Why are my tapes split into multiple files?

This is a really great question, and there are a couple reasons as to why. 

1. Better compatibility with Cloud platforms.
2. Better compatibility with USB storage.
3. Better compatibility with DVDs, at maximum quality.

The first reason is that some Cloud platforms have file size limits. While we offer files through Google Drive as an option with your order, not all our customers want that and prefer to share their videos themselves. Many Cloud platforms have file size or time limits they impose on digital files. Our digital files should generally fall within these limits.

The second reason is that, while we use exFAT, FAT32 is the most popular format for USB storage that our customers use at home. FAT32 imposes a 4GB file size limit. We encourage all our customers to back up their digital files, and to best ensure our customers are able to do that, we try to stay within that 4GB limit.

The third and last reason is to ensure that our customers who choose to make their digital files made into DVDs receive the highest quality DVDs. While it is possible to cram a whole 6 hour VHS onto a DVD, we have found that the best quality viewing experience is to split that 6 hours across 3 DVDs, just like a TV show.

As a general rule, our digitization process creates files that are about 2 hours long, as their maximum length per file. So if your tapes are longer than 2 hours, you will receive multiple files per tape.