There are many different concerns that may come in the way when you decide to hand over your memories (in the form of home videos) for transferring to DVDs. What if they get damaged or the files get corrupted during the transfer?

Given this, prior to giving away your memories media for video transferring to a laboratory, it would help to observe and follow these vital points.

1. Will the video transfer work be done on-site? A reliable video transfer lab would process all the work at a single location. Say, if you have given your VHS tape or old Super 8 film into their hands, your possessions will not leave the building until they are picked up by you.
2. A good lab would mark and tag every project and item with a unique number. So, even if the 8mm left by you looks like any other 8 mm, you can be assured of returning home with the files containing your memories only.
3. While at the lab, you may want to look around to observe if the workspace is organized and well-kept or not. A neatly organized and efficient lab-keeper or owner would have bins for different jobs, shelves designated for the purposes of varied tasks, neat stacks of film, photos and slides, etc.
4. Each and every job in the lab should be necessarily tracked with the help of a bar code. If you get to observe this, it would help you to be sure that your tapes are in good hands, and can be tracked from the start to finish. Say, if at any point your DVD or VHS falls in the cracks, the bar coding system will help in tracking it down without fail.
5. A laboratory known for providing high quality services at all times would be obsessive-compulsive about the process of counting and recounting the media files on hand.
6. Look out for any can of beverages, even water, that may be lying in open state. Even a drop of liquid is enough to ruin to tapes and make the entire process of safe video transfer worthless.
7. Open trash bins may not be very harmful in themselves but they may end up being unsafe for the precious media files that may fall in them.
8. Have you noticed the lab operators being rough with fragile SD cards, loose slides, photos, hard drives, etc? If yes, then you may want to consider another professionally managed video transfer to dvd for the purposes of getting better and more reliable services.
9. At the front desk itself, you will be able to see neatly packed and arranged completed jobs that are ready for pick up without any mix-ups; this is particularly true in case of an efficient lab.
10. Lastly, you should observe that those who come for pick-ups are asked to verify the ownership of their files.

When memories are to be protected, it certainly pays to take a few extra steps; such as the ones mentioned above.