Questions About Your
Photo Video Montage

What should I include in my montage?
Determine the theme of your montage. In addition to photos, you can include birth announcements, graduation announcements, wedding invitations, newspaper clippings, poems, etc. DVD Memoirs, LLC can essentially include anything in your montage that can be scanned in. That means as long as it is flat and no larger than 8x12 inches, you can be as creative as you like.

What if my photos are worn?
While recent advances in digital photo restoration have allowed torn and poorly developed photographs to be brought back to life, there is only so much the software can do. Pictures that look great printed will also look great scanned. Pictures that are extremely dark or grainy, can be improved somewhat, but will still not have the best appearance. DVD Memoirs, LLC automatically reviews each photograph that is scanned and optimizes it to be viewed on a television or projector.

Why do I have to send my music CDs to you?
We need you to provide us with an original copy on CD to avoid breaking any copyright laws. To include copyrighted music in your montage, you must own the original recording. Use of the track will be covered under your fair use rights of ownership. To sum it all up, we need to make sure you actually own the music before we can use it in your montage to avoid any copyright infringements. If you are having trouble coming up with songs or are unable to find a particular song on CD, feel free to contact us and we'll do our best to help you.

Why should I use a pencil and sticky notes on my photos and not pen or marker?
When labeling or numbering your photos the ink can bleed through to the picture side of your photo and/or bleed onto the next photo when stacking them. To avoid bleeding, the best way to label your photos is to use sticky notes and write with a pencil. Number each sticky note with pencil. If you are using captions, write the caption on the sticky note then place the sticky note on the back of your photo. Make sure the sticky notes will stick to the photos, so we will know what order to put your photos in. Read more about how to package your photos before you send them to us.
Can I order more copies at a later date?
Additional copies can be ordered at a later date by contacting us within 6 months of your initial order. Please include your order number and number of DVD or CD copies you’d like when you email us. Our standard turn around time is 14 days.

Will you keep a copy of my DVD?
We will keep the master of your DVD on file for 6 months for reordering purposes, unless you specify that we don’t.

How many songs do I need for my photo video montage?
Most often, your memories will appear on screen for about 8 seconds each. Multiply 8 seconds by the number of memories you are including. Divide that number by 60, to get the approximate number of minutes of music you'll need. For example, if you have 150 memories at 8 seconds each, you’ll need (150 x 8 = 1200 / 60) about 20 minutes of music. Since the average song length is about 4 minutes, you’ll need 5 songs.

Which pictures look best in a photo video montage?
Given the standard 4:3 dimensions of television monitors, memories that are in landscape mode (horizontal) tend to show better on a television screen than portrait mode (vertical). While portrait memories should definitely be used, be aware that there will typically be a black border surrounding the memory. It’s best to use portrait memories intermittently throughout your photo video montage and avoid using them all together in any one section of your photo video montage.

Can I watch my DVD on my TV or do I have to watch it on a computer?
The DVD that we create for you can be watched on home DVD players, portable DVD players or computers equipped with a DVD-ROM drive. All you need to do is insert the DVD disc into the DVD player and enjoy.

What if my DVD doesn't play?
On average 99% of all players will play our DVDs. You can check to see if your DVD player will support DVD-R at www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers. If your DVD does not play we will do everything we can to give you a solution that will work.

What video formats do you accept for conversion to DVD/CD?
We can convert VHS tape, Hi-8 tape and 8mm tape to DVD or CD format.

What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal. Once we receive your order, we will send you an invoice via email which will allow you to securely process your payment online via PayPal. If you prefer, you can also pay by check or money order. Please do not send cash through the mail.

What should I do if I can't find the answers to my questions?
If you still have unanswered questions, you can send us an email or call us toll-free at 1-800-454-3604 and we'll be more than happy to help you.

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