Top Questions About Hard Drives

Below are common questions we have about hard drives. If your questions is not answered below please feel free to contact us.

You can also find frequently asked questions about our Film Transfer, Video Transfer, Image Scanning, Flat Fee Easy Box, and Flat Fee Gift Box. Or return to our General FAQ page.

Hard Drives

What is a hard drive?

The hard drive that we provide is an external, 2.0 USB drive that is used for memory storage. It plugs into the USB port of your computer. From there you can copy the files off or use the files that we provide for your editing purposes.

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Why should I get a hard drive?

They are the best media for home editing because the files can easily be copied onto your home hard drive, edited, and made into your own DVD. The files on the hard drive are a higher quality and less compressed than those on the DVD.

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What size is my hard drive?

We provide different size drives depending on the amount of media in your particular order.

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What kind of files will my hard drive contain?

Home Movie Depot provides an AVI file for every film reel and video tape. In addition, film customers will also receive an HD mpeg-2 file for every reel of film.

If you would currently like to have a copy of the high-definition files, a hard drive is the ideal output media. The hard drive is essential for those who wish to edit the high-definition footage at home. If you order a hard drive with your Premium transfer, you will receive two files:

1. HD MPEG- with a resolution 1280x720 and a bit rate 19.7 mbs
2. AVI- with a resolution 720x480Back to top

Is there editing software on my hard drive?

There is not video editing software, but we do provide viewing software on the hard drive. If you would like editing software, we recommend Pinnacle Studio.

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Can I get this for a Mac?

We can provide AVI files on a Mac formatted hard drive. Please indicate that you need this when you place your order.

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Can I send my own hard drive?

For itemized, orders, we allow customers to send us a hard drive. We ask the following of customers that choose to send us a hard drive:

• Please make sure that your drive is big enough. (Each hour of video takes about 15 Gigabytes.)
• Please include all cables and that the drive is USB.
• Please make sure that there is nothing on the hard drive that you want. (We format the drives.)Back to top

How big of a hard drive should I provide for the exchange?

Each hour of video takes about 15 Gigabytes. You should also allow a little extra space for formatting on your hard drive. Approximately 3 to 10% of the drive that you chose will be unusable due to NTFS or Mac formatting. Additionally, if you choose the Premium film transfer, please provide a drive with twice the amount of storage (e.g. for one hour of video, make sure you have 30 GB of usable space on the drive).

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What brand of hard drive do you use?

Currently, we use different types and brands of drives. The drive that you receive may be a Seagate Free Agent, Samsung, Toshiba, or another brand. If you have strong feelings about a particular brand of hard drive, we recommend the "Send Your Own Hard Drive" option.

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