KATA-PRODUCTIONS DIGITAL


Transfer & archiving of video and audio tapes
all done in-house and not outsourced.
Transcoding of digital files to other formats.
Creating Blu-ray, DVD, CD discs and USB storage. 
Specialising in tape media, floppies & movie film.
Location filming and sound recording.
Editing of your media.



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Video Tape Transfer

We source the best equipment, do our own modifications and servicing. Our gear is like family, we know its history!

VHS VHS-C S-VHS VCR cassette video8 Hi8 Digital8  microMV miniDV
DVCpro 25 & 50 Betacam SP SX IMX Digibeta Betamax DVcam XDcam Laserdisc
Umatic SP BVU NTSC & PAL
1/2" EIAJ reel to reel videotapes
Philips VCR N1500 N1700 cassettes 
All transfers to DVD Blu-ray M-DISC or
.mp4 on USB .avi for PC .mov or ProRes HD for Mac.
Tape cleaning & mold removal for VHS Betamax 8mm.

Audio Tape Transfer

We don't transfer wire recordings
but almost everything else since then!

Compact cassettes Dolby B & C
mini and micro cassettes
1/4" reel to reel tapes all speeds
LP EP 33 45 78 rpm vinyl records
acetate and transcription discs
DAT Minidisc CD & SCSI drives
all recovered to digital.
Tape repair, splicing, baking, mold removal, cleaning.
File editing click & noise reduction.
ADAT not supported, sorry.

Film Scanning

Hi-def scans you can see right down to the grain in the film. Over two decades of experience, we get the job done guaranteed!

Film to digital on HDD USB DVD or Bluray.
Specialising in small formats.
8mm 9.5mm 16mm to 720p or 1080p HD.
If it's got sound it will be there too!
Film cleaning and mold removal.
Photos slides documents scanned.
Digital photo restoration service.
Quality results for hundreds of delighted customers and other transfer businesses.
Even state archives have used us!

Retro Computing

PC & Mac media downloading as well as
legacy computer file access, we can assist!

MAC & IBM PC 5.25" 3.5" Amstrad 3" floppy disk transfers.
Commodore & Amiga data access.
Iomega Zip Rev floppy Orb disk
Magnet0-optical MO disc transfer.
Old Mac & PC SCSI drive download.
 Camcorder ZIF hard drive SD XD CF data card recovery.
Surveillance video transcoding.
Laptop & tablet file troubleshooting.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP
with years of engineering expertise!

Recovery Solutions

Scratched or unfinalized DVDs,
broken SD cards, dropped camcorders,
damaged hard drives ...HELP

Our CD scratch removal machine can only do so much. software recovery options may be necessary.
We have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience over many years and are ready to assist.
Our library of recovery software is growing all the time. None of the software we use is freeware.
That's why it usually works!

Format Solutions

Q: "We've found some old floppy thingies
and the labels say there are photos on them. Can you help?"

Our computers are set up to deal with many legacy formats.
MacWrite from 1982, CBM SuperScript from 1989 or just some old Windows word docs or CAD files, we are working hard to offer more solutions for our customers.
Some files may be on weird floppies and disks or run on old operating systems like CP/M or DOS.
We can't always get access to the data if the media is corrupted, but all things being equal  ....probably!

Audio Solutions

Q: "Our masters are on 10.5" reel to reel.
Does anyone still have these recorders?"

We can deal with difficult tapes that your audio is stuck on.
We have thermal dehydration and tape cleaning facilities.
Recent projects include....
Uni School of Art lectures that were recorded on open reel, cleaned baked and digitised to .wav files.
Divinyls multi-track files on a SCSI HDD recovered to .wav.
Cassette tapes with folk & rock band recordings recovered.
If you have DAT we can help too!

Video Solutions

So you have an unexpected problem,
Q: "what's best for my tapes?"

We can digitise your footage to a
Prores 4:2:2 variant on a Mac formatted drive for a professional editing solution in Final Cut Pro.
Videotapes can be captured to
.avi for PC .mov for MAC .dv for iMovie.
or .mp4 for the family archive to watch directly on your flatscreen TV in wide or standard format.
.....it's done right the first time!

Optical Storage

We have Blu-ray & M-DISC burners available.

Hard disk mechanisms can fail, the data stored on them can be erased or corrupted by viruses..
Tapes get damaged and are magnetically vulnerable.
USB and HDD electronic storage has a limited read/write lifespan, internal components will eventually fail.
With a huge 50Gb of storage on BDR-DL, optical discs are still preferable in media preservation and digital archiving!

Cloud Storage

Is this really for you?

It’s easy, convenient & there are many cheap online storage services available but with monthly fees and possible transfer costs. Delivery to storage systems may seem magical and your data is often referred to as being safely stored “in the cloud,”. In reality, it’s stored on someone else’s hard drives .... maybe even in a shed or garage.
It’s as safe as a given service wants to make it!

Media Back Up

It's always your responsibility.

We highly recommend that all your data is backed up.
Hard drive & USB data should be copied and stored at individual locations in case of disasters or burglary.
Customers have lost their USBs, thrown their original tapes away, having not backed anything up.
Kata-Productions Digital can provide back up drives at the time of transfer or as an after service!

Tape Degaussing

For your peace of mind.

If you are concerned about throwing your tapes into recycling or garbage bins, we can assist with a professional tape erasure service. We have two tape degaussers which will erase analog tapes completely. These degaussers are the same ones used for many years in the television industry. We check your erased tapes to ensure there is no latent data remaining on them!

Photo Slide Scanning

Can't look at your transparencies any more or found a shoebox of photos?
Kata-Productions Digital can convert them to .tif or .jpeg  files up to 6400dpi so you can print your photo books, edit, share or simply enjoy your images in a digital age.

You receive your images scanned, cropped and colour corrected with professional file sizes and pixel counts that you can comfortably send to other businesses like photo book printers without the worry of your files being rejected as not suitable....

What else would you like.... SLIDESHOW on DVD or USB for a tribute presentation or simply someone's birthday celebration? No problem.

Film Scanning up to 1080p

I wanted to thank you for the truly excellent job you've done in transferring our old 8mm home movies to DVD.
The colours seem brighter and more realistic than the original reels and the clarity of the transfer process is really excellent.
Thanks for structuring the DVD with each movie as a separate section and for labelling each of these as asked.
I feel a little more secure knowing the family can keep their own copy. I can stop worrying about the film stock turning to rubbish.

Again, thanks for a fantastic job.
Kind regards,
William Smithers    N.S.W.
2nd August 2017

Recovery Zone

When you find tapes in the disaster category ........
Kata-Productions Digital can help.
We have recovered fire damaged VHS tapes, a miniDV wedding tape dropped into a coffee cup, mold infested VCR tapes, flood damaged VHS tapes, squeaking audio tapes and cassettes that jam your equipment.

We recovered all files from a squashed camcorder run over by a 4WD, dropped camcorder with all files missing, broken SD card no longer working and even an SD card with half of the casing missing.

We have been recovering damaged motion picture films for many years.

Fire damaged tapes

Successfully recovered in 2018

Flood damaged tapes

Successfully recovered after Hobart floods

Open reel EIAJ videotape

1970s tapes digitised recently

Home movies in decay

Mold and contamination wipes out movies

Large or small

We handle your transfers with care!

All transfers are treated as we would our own.
Your new digital media is checked to comply with our strict quality control standards for large or small jobs.
Our machines are chosen to deliver quality results the first time and you will get all your tapes and films back in better than drop-off condition.

Taking care with media

Nothing will survive poor handling or storage!

It makes no difference what you transfer your tapes to if you don't look after the discs, USBs or drives.
We are often asked what's best, the answer is clearly that you look after your new media and back it up,
You should never overfill your USB or HDD as it may stop working altogether. Sharing your drive with others can cause data loss by viruses, accidental formatting or failure to eject the drive correctly.

The enemy of tapes and film

Humidity, moisture & magnetic fields!

The enemy of all media is water. Your films can get so badly damaged that no scanner can deal with them.
Your tapes can get 'sticky shed syndrome' and are no longer playable by any tape deck.
Storing tapes in the bedroom cupboard is no guarantee that they will still work. All rooms have magnetic fields from electric blankets, or speakers in radios and TVs.
You need to deal with it now!

Tape recovery systems

We have systems to help with bad tapes!

RTI tapechek is an industry standard cleaner used by archives the world over. We also have 8mm video and betamax tape cleaners as well. Tape baking systems are available to remove moisture from sticky tapes. Your job is to get the tapes to us before even these systems can no longer help.

The Unusual

Kodak Picture Discs

If you've heard of it we have probably dealt with it.
Some of these unusual formats are plain difficult to deal with and can take up a lot of time to get your data off them.
Other companies just won't work with these kinds of media.

The Scratched

1940's radio broadcast recording on 78rpm disc

At Kata-Productions Digital we will spend the time to get the best quality transfer off your discs before any digital cleanup is done. You have to have a quality download to start with because software can't recover what's not there. 

The Dirty

We have professional tape cleaning systems

Some tapes have to be physically dismantled, vacuumed and reassembled before machine cleaning is started. We sometimes find dead insects and mold in them. Our vinyl cleaning systems include Spin-Clean and Record Doctor V

The Broken

Video, audio and film repair service

If you have broken movie films or VCR tapes we can resplice them for you. Damaged sprockets on 16mm film can be repaired with our Perfix tape repair machine. Spare parts or whole cassette shells are in stock..

What our customers had to say....

Thank you for a superb job of copying an old LP to a USB stick and CDs. The work was done with much precision and care, the price was very fair.

Tom Payne

The transfer is brilliant – thank you – it has taken me nearly 37 years to get this done and I am so glad I stumbled across you!! Expect a lot more mixed formats over the next 12 months.

Lloyd Johns

Thank you very much for your quick and exceptional service. 

I will be happy to recommend you to anyone who is looking for a service that you offer.

Steve Earl

My mother has had some super 8 film sitting in her cupboard for the past 34 years unable to be watched. Within a day they were able to convert it to USB for me and just in time for Mothers' Day. Well done, excellent service, super fast and very affordable.

Justin Young

Kata-Productions managed to recover 2 years of video footage from my video camera that mysteriously went missing. I will be forever grateful.

Service was fantastic!

Stacey Taylor

I received my parcel today & have watched the DVD. I just wanted to say how happy I am with it. It was amazing. We had forgotten a lot of what was on the films & just to see our parents, grandparents and so many people that are not with us anymore, it was very moving indeed. Thank you so much.

Noelene Sutherland

Transferred my wedding and overseas holiday footage from a 2 decade-old VHS tape and Mini DV cassettes to MP4 format within one day. Well worth the cost to have my precious family memories preserved!

W.K. Ryu

I had three treasured family VHS repaired and transferred to DVD. Each tape was carefully looked after and transferred to digital copies in what seemed like no time at all and at a really good price. I was updated throughout the process. I highly recommend them to anyone. Thank you.

Ernie Lohrey

Sent 21, 8mm reels to be digitised, response time was excellent for the quote, came back in less than the projected time frame. Quality of work was perfect, follow up phone calls as well. Highly recommend Kata-Productions to everyone. Very friendly and prompt service :) Thank you

Trish King

Kata-Productions transferred a set of old mini DVs to flash drive for me. I am very happy with the results, the service was great and very quick. They were very easy to deal with and I would recommend them for sure.

Aiden Allen

A challenging task transferring information from floppy disks onto USB. The floppy disks were from the 80's. Also did a great job putting old movies onto DVDs for the family to have.

Kata-Productions is a gem.

Margot Gatenby

Arrived at my door today!! Sat back and watched races previously inaccessible on VHS. 

All looked great. Photos of slides are just terrific. Thanks for a job well done.   regards, David.

David Keen

I have used Kata-Productions quite a few times. Arnie is always up to a challenge and super quick. Highly recommend!

Deanna Ellis Sturges

From initial contact to pick up of record and CD, excellent customer service! Went beyond expectation and job done same day.

Heather Holmes
I have received all five files, this has been a great solution. My kids can take away a slice of their childhood on a USB stick! Thanks very much.
Brian Stafford

Had all my Dad's old movies and slides digitised and it is a fantastic job.

Jan Robinson

I just wanted to thank you for an excellent quality transfer. They're top notch!  Really great work I hope I can use your services again soon.

Bill McGuire

Thank you for your prompt service Arnie 

Cheers

Chris Boyss

Use Express Post

We recommend an over the counter lodgement rather
than a street post box so that your media remains
undamaged and arrives in good order at our studios.

Western Australia

serviced by mail order

Perth
Fremantle
Rockingham
Mandurah
Bunbury
Kalgoorlie
Geraldton
Albany
Broome
Port Headland
Esperance

New South Wales / ACT

serviced by mail order

Sydney
Canberra
Queanbeyan
Newcastle
Central Coast
Wollongong
Albury
Maitland
Wagga Wagga
Port Macquarie
Tamworth
Orange
Dubbo
Lismore
Bathurst
Coffs Harbour
Richmond
Nowra

Victoria / Tasmania

serviced by mail order

Melbourne
Geelong
Ballarat
Bendigo
Shepparton
Melton
Mildura
Warrnambool
Sunbury
Hobart
Launceston
Burnie
Ulverstone
Devonport
St. Helens
Huonville
Queenstown

Northern Territory

serviced by mail order

Darwin
Alice Springs
Palmerston
Katherine
Tennant Creek
Casuarina
Batchelor
Pine Creek

Queensland

serviced by mail order

Brisbane
Gold Coast
Ipswich
Sunshine Coast
Townsville
Cairns
Toowoomba
Rockhampton
Mackay
Bundaberg
Hervey Bay
Gladstone

South Australia

serviced by mail order

Adelaide
Mount Gambier
Clare
Port Lincoln
Victor Harbour
Whyalla
Murray Bridge
Naracoorte
Kingscote
McLaren Vale

Field Production

HD production for television or corporate
XDCAM and HDV cameras

Sound recording for television
Audio kit with four radio mic systems
Handheld and lavalier mics
Boom, mic stands and cable kit
Three ENG field mixers