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Repair and Restoration

Audio Repair and Restoration

CD - DVD - Audio Cassette - Video Tape - Open Reel tapes including 2 inch multitrack tapes - Vinyl Discs - Karaoke CD's

CD - DVD – All Types inc. Game CD-Roms

CD’s and DVD’s usually get scratched at some time and although the ‘error correction’ built into all players can cope with this, there comes a time when the sound or picture starts to suffer and eventually the programme may drop out, freeze or keep repeating a section. You may also be unable to play certain tracks.

Although there can be faults to the label side of the disc which is non repairable, it is more likely to be damage to the other side that causes the problems. We recently installed an industrial quality repair machine that can restore this side to an ‘as new’ condition by grinding and polishing out all the scratches. This almost always cures the fault and if it does not, we refund the cost.

The price for CD - DVD - CD Rom restoration is £3.00 per disc (Incl. VAT) + postage.

Karaoke CD’s (CD-G)

Karaoke or CD-G discs can be physically cleaned like any other CD and although this will nearly always cure any audio problems it may not cure corrupted text (lyrics) which are more sensitive. We can make a copy of suspect discs via enhanced error correction software which usually makes a big improvement.

Prices vary depending on how bad the disc is – but an average cost would be around £10 for cleaning and copying plus £3 for printing titles etc. if required.

Audio Cassette Tape + VHS & Video 8 tape

Tapes often get stuck inside the machine and consequently gets crumpled, stretched or snapped. We can cut out the damaged piece of tape and edit the main tape back together. If the shell is damaged we can fit the repaired tape into a new shell.

The information on the damaged piece of tape is lost but this usually only amounts to a few seconds. It is advisable to have the contents of the tape transferred to either CD for audio or DVD for video as the machine that damaged the tape in the first place is likely to do so again.

The charge for the above repairs are from £5.00 for a basic repair.
Backup copies on CD or DVD: £5.00 set up charge per tape +10p per min. of recording (VAT & postage extra.)

Open Reel Tapes & Tape baking

Many open reel tapes manufactured between the early 1970’s and 1990’s now suffer from something called ‘sticky shed’. This is caused by the chemical (that was used to bind the magnetic particles to the polyester backing) reacting with dampness over the years and causing the tape to shed a sticky white dust that makes the tape almost un-playable. The tape will slow down and squeak as it passes the heads and should be stopped if this occurs as it can damage both the tape and the machine.

This situation can be temporarily resolved by ‘baking’ the tape in a special, tightly controlled, low temperature oven for 24 to 72 hours (depending how badly the tape is affected). The tape is then useable for a few weeks during which time the contents can be transferred to a newer medium.

The heat treatment costs are as follows:

1/4inch tapes - £10.00 for the use of the oven + £2.00 per tape (eg. 10 tapes would cost (£30.00 + VAT)

1 inch multitrack tapes - £10.00 (Oven fee) + £5.00 per tape (eg.5 tapes would cost £35.00 +VAT)

2 inch multitrack tapes - £10.00 (Oven Fee) + £10.00 per tape (eg. 4 tapes would cost £50.00 + VAT)
Carriage on tapes is extra and charged at cost.

We can transfer the tape contents to CD or any other digital media if required .
Transfer costs are £5.00 set up + 10p per min. of recording (eg. A 60min. tape would be £11.00 + VAT)

Any carriage costs are extra and charged at cost

Vinyl Disc Repair - incl. 7" - 10" and 12" records

The above discs mainly suffer from scratches, dust and liquid spills that deteriorate the reproduction. Although scratches cannot be physically repaired, the resulting click can be eliminated electronically when transferring the Vinyl to CD.

Crackle and surface noise is more difficult to eliminate successfully with electronics as it usually has a side effect that sounds almost worse than the surface noise. However, dramatic improvement can be made by physically cleaning the surface and grooves of the disc.

Our cleaning machine washes the disc in a special cleaning fluid which also loosens the dirt in the grooves. The machine then vacuums out all the dirt and fluid, leaving a surface that is almost crackle-free.

The charge for cleaning is £3.00 per disc (both sides)
The charge for cleaning and transferring to CD or any other digital media is £12.00. (Plus VAT)
Carriage on tapes and discs is extra and charged at cost.

Send faulty discs or tapes to:-

Fairview Duplication
Cavewood Grange Farm
Common Lane
North Cave
East Yorkshire
HU15 2PE

Tel: 01430 425546

Include your contact details and we will contact you with the total cost (before starting any work) and payment can be made either by cheque, credit card - over the phone or even Paypal.