again! I was afraid when our old betamax machine chewed the tape that we might have lost the footage, but thankfully you were able to bring us back to 1982 to see us as kids and a few loved ones since passed on! I won't hesitate to recommend you, even for doing it from Dublin as I did. I used An Post's 'courier post' service (which hands it over to FedEx in the UK) to make sure the tape got to you securely. It cost me over €40 just to send it but well worth it. Priceless camera footage."  Beta to hard disj DV-AVI files and DVD, for customer from Ireland.  31.07.09
• "Dear Colin, Thanks a lot for the DVDs - they are great quality and I am very impressed with the service. Thank you so much, Catherine"  Five Beta tapes edited down to one DVD.  20.07.09.
• "I was very pleased with the recordings made to DVD. From the original 25 year old beta tape I was not expecting too much, but the quality of the recordings made onto DVD were excellent. I was also impressed with your customer service throughout and that the whole process from my initial request to receiving my DVD copy was carried out within one week. I also found the Video99 website very helpful and informative. I would not hesitate in using your videotape to DVD transfer service again and would certainly recommend it to anyone else looking for a similar service. Best Regards, Chris"  Beta recordings split up and assembled on two DVDs, so that individual recordings can be selected from the DVD menu screens.  11.07.09
• "Dear Colin Thanks for the great service and brilliant communication regarding my order. There was absolute gold dust on the tape after all, and thanks to the effort and trouble you went to, you've rescued lots of nice memories from 27 years ago. Best of luck in all you do. Regards John"  Single Beta tape to DVD.  23.06.09
• "Hi Colin, Thanks for the DVDs which have all been distributed and which all work fine. Please return the tape when convenient and thanks for doing such an efficient job, which is much appreciated. Regards, Elaine"  Betamax to DVD, 6 copies, with colour printed boxes.  16.06.09
• "Hello Colin, It's arrived today, everything is great - all disks read good, ZIP unpacked properly, so you can delete the master files now. Good video quality, actually it's better than I expected from this tape. Thank you!  Alex, Cyprus".  The customer required Betamax to DV-AVI file transfer which I would normally do to hard disk, but with shipping costs from Cyprus we decided to use Winzip spanned file set on DVD-Rom disks.  27.05.09.
• "I've now looked at the video, and it's fantastic. It loads in my editor fine, plays perfectly, and considering age & format etc picture seems fantastic. Offering hard drive files is a great service, and I'm impressed it's all been so easy. Once I've edited it down, added DVD menus and such my parents will be delighted. Thanks for such a great job, Paul"  Betamax tape to USB hard drive DV-AVI file.  18.05.09
• "First class job. You've rescued 25-year-old stuff I thought was lost forever. Many thanks."  Betamax to DVD-Rom DV-AVI files for computer editing.  Work was done by way of a swap for a non-working Sanyo VTC5000 Beta video recorder.  17.05.09.
• "I would just like to say how pleased I was with your service, you make it a very personal experience and it is obvious you care for your customers and their precious recordings. I would not hesitate to use your service again and i would certainly recommend you to any one I know with similar requirements. Regards, Vince."  Beta tape from abroad with mixed NTSC and PAL recordings, put to DVD.  15.05.09
• "Hi Colin, Your DVD arrived safely this morning, I am delighted with the results. Really excellent job as well as your great communications and help. You provided exactly everything to my requests and your suggestions were of great assistance in deciding the final product and the unnecessary inclusion of faulty original material. I will certainly recommend you to my friends. Many, many thanks again. Cheers Fred"  Single Beta tape to DVD, selected just the part of interest.  30.03.09.
• "Hi Colin I don’t know what to say . Fantastic job, we haven’t seen the tape for over twenty years . You made my wife cry. You are a super star Thanks Mike" Quite poor Beta tape recovered in good quality.  19.03.09
• "Colin; Just to let you know I've received my DVD's this morning and I am very happy with them. I mean, the video is actually "21 years old", so I coudln't ask for more.... I'd definitely recommend your services to my friends and will keep sending my videos to you as I've been let down by 2 differents companies "Black Cat Video" & Mr Scan" Thank you very much! Regards Maria" NTSC Betamax tape, with slightly defective recording, recovered to DVD, 10.03.09.  Just shows that video99.co.uk is the UK expert on Betamax!
• "Hi Colin, Thank you so much for the dvds. They are great. I've just finished looking through them and they have brought back so many great memories, I can't wait to see my dads face when he recievies them for his 60th birthday. I am so impressed with the quality of the transfer and on how quickly you were able to do them. If we find any more tapes i will send them on to you.  Thank you once again. from Lisa."  Quantity of Beta tapes put to DVD with colour printed boxes.  20.02.09
• "Dear Colin, thank you so much for your brilliant expertise in putting files from computer disk onto DVD for me. I am sure it is a difficult task with all the different formats and I know you had to work at it to get a good result.I am so pleased with what you did for me and the work and time you put in on it and all at reasonable cost. I was also very pleased with the Betamax videos that you transferred onto DVD for me including some super 8 cine film that I had put onto a Betamax tape years ago, mainly family events content. I now have all the various cine and video tapes on a few disks that I can watch anytime with minimum disruption.You made a few copies for me also which I gave to my sons at Christmas. You provide a very comprehensive service and I cannot recommend you too highly. Kevin" 15.02.09
• "Hi Colin, I have just watched Tape 6, Jim'll Fix It, on my Sony 46" LCD TV, you have made me a very happy man, no noise bars just wonderful pictures. Such an improvement on the transfer of tape to DVD I had done locally.Considering these tapes are nearly 30 years old and the original analogue signal recorded came from a communial aerial I think you've carried out a truly magnificent job of which you should be justifiably proud. I can't thank you enough. You've probably gathered I'm rather pleased with the work you've done. I shall certainly recomend you to anyone requiring transfer of tape to DVD. My very best wishes to you and thank you again. Ken"  Beta tapes to DVD, 07.02.09
• "Colin, The DVD has arrived and it plays perfect on my player, I would like to thank you for the service that you provide,a quick efficient and value for money service that is unfortunately hard to find these days. I will be pleased to recommend anyone wishing to transfer video recordings to DVD to use you're service. I am happy to say that the original tape is not required by me Yours sincerely Brian"  Single Beta tape to DVD.  22.01.09
• "Colin Many thanks for the DVD which has arrived safely and, as you say, is excellent. I wondered if you would even be able to get it to play, so having something with this quality is a real bonus. Many thanks for your efforts. Best wishes Perry"  Beta to DVD, 13.01.09
• "Colin Thanks for your Email. I've only just picked this up, but I confirm the DVDs were received this morning. I had a quick look at one of the DVDs and it seemed to be fine. I am very impressed with how quickly you have turned this around, so many thanks for that. If any of my friends and colleagues are looking for a similar service I will certainly recommend you. I actually went to you following an article in an olde edition of Computer Active where they mentioned your website and the service you provide."  Beta to DVD, 03.01.09.
• "4 DVD's arrived in tip top shape today thank you. Have just had a sneak preview and they are all now wrapped up ready for Christmas. Very pleased thanks. Beth"  NTSC Betamax tape to PAL DVD.  23.12.08
• "Colin, received copies this morning, so they will make great christmas presents. Viewed them this evening and I'm well please with the transfer contents and your packaging. Thanks and kind regards Gilly"  Beta to DVD.  20.12.08
• "DVD safely received yesterday and I have just had a chance to look at it this afternoon. You have done a brilliant job on the wedding video. The quality that you have managed to extract from a 23 year old Beta tape in NTSC is amazing – especially considering how poor the original tape was. On top of this you have done it all by return of post and at half the price of several other places I looked at. If I had gone elsewhere I doubt whether they would have produced such a good result and in most cases they had a turnround time of a fortnight or so which would have meant that I wouldn’t have received the DVD in time to give to my wife at Christmas. One very happy customer! Many thanks Nick"  NTSC Beta to PAL DVD.  13.12.08

• "Brilliant, absolutely fantastic !! As I said, I was unsure of the contents of the tape, but your transfer and the associated indexing and title pages really surpassed what I was expecting. I cannot express how happy I am with the quality of service that you have provided. Regards, Ian"  Beta to DVD (Deluxe Menu option) transfers for the family of wrestler Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe), names used with permission.  05.11.06

For older testimonials, hundreds of them, see the archive of testimonials.

** Beta machines for sale ** February 2010 **

• Sanyo VTC6500 front loading with remote control, serviced and tested.  Cosmetically poor (the front panels disintegrate on this model but the remote control is all you need), but a really good machine.  £120 plus post.
• Sanyo VTC5150 top loading, serviced and tested, cosmetically good and complete with original box and instructions.  £120 plus post.  
• I can be contacted here about the above two machines. Both fitted with new drive belts and new original Sanyo reel idlers.  When they are gone they are gone, I don't get them in very often.  

If you have any questions, just email me and I'll reply promptly.   Also see the video99.co.uk Questions and Answers (FAQ)  All material on this web site is copyright www.video99.co.uk and www.colin99.co.uk though trade marks remain with the manufacturers.

See my Beta (Betamax) web page.  

Last updated 25 July 2010

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