Your video and slide memories are important to you. We understand that, and would like the opportunity to preserve them for you. -Robert
Over 2 million feet of film have been transfered through our facility. We take great care with every order!
We use only professional grade and quality video tape decks, and state of the art recorders to produce your DVD+/-R media.
All our slide scanning is available in High Quality TIFF or JPEG, and always includes Digital Ice Technology!
We can produce virtually any video format from most other formats, either analog or digital.
Files, Documents and miscellaneous help files! If you can't find something, please ask!Misc. Documents
What are light-scribe labels?
LightScribe is an optical disc recording technology that uses specially coated recordable CD and DVD media to produce laser-etched labels with text or graphics, as opposed to stick-on labels and printable discs.
The LightScribe method uses the laser in a way similar to when plain data is written to the disc; a greyscale image of the label is etched onto the upper side of the disc. In the beginning, the discs were available only in a sepia color but today are available in many colors.
The purpose of LightScribe is to allow users to create direct-to-disc labels (as opposed to stick-on labels), using their optical disc writer. Special discs and a compatible disc writer are required. Before or after burning data to the read-side of the disc, the user turns the disc over and inserts it with the label side down. The drive's laser then etches into the label side in such a way that an image is produced.
What did they say about VHS?
Date: 1993
There's no label saying so, but be warned: VHS tapes don't last forever. Those personal, irreplaceable videos--be they of the big game, the birth of a child, your wedding, baby's first steps--one day could break down. It probably won't happen, though, because today's VCR tapes are too good and ways to extend their lives too easy. The trouble is, no one seems to know exactly how long those tapes will remain operable.
"You have to keep an eye on your tapes," notes Bill Drysdale, Fuji's Consumer Video Product Manager. "But if they're stored properly, they should last 20 years or more."
"There's no absolute answer to how long your tapes will last," indicates Bob Fontana, TDK's Manager of Customer and Technical Services. "But it's safe to assume that, with proper care, 25 years or more can be expected. The real question is whether or not the hardware will exist to reproduce the recordings."
"It all depends on how they're stored," explains Patricia Glotzbier, Maxell's Technical Applications Specialist for Consumer Products. "Under optimum conditions, a tape can last more than 30 years.
"I'd give it more than 10 years," Fuji's Drysdale predicts. "Just look at the size of the market. VCR sales are still experiencing double-digit growth [which may help explain why videocassette recorders for high-definition television are on the nearby horizon]. The reality is, tape is a complex item that's very simple to operate. In today's world, ease and simplicity go a long way."
Digital era is here
According to Mougis, however, "the digital era of video recording is already here. Analog is no longer the thing, at least in the professional side of the industry. It's almost like comparing the CD and the vinyl record--there is no comparison. For instance, future technology will grant the consumer random access. If you don't want to watch the next 20 minutes of your recording, you can jump right into the next segment--in the blink of an eye. Now you have to fast forward, and that takes minutes instead of seconds.
"Let's face it, there are only a handful of reasons for technology to change: making the product less expensive; better quality; smaller, more efficient storage; and copyability." The latter means that "digital copies will be perfect--exact replicas. We don't have that today."
Nor do VHS tapes have metal backing, an element found on camcorder eight millimeter tapes. Instead, they make do with an oxide coating, which can flake off with time. Remember, though, that the camcorder can serve as its own VCR. "You can't compare the two systems; it's apples and oranges," explains Sony Public Relations Manager Brian Levine. "The mechanics of the camcorder require metal coated tape."
Adds Mougis, "Eight mm is one-fifth the size of standard VHS tapes, and you get a better image. It's one phase beyond VHS. Eight mm decks are available, but they're a small part of the business." He then concludes: "No one is complaining about VCR and VHS quality, but that's because they haven't seen the future yet."
How To Flip a Scanned Image
Many times, slides are in cases, sheets, or boxes backwards. Many slides have been mislabelled, and even SOME we inadvertantly scan from the wrong side. The image is still in tact, and there is a simple process for flipping the image to the correct orientation.
If you have your own Image Editor, simply load the image, and select a HORIZONTAL FLIP and save the image again.
If you do NOT have your own image editor, download GIMP for Windows here -> GIMP
After installing and starting GIMP, follow these simple steps.
1. click FILE -> OPEN
2. Find the image you want to flip on your hard drive, select it and click OPEN
3. click IMAGE -> TRANSFORM -> FLIP HORIZONTALLY
4. click FILE -> SAVE
5. if your file was a JPG, slide the QUALITY bar to 100, and click SAVE
Your image should now be on your hard drive in the correct orientation.