MENU
Get Started
DVDs and CDs won't last forever — disc rot, scratches, and the disappearance of disc drives put your home videos and music at risk. Let Scan5 extract and convert your disc content to modern digital files before access becomes impossible.
Consumer disc drives frequently skip or fail on damaged or aging discs. At Scan5, we use professional optical drives with error-correction technology to extract the full content of scratched, scuffed, or disc-rotted media — recovering data that consumer equipment can't read.
For DVDs containing home movies or recorded content, we convert directly to high-quality MP4 or archival formats. CDs are ripped to lossless FLAC or high-quality MP3, preserving every note of your recordings. Our technicians review every disc and flag any content that cannot be fully recovered.
DVDs and CDs dominated home recording from the 1980s through the 2000s. Families recorded birthday parties and graduations onto DVD-R and DVD+R discs; musicians burned demos and recordings onto CD-R. But recordable discs — especially those burned at home — have a significantly shorter lifespan than factory-pressed discs. Disc rot, delamination, and dye degradation can silently destroy the data on a disc within 10–25 years.
We handle DVDs (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, mini-DVD), CDs (CD-R, CD-RW, audio CDs, data CDs), and home-recorded camcorder discs. If your disc plays in a player but you can't easily copy it, bring it to us.
We offer flexible output formats for both video discs and audio discs, depending on how you plan to use your content.
Compact, universally compatible files for everyday viewing and listening on any device. DVDs become MP4s; audio CDs become MP3s at 320 kbps.
Higher-bitrate video and lossless audio for the best possible fidelity. FLAC preserves CD audio bit-for-bit; high-quality MP4s retain full DVD video detail.
A complete disc image (ISO) preserves the original disc structure exactly, including menus and chapters. Ideal for archival or re-authoring purposes.
Scratches, disc rot, and label-side damage can all prevent a disc from being read. We use professional recovery techniques to maximize the content we can extract from damaged media.
We use professional disc resurfacing to remove surface scratches that cause read errors, and employ error-correction software to recover as much data as possible from discs with deeper damage.
Have multiple discs that should be one continuous video? We can merge, trim, and organize your content from multiple DVDs into a single clean file with optional chapter markers.
Once your discs are digitized, you have a few options for how to store and access your digital files.
We've digitized disc collections for families, musicians, and organizations across the Chicago area.
From DVD home movies recorded on a camcorder to CDs of a family band's garage recordings — we preserve what matters to you, no matter the format.
Have a large disc library? We handle high-volume orders for institutions, schools, and organizations with competitive turnaround and pricing.
We understand how personal your memories are, and we treat them with the utmost care. Your photos, tapes, and videos are always secure with us, and we never share them with third parties. Your physical items are kept safe in our climate controlled inventory room at our office building with 24/7 monitoring.
We handle DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, and mini-DVDs for video. For audio, we handle CD-R, CD-RW, and standard audio CDs. We also accept data discs, home camcorder discs, and photo discs.
Often, yes. We use professional disc resurfacing equipment and error-correction software to recover content from scratched and damaged discs that consumer players and drives can't read. We'll let you know if a disc is too damaged to recover fully.
Disc rot refers to the chemical degradation of the reflective layer or dye in optical discs, causing data loss. Recordable discs (CD-R, DVD-R) are more susceptible than factory-pressed discs and can begin to fail within 10–25 years. If your discs are more than a decade old, digitizing sooner rather than later is strongly recommended.
DVD video is converted to MP4 (standard or high quality) or preserved as an ISO disc image. Audio CDs are ripped to MP3 (320 kbps) or lossless FLAC. We can also deliver in other formats on request.
We only digitize content that you own the rights to — home recordings, personal recordings, and self-produced content. We do not copy commercially pressed, copy-protected discs.
You can drop off at our Chicago studio at 4001 N Ravenswood Ave Suite 502-B, schedule a courier pickup, or ship your discs to us (we provide a prepaid label upon request). Pack discs in cases or sleeves to prevent transit damage.
Most projects are completed in 1–2 weeks. Rush service may be available — contact us to discuss your timeline.
Yes. We offer volume discounts for large collections. Contact us with your disc count and we'll provide a custom quote.
Don't wait until it's too late. Let Scan5 preserve your disc collection before disc rot takes hold.
