A disc specialist with an Alberta history
Crown says it has served the corporate, industrial and arts community in Alberta since 1984. That background helps explain the focus of its published material: duplication, replication, disc printing and packaging. Families can use those details to frame an enquiry, although they do not establish a particular home-video transfer service.
If your recording already exists on DVD, tell Crown what you have and what you want relatives to receive. A playable video disc, a disc containing computer files and an empty disc are different starting points. Ask whether your source can be copied in its present form, and whether the proposed copies will suit the players or computers your family uses.
Resolve the VHS question before bringing tapes
The published duplication list names CD, DVD and BluRay. It does not confirm VHS transfer, accepted tape formats, tape repair or delivery of downloadable video files. If your originals are cassettes, ask directly whether Crown handles the conversion stage and what source formats it accepts. Do this before making a journey or sending irreplaceable recordings.
Prepare a short inventory for that conversation: count the tapes, copy their labels and note any visible damage. Include smaller camcorder cassettes separately rather than assuming every cassette is VHS. If a tape looks mouldy, has a cracked shell or has previously jammed, describe that condition and ask what assessment is possible. Avoid playing a suspect tape just to discover its contents.
Printed discs and packaging for a family project
Crown publishes full-size CD and DVD printing templates, with different print methods attached to different quantities. Full-colour printing for 1-299 discs is listed as CMYK inkjet; for 300 or more, CMYK offset. Spot-colour printing for 200 or more discs is listed as silkscreen. These are printing categories, not evidence of a minimum duplication order or a price. CD Digipak and DVD Digipak templates also appear on its website.
For a family gathering, decide how many physical copies people actually want before discussing artwork. A clear title, names and an approximate recording date can make a disc more useful years later. Ask which template applies to your order and how artwork should be submitted. Check spelling with another relative, especially when a label includes maiden names or unfamiliar places.
Read the replication timing in its proper context
Crown states that replicated discs usually take 10-12 working days after artwork and replication rights paperwork have been approved, with shipping added if outside Edmonton, Alberta. That statement concerns replicated discs. It should not be used as a timetable for VHS transfer or every duplication job.
Ask for a schedule tied to your actual order, including the approval stage and the date you need copies in hand. Request a written quote covering the proposed media, quantity, printing, packaging and any delivery charges. Also establish how your source material will be handled and returned. The published replication timing does not answer those questions.
Keep a usable file alongside any disc copies
As general preservation advice, ask whoever performs a transfer whether you can receive a digital video file suitable for your devices and intended archive. Choosing discs for relatives need not prevent keeping a separate file copy, but the available outputs must be agreed with the service doing the work.
Before sharing widely, check the beginning, middle and end of every returned recording. Listen for sound, look for missing sections and compare the contents with the original labels. Keep original tapes and discs, and maintain a backup of digital files separately from your everyday copy. Invite a relative to help identify people and dates while those details are still remembered.
Bring relatives into the memories after conversion
Memrial is a separate private family archive for digital memories after conversion. It does not digitise physical tapes or form part of Crown’s service. Its free plan includes 2.0 GB of storage shared across the archive, with no card needed. You can invite relatives, organise photos and home videos into albums, and add comments or stories.
Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, helping you find a recording by year even when its label only says something like a summer holiday. Live Watch Parties synchronise an uploaded home video using host play, pause and seek controls, with voice and text chat for relatives nearby or far away. The free allowance is 3 hours per month and up to 6 participants.
For a reunion, Event Memories provides a secure occasion contribution link. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership; their photos and videos collect in the event album. Closing the link keeps the memories already gathered. This can put an older recording beside the photographs relatives take at the next gathering.