Broadcast Materials: Policies & Pricing

Videotape Masters Policy

We invariably require that our clients purchase new videotape masters at our cost. We will not provide masters on loan. We invoice for masters separately from the negotiated license fee. We do so to be certain that we can provide the very best quality broadcast materials.

We archive our first-generation digital masters in a temperature-controlled environment at state-of-the-art duplication and standards conversion facilities. These “archive masters” never leave our facilities.  This insures that when our facilities make clones/dubs or do conversions for us, and if they are rejected for any reason, our facilities can easily compare the rejection report with the technical report on the original “archive master.”  If the technical defect does not exist on the archive master the facility will make a new dub master or do a new conversion at no cost to us.  If the identical defect is found on the archive master, then we know that a replacement dub or conversion will not solve the problem.

In prior years we found that no matter how well handled by a client, dub or “loaner” masters would invariably fail technical acceptance, if not the first time, the second or third time, and we would be losing too much money making replacement masters -- the costs of which would not be covered by our facility, as they could no longer know whether they had created the defect in their own duplication or conversion process.

We are also aware that while our dubbing and stock prices are competitive, they may be higher than in-house rates at many channels and networks (prices vary from country to country as well). And, as the masters are not "on loan," there is no return shipping costs.

Duplication & Standards Conversion Pricing

Price list as of July 1, 2008. All prices quoted in U.S. dollars.

DUBS (NTSC > NTSC or PAL > PAL)

30' BetaSP: 70
60' BetaSP: 120
90' BetaSP: 165

DIGITAL CLONES (NTSC > NTSC or PAL > PAL)

These prices are for DigiBeta or DV formats.

30' Digibeta: 125
60' Digibeta: 200
90' Digibeta: 275

30' HDCAM: 300
60' HDCAM: 500
90' HDCAM: 700

CONVERSIONS (NTSC > PAL or PAL > NTSC)

These prices are for Alchemist conversions. (We no longer use ADAC Conversions.)

30' BetaSP conversion: 125
60' BetaSP conversion: 200
90' BetaSP conversion: 300

30' Digibeta conversion: 150
60' Digibeta conversion: 250
90' Digibeta conversion: 375

DOWN-CONVERSIONS (HD > SD NTSC or PAL)

Please contact our office.

CROSS-CONVERSIONS (HDCAM/60i <> HDCAM/50i)

Please contact our office.

ASPECT RATIO CONVERSIONS (Anamorphic <> Letterbox)

Please contact our office.