Upgrading our old family videos to a new format is great. Now, you have all those old videos on a high quality format that everybody can enjoy on any TV.

But, DVDs offer you much more in the way of custom features. Instead of just a video that rolls along from beginning to end, you can have your family video DVD loaded with special features, just like the DVDs from the store.

Put Whatever You Want On The Menu

Video rolls along from beginning to end, but DVDs serve up entertainment from a main menu. When you first turn them on, it shows you a table of contents with all the stuff on the disc. This way, you can put several hours of different videos on a DVD and see what you want when you want.

You can also make a custom background for the menu. Most video transfer places will allow you to choose an image, or even a scene from the video, to put in the background of the menu screen.

Make It More Easy To Navigate

If you have long videos on your DVD, you can split them up into "tracks" like a CD has. You can make your own scene selection screen on the start menu so that you can find exactly what you are looking for.

Another custom service that is usually offered is time markers. You can have the DVD made so that viewers can skip ahead to a certain time in one of the videos.

Make The DVD So That You Can Watch It Anywhere

There is a custom feature called "international video standards conversion," which means that a video duplication service can make your video region-free.

For DVDs, the world is divided into 8 major regions. Videos from each region can't be watched in the other regions. DVD players simply won't be able to read them. This is a measure created to keep people from bootlegging and selling cheap DVDs.

This can be a real pain for consumer, though. That's why most video transfer services offer region-free video conversion.

More Editing Options

It depends on the company, but many video transfer services allow you to do custom editing. They may charge more, or offer it as part of the deluxe package. You might be able to...

- Edit certain scenes. Is there a long stretch where somebody left the camera on and forgot about it? You can make it disappear. You can also make collages or "best of" collections.

- Custom music. You can often choose music for the start menu and opening scenes, but some places will allow you to add music into certain scenes. You can turn your home videos into Hollywood thrillers!

- Photos and slideshows. DVDs can store all kinds of information, and some services allow you to preserve your pictures on the same DVD as a movie. With photos on the DVD, you can also make slideshows.

A simple conversion to DVD will protect your family videos and keep the quality from deteriorating, but custom features can turn your average home videos into interactive adventures! When you shop around for a video transfer service, be sure to ask about what special custom features they offer.