VHS to Digital

VHS to Digital Conversion For Theatres

We recently covered the story of an experiment conducted in London, which was based on doing a real world comparison of the theatre vs the cinema.  The experiment used a theatre production as the test material, showing a test subject half of the production live in the theatre, then the other half at a cinema live stream of the production.  Whilst this experiment was far from scientific, and it only had one test participant, the test subject was definitely a theatre sceptic, and by the end of the test the subject was a lot more interested in theatre productions.  If you are wondering what VHS to digital converters have to do with this experiment, please read on.

VHS to Digital

VHS to Digital Converters

The connection is simple, with more and more mediums being used across all aspects of media production, these companies are broadening their horizons in terms of what is achievable with vintage formats.  The study that we mentioned actually used a black and white filter when live streaming the production to the cinema showing, and production companies are starting to use various media formats within their work.  So it is not just home videos from when you were a toddler that can be converted from VHS to digital, there are all kinds of new and exciting ways that this service is being used.

VHS to Digital

How Does the Process Work

The process is relatively simple and has not changed much over the years.  You take any kind of analogue tape format and place it in a player, then the player plays it in real time while sending it via output cables to a digital recording device.  The great thing about the companies that offer these services is that they have designated equipment that do a lot of tapes in one go, and they ensure the best conversion.  Old players can be problematic for tapes if they haven’t been cleaned or serviced, and they will often damage the original tapes if you are not careful.

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Tapes Will Degrade, So Don’t Wait

One thing that is little understood by most people is the fact that over time, VHS and other tape mediums will degrade.  This means that over time, whether it is played or not, the magnetic strip that holds all of the tapes information will gradually become affected.  If a tape is played a lot of times, the magnetic strip will become stretched and worn by the player head, and even if the tape just sits in storage this will also affect the condition of the tape. Once this damage has been done, it cannot be undone and it is therefore permanent. 

VHS to Digital

Make Memories Last

In order to make sure your memories last forever, digital conversion is the best way to go.  Perhaps you have some screen plays and some test footage shot during production, or you want to use video as a medium in your live stage production.  The possibilities are endless, but make sure you have digital back ups off your footage for maximum security. 


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Theatre Vs Cinema: An Experiment

What happens when you take a disgruntled cinema fan who confesses to have always shown very little interest in theatre, and place him in a real life experiment based on theatre and cinema productions?

Well, we hope to answer this question, with our very scientific experiment, kind of.

The experiment takes the aforementioned grumpy individual and subjects him to a live performance, both in the flesh, and on the big screen.

The experiment was carried out on the same evening, in conjunction with the Garrick Theatre in London, and the Picturehouse cinema just down the road.

The test subject will watch the first half of a production of Romeo and Juliet in the theatre, then at the interval he will be sped across town to watch the second half of the same performance in the cinema, being shown live as it will be captured on film at the theatre.

So the night came and the participant took his seat at the theatre for the first half, and interestingly, a strange thing happened.

The self-confessed theatre avoider actually enjoyed the performance, and really took to the production, getting fully immersed by the plot and the characters.

Once the first half was concluded it was off to the cinema for the second half, which was the exact same live performance that was being recorded and streamed to this cinema location.

Once sat down, it suddenly became apparent to the test subject that the livestream was in black and white.

Although this decision was intentional by the director, it did take a bit of getting used to at first.

The feedback from the experiment was interesting to both the participant and the test conductors.

The test subject stated that the feeling inside the room was very different, and the audience was unengaged in the cinema which made the production lose its impact.

The set also felt huge on the screen, where as in person it had felt normal and in proportion. 

A very different experience which clearly have their own application.