Audio Conversion Questions

Yes indeed – just let us know beforehand that you require this at checkout stage in the comment section and mark on your audio tapes the number sequence please.  Happy to help!

Good question! In most cases our standard level of service will be sufficient. However in some cases, it will make sense to consider our advanced service which will take a little longer and cost a little more but result in a better outcome for your audio tape. If there’s a tape that may merit from such attention, we can advise you and be guided by you in advance.

We are proud to have repaired and restored many hundreds of audio tapes of the years. Typically we see audio tapes that are damaged and broken. Perhaps they are wrinkled, twisted or torn? Sometimes they jam when you have tried to play them. We sincerely hope that they aren’t but if they are, there’s no need to worry. We can help there. We’ll do our very best to rescue your audio tapes. At one end of the spectrum, it could be careful re-splicing that’s needed.

At the other end it could be something more technically demanding such as sticky tape syndrome. Sticky-shed syndrome is a relatively common condition caused by the breakdown of the magnetic tape. Once penetrating the cassette case, it can do a lot of damage if not treated soon enough.

We’ve also seen a similar thing on many occasions with reel to reel audio tape.
We offer this service for most formats of audio – including compact cassette, reel to reel (including ¼ inch tape), compact cassette, vinyl record, audio tape, micro cassette, cassette tape and digital audio tape. We are sometimes also asked to look at recovering audio from damaged CDs, though it is not very easy or possible.

Pricing per item enables us to be cost effective which is a benefit we pass on to our customers. We charge by the number of items, irrespective of whether it is full or not as short duration tapes still have a setup and transfer time and cost attached to it for us. It also means that you don’t have to waste time in advance calculating in advance how much content is on each item!

Well, we use CD format which is supported by almost all CD players but there can always be cases where due to a conflict between the player manufacturers that CDs will not play. So although we try our best, we can always promise disc compatibility with your CD player.

The good thing is that we’ve made life really simple for you at Supaphoto!
We just ask you to count the total tapes or DVDs that you have really.

Each item is for a specific quantity of items — an item can be either a single video or audio tape, a single cine or audio reel or 25 photos. So if you have one VHS tape, one audio tape and 25 photos – then you have 3 items in total – Could not be easier!

Our item costing service will cover the vast majority of people needs. We are able to convert most consumer types of audio including standard compact cassette tapes, mini cassettes, micro cassettes, DAT tapes and vinyl and everyday 2 track ¼ inch reel to reel audio.
In rare cases, a reel to reel recording may have more than 1 hour of recorded material on it. This can be the case where material is recorded at very slow rates to maximise tape capacity in the day. In such cases, to maintain our levels of service and the quality of the outcome, an additional charge would be quoted for at time of transfer for the reel in question and you will be notified. We would not start on it without your approval though.

You can also contact us for our help converting memory cards with audio.

We are able to convert most types of audio format with us, including compact cassette, quarter inch reel to reel to tapes, portable dictaphone tapes, DAT, Mini Disc and vinyl to digital/CD.

For all types of media we will also strive to carry out the core requirements of a transfer within our standard price. In the case of audio for example, our goal is always to capture the audio as faithfully as possible. Where a recording and would like specific bits taken out – again it’s always better to let out customers do themselves since it’s more cost effective and they will stand a greater chance of getting it right first time than us! It’s actually quite easy for clients to do this. We too can offer this service for not much more in most cases if the client prefers.

Yes we can convert audio from nearly all major memory card formats including SD cards, MicroSD, CF cards, MiniSD, USB sticks and hard drives.

Yes, for an additional cost we can look at what is possible for you.  Using digital tools, the majority of clicks and crackles can be removed or significantly reduced from most records – without adversely affecting the core essential sound.

To maintain quality, each tape will typically be transferred onto a separate DVD. Contact us should you require anything special and we can advise you.

To maintain quality and standards, we offer a one-to-one transfer for audio cassette tapes without any separation of tracks. In any case, once it’s in a digital format our customers can very easily arrange for this themselves with freely available and simple software. Rest assured that each side of a tape is carefully recorded from beginning to the end in one go! Let us know if you need guidance in this area!

This depends on a number of factors including the make of the disc itself. General estimates range from 20 years to 100 years though and keeping them well stored and in a dry location without touching the read surface with greasy or moist fingers is important for example.

Yes we employ audio software which enables us to remove or reduce unwanted background noise or equalise the audio to enhance the human voice of audio cassettes.

Yes, Supaphoto can transfer your audio tape to CD and WAV or MP3. We also enhances audio tapes too.

Supaphoto Limited is a dedicated studio – a professional scanning service. It’s the fastest, easiest way to turn old reel to reel audio into digital audio files. Economically, we also offer a scanning service for photos and negatives with a super-fast turnaround.

We can transfer 1/4″ open reel to reel tape, standard compact cassettes, micro and mini Dictaphone cassettes, DAT tapes, CDs and Mini Discs.

To digitise audio tapes, you’ll simply need video playback machines, some dedicated specialist software and a USB converter. The reason why many people choose to use specialists like Supaphoto is that we can do the hard work for you so that you sit back and relax. It’s actually quite a time consuming process if you have never done it before to be honest. We have many clients that have done it but come unstuck in terms of quality too you see.

Our advice is to store audio tapes in dry stable conditions. This will help to prevent the slow deterioration and inhibit mould growth on the tapes. The best thing you can do to preserve your content permanently is simply to transfer your audio tapes to digital files. This is because your tapes slowly deteriorate over time in any condition.

Rest assured that if you have a large quantity of audio tapes, we’ll give you a great price to convert compact cassette tapes to digital. Just give us a call and our friendly team will do their best to help you.