Reel to Reel Digitizing Service
Everyday we’re converting tapes to digital, preserving audio so that you can listen to them again and again. Fast forward, rewind freedom.
Not sure how many you have? Click on Product details below to see how we accommodate you.
- Includes welcome guide with instructions, barcodes to tag your items, crush-proof box, pre-paid return shipping label and all digitizing
- All formats are carefully digitized by hand, right here in the United States
- Receive regular email updates throughout the whole process
- 10 - 12 week turnaround once we receive your Southtree order
- Access to a personal concierge to answer all questions
- Each Southtree kit is good for up to the number of items specified in the size selector section
- Includes extra safety item barcodes in case you have more media you'd like digitized. We'll invoice for any add-ons once we receive your media.
- National leader with 10+ years experience. Trusted by universities, governments, even Disney!
Product Features
Rich past, digitally mastered.
Professional digital audio workstations extract the best of analog, mastering it in clear digital glory.
The magnetic audio revolution starts and ends with open-reel. We still hold it up as the golden standard of what analog audio can be. Thank goodness we can listen to all that hi-fi heaven digitally on crystal-clear thumb drives, digital delivery through Southtree Cloud™ or CDs. If you ever used a reel-to-reel tape deck, chances are good you have a box of tape reels stashed somewhere. There’s no better time to introduce them to the 21st century. With the help of state-of-the-art digital remastering, you can breathe new life into that classic analog.
1. Send your stuff
Pack your Southtree box with all your analog media. We include safety barcodes for every item, and a prepaid return shipping label. Take your package to UPS, pat yourself on the back, and let us take it from here.
2. We digitize it all
Our team of professionals will digitize every item, by hand, with personalized updates at each step. Your memories will be digitized at our 3 acre, 52,000 square foot campus.
3. Get it all back
You’ll receive your original recorded moments back, plus perfectly preserved digital copies on thumb drive, the cloud or DVD. Gather the family and start reliving. Tissues not included.
Common Questions
Simply load your Southtree kit with your home movies and pictures. In a few weeks, you'll get your originals back plus new digital keepsakes. Every Southtree purchase includes a welcome guide with simple, step-by-step instructions, safety barcodes for every item, a pre-paid UPS® return shipping label and a Southtree box to ship everything back.
Mix and match format types from VHS tapes to Super8 film.
It takes approximately 10 - 12 weeks once we receive your filled Southtree kit. Receive regular email updates throughout the whole digitizing process with access to a personal concierge to answer all your questions.
You'll receive your original memories plus digitized, future-proof, ready to relive digital copies on your choice of Thumb Drive, DVD or Digital Download. All analog media is carefully converted by hand by a team of trained technicians, right here in the United States.
Common Questions
Your digitized audio is provided back to you on a convenient thumb drive, provided online through Google Drive, or on professionally authored CDs. You choose which way you’d like to receive your digitized audio upon checkout. Digital files are delivered as high quality .WAV files. For the best quality, if you send in audio cassettes, each side will be transferred to its own CD, or as a separate file if you opted for a thumb drive or Digital Download.
Yes! We always send back your originals with delivery of your newly digitized audio files.
No problem, we’ll let you know and you can send in another item at no charge. Please note, if a tape or reel has even a few minutes of footage on it, we will provide the conversion for it. The processing for shorter tapes and reels is the same as longer, so tape and reel conversions are charged per item, not based on the length of footage.
To achieve the best quality and consistency, we offer a one-to-one transfer for audio cassette tapes. Each side of the tape is carefully recorded from beginning to end in one take to ensure we never miss a beat. All that said, track separation is not something we offer, however you can download this awesome, free program called Audacity to separate your audio tracks easily.
Original Analog Quality, Captured and Preserved Digitally
MP4 Digital File
(most common type for digital files, works great on computers)
640x480 Dimensions
(captures full size of analog tape)
1-2 GB Average File Size
(lots of data, great quality)
Fun Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)
H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (part 10), 480p, 29.97 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 1500-3000 kbps
DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB
Common Questions
Yes! We always send back your originals along with delivery of your new digitized home movies.
Your digitized film reels are provided back to you on a convenient thumb drive, provided online through Google Drive, or on professionally authored DVDs. You choose which way you’d like to receive your digitized film upon checkout.
Digital files on thumb drive and Digital Download are provided with the industry standard MPEG-4 file format. As film reels are generally short, our DVDs combine as many digitized reels as possible onto a disc.
Please note that it is not our standard process to digitize film with sound. In our experience, 99% of film was recorded as silent. In rare instances, 8mm and Super 8 film may contain magnetic audio lines and 16mm film may contain magnetic, but more commonly optical, sound lines. Of this small percentage of film reels that do have a sound line, an even smaller percentage of these used the proper recording equipment required to capture both the sound and picture.
Because these instances are so rare, and to ensure we’re providing the highest quality transfers, it is not our standard process to digitize film with sound. However, if you’d like to speak with someone about this, feel free to contact our customer support team.
Original Analog Quality, Captured and Preserved Digitally
MP4 Digital File
(most common type for digital files, works great on computers)
640 x 480 Dimensions
(captures full frame of analog reel)
1-2 GB Average File Size
(lots of data, great quality)
Fun Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)
MPEG-4 Video (mp4v) 480p, 17 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 2200-3000 kbps
DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB
In order to provide quick turn-around and digitize your film at the best quality, we use multiple processes or methods during conversion. This means we are not able to guarantee that your film is processed in the order you send to us. The good news is that digital files on the cloud or thumb drive are very easy to organize simply by dragging and dropping. Further, your digital home movies work great with software such as iMovie, which has great organizational tools built in.
We use the same process as the Academy of Motion Pictures to digitize your film. We even correct for frame rate so your footage is smooth and at the best quality possible. That said, the quality of your digitized home movies is based on the quality of the original footage you provide. This is why it’s so important to preserve your film right away, before they deteriorate any further. We provide complimentary splicing if your film is broken. Items like mold are not repaired at this time as they can be very difficult and potentially harm our equipment.
Common Questions
Your scanned pictures are provided back to you on a convenient thumb drive, digital download, or on professionally authored CDs. You choose which way you’d like to receive your picture scans upon checkout. Digital files are delivered as JPEGs that you can store, edit and share. Please note that our CDs combine as many digitized pictures as possible onto a disc.
Yes! We always send back your originals along with delivery of your newly scanned images.
We use a variety of scanners and equipment for each order, to ensure the highest quality conversion for your photos, slides, and negatives. Some photos tend to be more finicky than others and may require multiple pieces of equipment. For these reasons, and because we want to make our processes as efficient as possible, we cannot guarantee that our team will be able to keep your photos in a specific/chronological order. Our priority is to make sure your memories are transferred at the highest possible quality. The good news is that whether you opt for a thumb drive, digital download or CDs, you’ll receive JPEG files of your photos. They’re perfect for downloading to your computer, where you can reorganize and edit to your liking, using any photo storage program (like Google Photos, iPhoto, etc.).
While we offer minimal dust removal, we do not offer extensive cleaning of each of your images. We recommend cleaning them before you send your order to us. Restoring old or damaged photos is not something we do at this time. However, once your photo files are downloaded to your computer, you can easily drag and drop to reorganize, create folders, and rename the individual images however you'd like! You can also easily load them into the image editor of your choice and retouch, color correct, and edit to your liking.
Original Analog Quality, Captured and Preserved Digitally
MP4 Digital File
(most common type for digital files, works great on computers)
640x480 Dimensions
(captures full size of analog tape)
1-2 GB Average File Size
(lots of data, great quality)
Fun Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)
H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (part 10), 480p, 29.97 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 1500-3000 kbps
DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB
Common Questions
Yes! We always send back your originals with delivery of your new digitized home movies.
Your digitized tapes are provided back to you on a convenient thumb drive, provided online through Google Drive, or on professionally authored DVDs. You choose which way you’d like to receive your digitized tapes upon checkout.
Digital files on thumb drive and cloud are the industry standard MPEG-4 file format. For quality, each tape is provided its own DVD, we do not combine them.
Original Analog Quality, Captured and Preserved Digitally
MP4 Digital File
(most common type for digital files, works great on computers)
640 x 480 Dimensions
(captures full size of analog tape)
1-2 GB Average File Size
(lots of data, great quality)
Fun Nerdy Tech Specs (for those who really want to know!)
H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (part 10), 480p, 29.97 FPS, SD, Progressive, VBR 1500-3000 kbps
DVD variable encoding M2v, compressed depending on length, authored to VOB
No problem, we’ll let you know and you can send in another item at no charge. Please note that if a tape has even a few minutes of footage on it, we will provide the conversion for it. The processing for shorter tapes is the same as longer, so tape conversions are charged per tape, not based on the length of footage.
We use the very best equipment, processes, and proprietary software in the industry to get the best conversion possible. That said, the quality of your digitized home movies are based on the video quality of the original footage you provide. This is why it’s so important to preserve your tapes right away, before they deteriorate any further. We provide complimentary splicing if your tape film is broken. Items like mold or broken tape housings are not repaired at this time as they can be very difficult and potentially harm our equipment.
Customize Your Southtree Box
We know one size doesn’t fit all. Our completely customizable solution is meant to bring your unique collection of memories back to life.
Want to convert more than just one type of analog media? Chances are, if it’s in your collection, we can digitize it.
Want to convert more than just one type of analog media? Chances are, if it’s in your collection, we can digitize it.
Why Southtree?
We know how much your childhood photos and home videos mean to you and we want you to enjoy your memories for years to come by bringing them into the digital age.
Over a Decade of Digitizing
You shouldn’t trust just anyone with your precious recorded moments. For more than 10 years, we’ve been the industry leader in professionally preserving your family memories. Our years of experience = your peace of mind.
Digitized by Hand
Every item you send us is converted by hand in the USA. Our team of over 200 professional technicians treats each of your items as if they were their own, preserving your memories with the utmost care and professionalism.
Trust is in Our DNA
Your family photos and home videos are probably your most treasured belongings. Not only have we been trusted by thousands of families to digitize their precious memories, but we’ve also helped museums, government agencies and universities digitally archive their analog recordings.
