Our Customers Love Our Work!

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Click here to see our glowing feedback postcards from some of our satisfied customers!

Included With Every Order

All-Digital Mastering

Every DAT Conversion begins with an inspection for damage & decay, before it's played back on our broadcast-quality DAT decks. The audio signal is optically streamed using an all-digital workflow, for a crystal-clear (no 'resampling') copy of your original recording. Our audio engineers selectively amplify the levels and trim the tracks before burning it back onto redbook-audio CD's. Each CD gets printed with simple, easy-to-read identification, then stored in a paper sleeve.

[image: Under Design Logo]

Conversion Experience

Under Design was founded in 1992, working in many media forms integrating design into real-world applications. We have over 20 years of experience in digital recording, multi-media development, audio compression and digital encoding. We use top-of-the-line professionally maintained equipment to ensure quality transfers at an affordable price. We create standards-compliant CD-R's with top-rated media to ensure a high-caliber and highly-compatible product.


DAT's History

Introduced in 1987, the Digital Audio Tape (DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but like most formats of videocassettes, a DAT cassette may only be recorded on one side. DATs had the most success in professional markets and as a computer storage medium. As Sony has ceased production of new recorders in 2005, it has become more difficult to play archived recordings in this format unless they are copied to other formats such as a Compact Disc.

Archivists Welcome!

If you have a massive digital conversion/archiving project for your university, corporation, government agency or just intricate order that requires a person, contact us here at Under Design and we'll be glad to help you out! We can handle all sorts of custom orders, and offer bulk discounts that fit your budget. You can also take a look at what some of our satisfied customers are saying about their new digital conversions! We love to provide local, personal service, so if you are in the center city Philadelphia, PA area, we're open Tuesday-Friday from noon until 6pm for dropping off your digital conversion orders.


Notes About Transfers

We can't save the track markers, nor the text data stored in the Table of Contents (TOC) of DATs when we transfer them to Compact Disc. There is no simple way to transfer this proprietary data, and our transfer method ignores this digital information anyway. When mastering your new CD, if we note sections of silence between tracks, we'll include a track marker on the CD, but this may not match up to your previous edits on the DATs with frame accuracy.

No Charge for Blank DAT Tapes!

Now including Shipment Tracking

US Postman holding oversize Tracking Sticker We're already big fans of the United States Postal Service and it's Media Mail rate. They've recently upgraded their internal computer systems to support Package Tracking, and now we include it as a standard feature with all of our Return Shipping. After we've shipped your job back to you, we'll email you a tracking number and instructions on how to monitor it's commute back to your home.

Read our Analog to Digital Blog!

Start your DAT to CD Order now!

Order Online and Pay With Credit Card


DAT to CD Transfer

Save your memories onto certified CD media sure to last 20+ years! You are responsible for packing and shipping your DATs to us, we suggest using USPS Media Mail rate, as it's appropriate and inexpensive. We'll send you a reminder email to send your DATs once we receive your order. After you checkout with PayPal, please review our detailed shipping instructions for packing your media. All orders should receive an email notification from PayPal and Under Design.

DAT to CD Audio Conversion
$36
CD of recorded digital audio from customer-submitted audio DAT (up to 4 hours of audio), on a plain white CD-R with black printing delivered in a White Paper Sleeve with a replacement guarantee. If DAT runtime requires multiple discs (CD's have a maximum of 80 minutes), there will be no extra cost.
MP3 Copy to Download Immediately!
FREE
We'll create MP3 files of your DAT and make them available to you to download even before you get your conversion back in the mail, for instant gratification! These files will be zipped in an archive, and a download link will be sent to your email.
Return Shipping & Handling
$8
USPS Media Mail Flat Rate Return shipping (with Tracking) to any US Destination for your DAT media and our new CD Conversions.
DAT to CD Transfers Needed

Order by U.S. Mail and Pay with Check

Download Order Form

Download and print our PDF order form, which has all of our available Audio+ Conversion Services (and simple flat-rate pricing) in one simple-to-use form. You can calculate return shipping costs and bulk discounts for a simple predictable estimate for your archiving project. Use our order form for:

  • Multiple media type orders (DATs along with LP's, VHS, etc.)
  • No Credit Card or you prefer to pay by Check or Money Order

Simply pack our completed order form along with your media and ship it to us using the U.S. Postal Service's Media Mail rate, for the lowest shipping rates! We'll notify you by email once it arrives.


Schedule To Drop Off Your Conversion

Live in the Philadelphia Area?

Save the hassle of shipping (and the horrific possibility of lost packages!) by scheduling a 30 minute window to drop off your Conversion Job at our offices in West Philly during business hours (Tuesday through Friday from Noon until 6pm). We have survived the past few years of the Covid lockdown and are back to accepting in person drop off conversion work using our scheduler assistant Cal.com; An email address is required, and you'll be reminded automatically two hours before your appointment.