office (504) 324-8556
fax (504) 333-6908
24 Hour toll-free (888) 751-0001

Audio Tape Restoration and Enhancement

audio forensic, audio tape restoration, audio restoration, audio tape analysis

Audio Tape Restoration and Enhancement

We can take your tape, remove the noise, boost the proper frequencies so that the sounds you want or need to hear come through audibly. If you have a low volume, or hard to understand surveillance or evidence tape, this is JUST the service you need!

  • We take your original recording and store it digitally on a high speed hard drive. Once we have made this Precise Digital Copy we will ship the original back to you right away if you include a Self Addressed Stamped Mailer. Otherwise we will return it with your order. Your original recording is never at risk and never altered in any way.
  • We audition the recording to see precisely what needs to be done.
  • If the recording contains hiss, hum, rumble or any other type of  "surface" noise we take a sample of it, tell our computer what to look for and then  remove it.
  • Pops, clicks, and any other percussive noises are then removed without affecting the underlying signal.
  • The sounds that you want to hear are then brought up to the optimum signal level.
  • THEN we apply digital filtering & EQ to make the recording more understandable or listenable.
  • We can record the final result on audio cassette, Digital Compact Disk, or any other media you require
  • Affidavits for evidentiary recordings such as surveillance tapes will be signed & notarized upon request

Pricing

  • Price: $200 flat rate per recording. (4 hours bench time or less, 80 minute recording or less)
  • $90/hour for any work over 4 hours. (not likely, but it can happen with a very difficult or long recording)
  • Mixdown to one Digitally mastered CD is free. Additional CDs, Cassette or micro cassette copies are $10.00 each.
  • Enhancing the audio on a video recording is the same price if returned to you as audio only. Enhancing the audio track and then then returning it as a complete DVD or video tape is significantly more expensive due to the processing time involved in essentially re-editing your entire video, twice Please call us for a quote.

Listen to some examples of what can be done:

  Before After
Body Wire Click Here Click Here
Cellphone conversation Click Here Click Here
Cockpit voice recorder Click Here Click Here
Damaged tape Click Here Click Here

Authenticity Analysis

Authenticity analysis is used to determine if a recording has simultaneous origins as the acoustic events it represents. (ie: is the recording genuine? Or has it been altered or edited?) It is a very time intensive task requiring a millisecond-by-millisecond detailed examination of the recording and/or media.

Suspicious recordings may have their authenticity verified or negated by physical inspection, aural analysis, frequency, energy, amplitude and formant structure analysis, magnetic tape development, and/or magnified visual inspection and photographic documentation of the results.

We will supply a report upon request. The report may be a brief procedural overview (no additional charge), or an extensive detailed report with high quality graphics for court presentation. Report writing is billed at the standard hourly rate.

The minimum deposit for this type of work is $250 and must be sent before work is begun on the tape.

 

Vinyl Record to CD Conversion

  • Transfer your vinyl LPs to CD - $30
  • Transfer your vinyl LPs to CD, and remove most clicks, pops & rumble - $55
  • Above includes plain text or Handwritten CD label
  • Add scanned album art in CD case & label - Add  $15
  • Call for pricing on over 5 LPs
  • Questions? please see the Conversion FAQ

 

  • DIGITAL REMASTERING AND AUDIO ENCODING

    Video To DVD Special. $44.95

    We can digitize and encode your audio into any number of formats for use on Web sites, audio CDs and CD-ROMs, and digitally remastered audio tapes.

    Our most popular service is encoding audio into Real Audio or MP3 files so it can be broadcast over the Internet.  Cost is $75 per hour of  audio. $75 minimum

     

  • VIDEO CONVERSION or ENCODING FOR DVD, CD-ROM, WEBSITES AND INTRANETS

    We can now encode up to 74 minutes of audio and video onto a single Video CD, which is playable through any computer or laptop running Windows Media Player and can be played on many newer DVD players.

    Video CDs use MPEG-1 compression for VHS quality video and MPEG-1, Layer 2 (MP2) audio compression for high-quality stereo sound. Once encoded in this fashion, productions can be played from the CD or stored on computer hard drives for streaming over corporate intranets.

    DVD resolution is approximately is 3x greater than the VideoCD or VHS tape. A DVD holds 2 hours of exceptionally high quality video. ( at DVD resolution a VideoCD could only hold 20 minutes of video)

    Our rate for encoding video onto CDs or DVDs is $85 per hour of video. $85 Minimum. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

     

    • We also offer hardcopy transcriptions of your tapes after audio enhancement is complete

    • The average hour-long tape takes about 6.5 working hours to transcribe with a resulting charge of approximately $390.

    • Broadcast-quality material takes less time to transcribe. Hard-to-hear material will take longer to transcribe.

    • We will work as long as your budget allows us to get the best transcript possible. We provide an estimated price and turnaround time before we start any job.

    • Dense material with a lot of technical, business, financial or computer terms usually takes between seven and eight hours per hour of audio. Focus groups with multiple participants and overlapping conversations usually take between eight and 10 hours per hour to transcribe and proofread.

 

Floodwater Damaged Tapes and Video Tapes

Do you think your precious family tape loaded with irreplaceable memories is damaged beyond repair? Were they soaked for weeks or even months in the floodwaters of the recent hurricanes? Are your tapes covered in mold or mildew, or have they been been affected by dust, dirt, smoke, or heat or have they been damaged by heat or physically  broken?

We can recover your treasured memories!

It's time to have those tapes Restored/Repaired & Transferred to DVD.

Audio and Videotapes can usually be restored or salvaged even if they look utterly hopeless to you!

  • We can restore them from:
  • Flood or water damage
  • Mold or mildew, dust, dirt, smoke or heat damaged tapes
  • or tapes that are physically damaged,  broken or twisted
  • We can restore or recover from the following formats: VHS, VHS-C, Super VHS, 8mm, Hi-8mm, Beta, MiniDV.
  • Audio formats: Cassette, any size Reel to Reel, 8 track

Recovery rates for Video Tapes:

  • Includes external Cleaning ie: removal of potentially hazardous molds, fungus & toxic chemicals
  • Disassembly of the tape housing unit and cleaning of the tape itself
  • Appropriate treatment of the tape to allow at least one good playback so that the content can be digitized. Can include ultrasonic cleaning, burnishing, specialized cleaning passes or solutions, thermal tempering.
  • $250 per Video Tape up to 120 minutes For longer recordings please call or email
  • $100 per audio tape up to 80 minutes For longer recordings please call or email
  • These rates are for repair and digitizing ONLY
  • You WILL receive your original tape back, but we recommend that you NOT play it. The processes we use to get the tape to play well one or two times are not permanent. The effects will start to fade after a few days to a few months. Also some of the cassette internals may be missing due to rust or damage. You will have a digital copy of the contents of your tape that should last 100+ years. Put the tape in a box with the rest of your memorabilia.
  • If you are a victim of a recent natural disaster and you have a number of tapes to restore, we are certainly willing to work with you to reach a fair price. Just call or email us to discuss your needs.