ARCHIVING SERVICES FOR PHOTOS, SLIDES & DOCUMENTS
Photo restoration can help, Photo Rescue can save!
Scanning, done the right way, can literally save your images. But simply digitizing your existing image isn’t enough, since it is likely to have already faded, developed a yellowish cast, or been scratched. So digitizing it only would simply lock the image in its current, deteriorated state.
What’s required is that your image be first scanned, and then repaired. Many of these effects are straightforward to repair, if the operator is properly trained. At Liberty Entertainment Group, for example, nearly every image submitted to us has required some level of correction, and we’ve been able to do the majority of that within our standard pricing, which costs just pennies per image. However, if you wait too long before you scan and repair your image, your image may be deteriorated to the point where it requires a higher level of service from us — we call it ‘Photo Rescue’. And in the worst case scenario, it may not be repairable at all.
Why do photos deteriorate?
Chances are your old color images were developed and printed using a chromogenic process. This kind of process relies on chemical reactions to produce a set of organic dyes — usually a blue, a red, and a yellow — that in combination produce the colors in your image. But these dyes, as they are the result of chemical reactions, are inherently unstable. Light accelerates their breakdown, but doesn’t cause it. So even if you store your images in the dark, so long as they are at typical household humidity and temperature levels, they will eventually deteriorate.
Another side effect is that in many cases the image develops a yellowish haze. This is because in many (but not all) color films used during the period 1936-1990, the yellow dye can increase in density over time. Perhaps the most famous example of this are Kodacolor images from 1942-1953, which had particular problems, due to some of the dye-forming agents (called “couplers”) remaining in the print after processing. (For this reason, this kind of color change is often referred to as a “coupler stain.”)
For safe reliable archiving, Liberty Entertainment Group can transfer photographs, and slides. You’ll never have to worry about losing family photos and slides in a flood or fire again. If digitized first, they can easily be copied and stored on other computers or even uploaded to a remote server for ultimate protection.
At your request we will transfer your photos/slides…
To DVD
To computer hard drive
And/or to Cloud back-up
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TRANSFER SERVICES FOR FILM & VIDEO
Convert your videos, film and photographs now before the memories are lost forever.
At Liberty Entertainment Group, we carefully convert your precious films, photographs and family documents using the same trusted processes that state of the art Hollywood Production Company’s use.
Let us help you stop the aging process of your film and preserve your memories for generations to come.
FILM TRANSFER
Are your old home movies at risk of being lost forever?
Use, time and the elements are the adversaries of all film media. Your old reel to reel films are degraded each time they are played. Old projectors use hot bulbs which dry the reels. The projectors also make contact with the picture areas of the film scratching the surface causing permanent damage. Worse, the memories are fading and the film is becoming more brittle just sitting in the box because the air is too dry, too humid or the space isn’t at the optimum temperature. They fade, become brittle.
The longer you wait, the worse they get and at some point, converting them to digital will become more difficult, more expensive and could even become impossible.
VIDEO TRANSFER
Even more than photos, video tapes were never meant to last. A video transfer from Liberty Entertainment Group puts your VHS and other video tapes onto a professional, studio-quality standard-definition DVD
For safe reliable archiving, Liberty Entertainment Group can transfer your all of your precious videos. You’ll never have to worry about losing family videos in a flood or fire again. If digitized first, they can easily be copied and stored on other computers or even uploaded to a remote server for ultimate protection.
At your request we will transfer your video format…
to DVD
To computer hard drive
And/or to Cloud back-up
Contact one of our friendly staff at Liberty Entertainment Group for pricing and more information.
Call: Main~ 213-422-2878 Voice~ 323-305-4676
E-mail: info@libertyentertainmentgrp.com,
Or use our online PACKAGE INQUIRY – CONTACT FORM
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The Importance of Digital Transferring and why all VHS and other magnetic tapes degrade?
Video tapes have a large and special set of longevity problems, apart from traditional chromogenic photos. And while their imaging clarity was never as good as most photographs to begin with, these memories, often home videos, need to be protected, too.
Video tapes–the VHS, SVHS, VHS-C, and Hi 8 that most of us have been using for years–are fundamentally composed of three layers: the binder layer, the substrate, and the backing. While there are many differences from manufacturer to manufacturer, the engineering of these layers is a result of a very special need that video tapes have that photos don’t, which is to survive the friction and stress of repeated playback, winding, and re-winding. The binder layer comes into direct contact with the heads of the playback machine, and is responsible for signal quality. It contains magnetic particles (sometimes referred to, a bit anachronistically, as pigments, even though they are usually iron oxide) that store information on the tape. They are usually suspended in the binder along with lubricant, whose purpose is to seep out during playback, microscopically speaking, and prevent damage to the binder layer by the drum and head of the playback machine.
The substrate and backing layers are there for dimensional stability and strength, since the binder layer itself is quite thin. The backing in particular also helps with reducing friction.
VHS, VHS-C, SVHS, Hi 8, Digital 8, and even DV all share one thing in common: they are magnetic media. And the trouble with magnetic charge (“remanence”) is that it is fundamentally impermanent. But that’s just the beginning of the trouble for video tape, for there is a long list of ways it can deteriorate:
Magnetic particles gradually lose their charge, in a process called remanence decay. The rate depends somewhat on the exact chemistry of the particles used in the tape, but in general if this happens, you can expect some color shift toward weaker hues and loss of detail overall. Magnetic particles may be accidentally demagnetized. This can be from storing too near a magnetic source (like an audio loudspeaker) or even from the playback machine itself, whose heads can be become partially demagnetized if not maintained perfectly. With a poorly maintained VCR, every playback actually erases information from the tape! The lubricant in the binder layer is used up, with each playback. As it erodes, the binder layer itself takes on more wear, which can directly affect the magnetic particles and cause information loss. The binder layer can become a sticky, unplayable mess. The binder’s polymers will absorb water (in even a moderately humid environment), in a process known as hydrolysis, and eventually delaminate. Engineers often refer to this as sticky-shed syndrome. Trying to play an affected VHS, VHS-C, or other magnetic tape is an invitation to damage of both the tape and the playback machine.
The backing and substrate can become stretched, from multiple rewinding’s and playback. This causes tracking errors that can dramatically reduce playback quality. Successive recordings can lose information and synch signals. As an analog medium, each generation of recording loses substantial information. If the tape you are trying to preserve was in fact a 2nd or 3rd generation copy, it has already irretrievably lost a great deal of information (see this light-hearted VHS example of what is of course a serious problem). There is no shortage of claims that video tapes “won’t last 10 years”, almost always from services promoting VHS transfer to DVD! The truth is more subtle, and is suggested by a considerable body of longevity research done specifically on a wide range of video tapes by the National Media Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Labs at Cal Tech, the National Bureau of Standards, The Advanced Development Corporation, and manufacturers Sony and Fuji. First, the risk of hydrolysis, which is potentially catastrophic, is substantially related to how well you store your tapes (see below). Second, the research generally indicates that magnetic tapes (like VHS, VHS-C, etc.) stored well, will experience 10-20% signal loss, purely from magnetic remanence decay, after 10-25 years. While losing 20% is not losing the entire picture, it may well be the difference between enjoying a memory and simply displaying it. So the sooner your video tapes are digitized, the more signal can be preserved.
Contact one of our friendly staff at Liberty Entertainment Group for pricing and more information.
Call: Main~ 213-422-2878 Voice~ 323-305-4676
E-mail: info@libertyentertainmentgrp.com,
Or use our online PACKAGE INQUIRY – CONTACT FORM
