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If you are a past or current customer of PhotoBin, and visited their website recently, you may have noticed that they are closing down… If you have been thinking about scanning your old box of photos, slides or negatives, there is no better time! DVD Your Memories is San Diego’s leading media transfer company specializing in professional image scanning services, along with film, audio and videotape transfer services to satisfy all of your media conversion needs.

By continuing to provide our outstanding service, and quality media transfers, DVD Your Memories remains the top media transfer company in San Diego! We dedicate ourselves to providing families the chance to preserve and protect their recorded memories for years to come at affordable prices. Below are some of our highlight services.

Video Tapes to DVD
Our video tape to DVD service allows you the chance to convert your old video tapes (VHS, Video8, MiniDV etc.) into an 100-year archival DVD movie that can be enjoyed by everyone on your home DVD player. One of the most popular consumer tapes from the 80s and 90s was the VHS tape. We can convert your VHS to DVD in San Diego and Irvine and we can even perform VHS repair and video restoration services as well! We do all we can in order to extract whatever data remains on damaged tapes.

Audio to CD Transfers
We can also transfer and convert your audio formats into audio CDs or MP3 files. Our expert audio technicians will inspect and clean your audio prior to transferring and make any repairs or adjustments needed. We can create custom mix CDs which incorporate audio from several sources, if needed. Our audio cassette to CD services has helped countless people hear the voices of the past once again.

Slide Scanning
Our skilled image scanning technicians have an expertly trained eye for proper colorization and image quality. We use the highest grade slide scanning equipment available, and we’re able to scan your slides up to 4000dpi to provide you with a crisp, crystal clear image that you can take wherever you go on with our slides to DVD or portable hard drive services. You’ll be amazed at how awesome your slides will look once they are digitized on our scanners.

Negative Scanning
In addition to slide scanning, we also offer our premium negative scanning services in San Diego and Irvine. We’ll scan your negatives using a high quality dedicated Nikon film scanner. Our scanning technicians are experienced in handling a wide array of formats and sizes in order to create perfect digital images from your negatives.

Photo Scanning
Just about everyone has loose photos laying around, many of them of important times in your life. We can take those photos and preserve them forvever onto our 100-year archival DVDs by taking advantage of our photo scanning services. All of your photos are scanned by hand using high quality flatbed scanners. We never use document feeders or any other automated equipment, as we manually scan each and every one of your photos, and make any adjustments necessary to provide you with the best possible scan.

8mm-16mm Film to DVD
Have old reels of 8mm, 16mm, or Super 8 film? We can take those old canisters of film and turn them into modern DVD movies! With today’s technology, we can bridge the technological gap between film and digital video in order to create a fully functional DVD movie that can be watched on any modern equipment. We also offer the option for color correction and contrast adjustment for all of your film. Forget that old projector, all you need to do is simply insert the DVD into your player, and watch the magic of our Film to DVD transfers!

Custom Slideshow Creation
Our experienced in-house editors will create the perfect slideshow for your occasion or give you their expert advice as to how to create one yourself! Think of all the times you’ve been to big parties, or nicely organized events with a custom video slideshow presentation. Maybe you wondered how to create such a beautiful video using your own personal photos, slides and negatives. Look no further, as you can now be the director of your very own movie!

Photobin may be closing down, but that does not mean that your photos need to remain unscanned! DVD Your Memories has been scanning photos, slides and negatives since 2006, and we’re really great at what we do! Our Yelp reviews should speak for themselves.

DVD Your Memories provides professional scanning services, at competitive prices. Check out our monthly newsletters and social media for new promotions and deals that could save you money on your next scanning order or video tape transfer!

When transferring videotapes as a digital files to a hard drive, you have flexibility in choosing the video format that best suits your needs. Depending on what you need the video for, choosing the right video format to use can make your life a bit easier, and save you some time.

First, since not all devices and methods are alike, it depends on the method of videotape transfer. For high quality video transfers, you’ll want to capture the video straight to a computer hard drive, using a high speed data port such as Firewire. Firewire usually is recommended for high quality DV-AVI video capturing. This method will provide you with the highest quality files, best suited for editing work and post-production. This is the type of file we provide when you opt for the Edit-Ready AVI File transfer.

However, if you do not plan on editing anything in your video, and simply want a video file that is ready to be shared with the world, transferring your file as a web-ready MPEG might be a better option. Using the raw video footage is perfectly fine, but it’s a bit overkill as it’s about 14gb per hour of video which means long upload and file transferring times. For a web-ready MPEG file, you have a few options. You can transfer the videotape to a DVD, then use the footage from the DVD to upload to various social media/file hosting sites. Another option is to capture the video directly to the computer as an MPEG file. MPEG compression is great for web-video because of the small file sizes taking advantage of portability and shorter upload times.

No matter which method you choose, you’ll be able to accomplish what you need. Doing it one way or the other will save you time and some sanity, however.

For a complete list of recommended video file types, click here!

You sometimes may ask yourself, “Why should I go digital?”

With today’s technology, scanning old photographs and 8mm film can be quick and easy.  We all hear about how important it is to back up all of our computer information, or transfer to CD in Orange County or San Diego with us.

The importance of backing up all your old photos is no different.  The advantages of converting photographs and film is unequaled. Fire, theft, water damage and a host of other unforeseen circumstances can ruin your photos.  Your family history, grandchildren, children, weddings, family reunions and proms can be restored and saved for years to come without the threat of being ruined or destroyed.

Once you decide to convert your photographs to DVD in San Diego, they can be backed up, saved, sent, and shared with ease and convenience. Photographs can be printed out any time. Your children can make scrap books, you can show your family’s history to your children and their children.

All you have to do is collect all your photographs and films.  There are now programs that help you convert your old photos with ease. If you save your old photos on digital media you will never have to worry about them again. They will not be lost in a box somewhere or ruined by a fire or flood.

Last year a friend of mine was asked by her daughter to send her some of photographs from college.  The photos were never seen again.  Granted, the postal service paid the monetary value of the photographs, but those pictures will never be seen again and the experience they showed will never be repeated. The photos can be lost, destroyed by water damage, fire, etc… If you preserve those photos on digital media, you never have to worry again about losing them in some kind of accident or disaster.

So, Why Go Digital?

Preserve & Protect

Once your material is digitized, it’s frozen in time. Digital files won’t degrade, allowing you to pass on your family archive in good condition for generations of enjoyment. Store an archival-grade back-up in a safe location or ask us to keep a copy of your files to protect your family history from fire, flood or other damage.

Enjoy

Now it’s easy to relive good times – just pop in your personalized DVD and enjoy! No more messing with heavy projectors or hauling boxes out of the closet. And our convenient menus with chapters allow you to jump right to the scene you have in mind.

Share

Once on DVD, you can easily share copies of favorite home movies and photographs with family and friends. Or post your new digital files online for all to enjoy. Make it an annual tradition or gift for someone special!

Organize

Digitizing your family memories allows you to organize and combine all of your photos, movies and recordings into one simple digital archive. Imagine all of those boxes of fragile memorabilia condensed onto a few well-organized discs!

Edit

With digital files, you have the ability to edit your material for any audience. Many people take their digitized images and create custom edited slideshows in Orange County or San Diego for special events. Don’t like that parade in the middle of your summer vacation footage? Take it out! Want just the highlights? That’s also able to be done. Whether you’re the do-it-yourself type or want to take advantage of a professional editor, a custom edited family video is the perfect holiday gift.

Enhance

Digital technology gives us a range of tools to enhance your material and your final production. Repair & restore aged or damaged photographs; improve the color and brightness of your home movies; clean-up the sound of old records and tapes. For production value, add music, titles & text, special effects and more. Or, for a personal touch, narrate your DVD.

Have you ever wanted to print a picture right from your smartphone? Well, that is now completely possible with the new gadget, SnapJet. Using Poloroid technology, SnapJet uses open source software to allow anyone to easily print photos from their smartphone, without even using an app.

SnapJet is a slim, portable instant film printer for your smartphone, it’s like a tiny copy machine you can carry anywhere! SnapJet prints on Fuji or Poloroid film and it’s design can support any smartphone. The printer also includes an OLED display, USB, and BLE connectivity. So all the DIY’ers and photographers out there can control exposures, hack, and reprogram the SnapJet to their liking.

Unlike other printing technologies, photographic processes predate modern electronics. The earliest photographic emulsions date back to the 1850’s, which means they don’t require motors, batteries, or integrated circuits. This is why the SnapJet is able to be shrunk down to less than 7 millimeters, and you never have to charge it.

SnapJet is currently seeking backing on Kickstater, and is very close to hitting the goal of $150,000.

To find out more information, or to pledge your support, check out the Kickstarter page here!

Struggling to find the perfect gift this holiday season? DVD Your Memories offers gift cards that can be purchased in our local stores for any amount! These gift cards are good for any of our media transfer services including VHS to DVD transfers, photo scanning, and film to DVD transfers in San Diego. Gift cards are great for gifts to family, or friends that might still be hesitant to convert their media to a modern format. Next time you come in to place or pick up your order, ask one of our friendly technicians about purchasing a gift cards as a gift!

Many people are just difficult to shop for, which is why gift cards like these are wonderful!

Gift cards aren’t only good for our transfer services, but also good for our service enhancements as well! With many of our media transfer services, we offer upgrades and enhancements to your order such as restoration work, editing, and extra DVD copies of your transfers. For looking through your scanned photo collection, make it even easier on yourself, and add some contact sheets to your order! Simply ask any of our local technicians about the awesome enhancements we can provide to your next slide scanning, photo scanning, or negative scanning order!

It’s all Apple’s fault. No, really.
As a wedding photographer, I give all of my clients the digital images from their wedding day.

I used to deliver these in a beautifully packaged DVD that had a custom image of the couple printed right onto the DVD. It came in a modern metal case, and when wrapped up nicely with a bow it looked awesome. I loved every part of it.

But then Apple decided to release new MacBook Pros without a disc drive in them.

So that cute customized DVD? It’d be useless to any client that has one of the new MacBook Pros.

Just like Apple killed flash websites, they’ve now also made the DVD an outdated way to deliver images to your clients.

Sure, at the moment only a very small percentage of people out there would have this problem, but if you have high-end clients, they are more likely to have one than the general public. And the last thing I want is to come across as outdated or give them something that they can’t even use 2 years from now.

So, I accepted the fact that it is time to move on to a different way of delivering digital images to my clients and started researching. I decided that flash drives were the best way to deliver the images and am really happy with the switch. In fact, I’m so pleased with it that I wish I had done this a few years ago.

Here’s everything you’ll need to know about switching to flash drives for digital image delivery for your clients.

Flash drives are not expensive and do not have to be purchased in bulk

Part of the reason I was resistant to switching to flash drives was because I expected it to be a lot more expensive than it actually is, or that I’d have to buy way more flash drives than I needed in order to make it affordable.

After researching many options, I came across Pexagon Tech. Not only can you customize your flash drive for very little cost, there’s no minimum order. So even if you just need 1 drive, you can still do it at a reasonable price. Awesome.

If you’re a high volume studio that offers digital images to many of your clients, you can get a price break by ordering 200 or more, but that wasn’t something I’d do as I only need about 20-30 of these per year.

Flash drives can strengthen your brand

Flash drives can be customized to match your branding by selecting custom colors and by printing or engraving your logo onto the drive. I didn’t realize how much I would love this until I got them in the mail. We went with a swivel drive, with a yellow base and a silver metal cover that swivels around. Our logo was printed onto the metal cover in white and looks super awesome. I like to add a ribbon to my drive to “finish it off” so to speak.

What size flash drive should you order?

I went back and looked at several weddings we’ve photographed lately and found that 4GB was generally plenty for us, so I ordered mostly 4GB with just a few 8GB drives for those really long wedding days or times when we covered the wedding and rehearsal dinner. Because the price is the same if you buy 1 or 100, this was not a big deal.

If you give out digital files regularly, go back and look through your archives to determine the best size for you. You’ll save yourself money by not buying larger sizes than you need, and if your amount varies significantly you can always order several different sizes all in the same order. Gotta love having flexibility!

What holds you back from moving to flash drives?

With DVDs now practically outdated, what holds you back from switching to flash drives? What are some other alternatives that you have considered using? Leave a comment below and share! I’d also love to see any images to packaging that you’ve come up with if you’re willing to share that as well. Thanks!

Also, for full disclosure, I make a small commission if you use the links in the post above, so thanks for using them to make your purchases. It helps support the site.

Read more: https://www.themoderntog.com/why-i-switched-to-flash-drives-instead-of-dvds-and-why-you-should-too

Andrew Norman Wilson got a lot of attention last year for his Workers Leaving the Googleplex video, which depicted a little-known group of contractors at Google’s HQ, charged with doing the scanning that feeds Google’s mission to digitize every book that it possibly can.

While Wilson lost his own contractor job in video production at Google as a result of the video, he still holds a fascination with Google’s ‘ScanOps’. This is a term for a team of people at Google that involves strictly data-entry labor, or more appropriately, the labor of digitizing. These workers are identifiable by their yellow badges, and they go by the team name ScanOps. ScanOps is supposedly a marginalized group of workers who don’t get all of the same perks that Google employee’s are famous for. They scan books, page by page, for Google Book Search. The workers wearing yellow badges are not allowed any of the privileges that typical Google employees are allowed – ride the Google bikes, take the Google luxury limo shuttles home, eat free gourmet Google meals, attend Authors@Google talks and receive free, signed copies of the author’s books, or set foot anywhere else on campus except for the building they work in.

The latest manifestation of Wilson’s artistic work is that of images scanned by ScanOps, but those of which that display errors, usually of the scanner technicians hand being shown in the shot, or of the wording on the page being heavily distorted or stretched.

Wilson explains:

“ScanOps is based on Google Books images in which software distortions, the scanning site, and the hands of “ScanOps” employees are visible. Through varied analog presentations of these images, the material resources and processes that compose the digital are emphasized.

“These re-materializations are treated as photography – therefore they are framed to become image-sculptures, will be compiled in an art-book, and presented in a live lecture.”

ScanOps has been presented at Reed College in Portland, OR, and is due to be shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Images Festival in Toronto and the Threewalls gallery in Chicago. Meanwhile, Wilson says that he has grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the Dedalus Foundation to shoot an extension of the original video, which we’ve included below.

Wilson says that his Google-focused work examines “the transformations and continuities in arrangements of labor, capital, media, and information.”