Do you think this business idea has got potential?

[Maz]

...Converting VHS video tapes to DVD format. There must be tens of thousands, nay, millions of VHS tapes of weddings, b'days and stuff that are collecting dust and fading away, whilst technology moves on. VHS is pretty much dead. Would you consider converting your tapes to DVD and how much would you pay per tape? Obviously not converting pre-recorded stuff, that'd be illegal...

 

[walker]

I had that idea as soon as DVD was released, but never followed it through, I think there are companies out there that actually do this already

 

[domtyler]

Sorry Maz but you can buy a machine to do it for you in Maplin's for about a tenner.

You may be able to use this as the basis for a pretty small operation, obviously you would need to offer a whole range of like services. It will never make you a million though.

 

[lifeson]

Nope
Already been done by many people
What would be usefull but expensive is to offer editing of old tapes
I for one have tons of footage of holidays etc and have sat through it to end up with just a few minutes of worthwhile quality footage.

I must be able to compile a "Footpaths of the world" tape with the amount of footage I have taken walking along with the camera on whilst it is lung over my shoulder thinking it was off

 

[Maz]

It will never make you a million though.

Like a botched vasectomy, you mean...

 

[alecstilleyedye]

...Converting VHS video tapes to DVD format. There must be tens of thousands, nay, millions of VHS tapes of weddings, b'days and stuff that are collecting dust and fading away, whilst technology moves on. VHS is pretty much dead. Would you consider converting your tapes to DVD and how much would you pay per tape? Obviously not converting pre-recorded stuff, that'd be illegal...

have your family got a load of wedding videos or old bollywood movies </asian stereotype> that need doing? if you can get away with charging for doing it you could be quids in.

 

[Maz]

have your family got a load of wedding videos or old bollywood movies </asian stereotype> that need doing? if you can get away with charging for doing it you could be quids in.

Too many to mention. I'm gonna get me one of those boxes from Maplins, man, £130 I just saw one on-line. Start churning them out at a quid a pop and see what happens.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

you coiuld easily spend the rest of your days doing this for peanuts

 

[domtyler]

You may make money if you can do it on a large enough scale and completely automate the process. The demand is unlikely to be there though and automating it sounds very tricky. Me, I'd forget all about it.

 

[Maz]

You may make money if you can do it on a large enough scale and completely automate the process. The demand is unlikely to be there though and automating it sounds very tricky. Me, I'd forget all about it.

*sneakily looks on ebay for a box cheaper than the one at Maplins*

 

[domtyler]

*sneakily looks on ebay for a box cheaper than the one at Maplins*

Do some sums Maz, If you can only do one per hour and are charging one pound each you are not going to be a very rich man I'm afraid!

 

[Maz]

Do some sums Maz, If you can only do one per hour and are charging one pound each you are not going to be a very rich man I'm afraid!

for sure. i'm not gonna give up my job for it. like ebay - it's just some extra pocket money. You just press the button and let it go, whilst i do something more interesting like ride a bike or visit an owl sanctuary or something.

 

[Mr Pig]

Do some sums Maz, If you can only do one per hour and are charging one pound each you are not going to be a very rich man I'm afraid!

That was my thought exactly. People are unlikely to pay a charge that will relate realistically to the time you'll take to process their job. Plus, I doubt the demand is there. We've got VHS tapes kicking about but we've never bothered to convert them, and probably never will. The time and money you'd have to put in just to track down the few people who'd want to use the service would just eat into your profits even more..I just think it would be a waste of time.

 

[Maz]

I'm pitching the idea on Dragon's Den next week. Fingers crossed, they'll give me £150k for 5% of the business.

 

[Mr Pig]

They'll give you £1:50 for the bus home! ;0)