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A buddy of mine was having some problems creating slideshows. He told me it just plain looked like junk. After delving a little deeper, I found out he was photo scanning the images and cropping them for high definition, but then burning them to DVD and using the player to upscale! Here’s basically what I told him:

Upscaling your slideshow after reducing the size manually is no good! No wonder you’re disappointed with the results. The software you use to create the slideshow SHOULD resize your photographs, however, because they will not be exactly the same resolution (unless you crop them). You’ll also have to crop them to DVD video resolution (~720X480), because that is what will actually be burned to the DVD, regardless of the upscaling (1920×1080). This is where your problem lies. Regardless of the original size, the burning software will scale the photos to fit the DVD resolution without stretching the image. Then, the BluRay player tries to increase the image size.

On video, its harder to notice upscaling. This is because video is constantly in motion, and our eyes have to continually work to notice the ever changing information. In a still frame, you have a long time to analyze everything about it. Ever notice how crummy a paused video looks? Video literally tricks your brain, since we’re not seeing actual movement, but a fast progression of images.

So- a solution! Try using DVD resolution for your images (make sure when you scan, you choose your output options carefully). If you’re still not pleased, spend the money on the Blu-Ray discs. It should be worth it once you’re ready to save it for good.

Looking for a custom slideshow in San Diego? Check out our slideshow page for more information!

Which means I can’t schedule video to DVD appointments.

Google Calendar is down today, Tuesday 07-21-2009.

Janet is a friend of my mom’s. It seems when you work in an industry that specializes in photo scanning in San Diego you’re expected to know everything! Thank goodness for Google, since I knew what the problem was and how to solve it, but not the specific steps for Corel Photo Album 6. Picasa as well as iPhoto have similar formats of how they handle what they show you in the organizer. “Hey Guru, help me out! I’ve begun to scan photos on my own, and in the meantime, have installed Greeting Card Factory. My issue is that ever since, when I try to organize using Corel Photo Album 6, all these weird images from that program come up! How do I get rid of these?! It’s messing up my slideshows! Thanks, Janet” So here’s the deal- Picasa and Corel Photo Album (not all inclusive) only show you what they’re programmed, or told, and sometimes this is not what you want. The way to change this is to change what folders they are searching for the media they show. The way to do this in Corel Photo Album 6 is: -Open Corel Photo Album. -On the Corel Photo Finder dialog -Click the Custom Folders option, and then click the remove button for every folder you do not want cataloged (the folders created by Greeting Card Factory or any others you do not recognize), and add those that you wish to include. For Picasa, it’s: -Open Picasa. -Go to “Tools” then “Folder Manager” -There should be a list here, in the bottom right, of all folders ALWAYS watched for new media. On the left is the explorer representation of your folders, including the ones in the list. Remove and add folders as you like, and it will start updating as soon as you hit OK. There are plenty of other programs that work the same way. Hope this helps you out Janet.

Today I received this email:

I have several cassette tapes of songs I have written and recorded. I want them to be transferred to CD. I found you guys by typing “Cassette to CD in San Diego” in Google.

I’ve used another company to do this in the past. The problem I have is that they aren’t local. You seem a little more expensive but I have not looked in awhile. Do you boost sound levels if need be and try to minimize tape hiss? Please let me know. Then I may call if I have further questions before bringing the tapes in to you. Thanks.”

This got me thinking about how we compare to other companies out there. It’s true- we are definitely not the cheapest company to do this transfer type. My initial reaction is something like “You get what you pay for,” and “Do you really want to trust your irreplaceable memories with some McJob employees?” If I were to enter a debate about it, though, those answers are really not very well thought out. So why are we “a little more expensive?”

We only use archival grade media. Your transfers will be put on premium archival grade CDs or DVDs as our standard. Many places charge $10 above their normal cost for this. We think that the whole reason you are transferring them in the first place is to preserve them and get them into a format that can be used today. Why would you want anything less?

Your media will never be shipped unless you request it. We are dedicated to keeping your media in our hands from the day you bring it by to the day you pick it up. We will NEVER ship off to another state, Mexico, or India to cut labor costs. This means instead of having to trust the post, customs, and employees/companies with no personal sense of responsibility toward your media, you only have to trust us.

We ONLY do media transfers. This is not a side project, or a division of a larger company. We have no other income to rely on, which means all of our service has to be top notch in order to keep people coming back.

You will be able to speak directly with the technician who is working on your order. Because we are focused on doing business locally, our offices are relatively small. This means that we can have one technician work on your order from start to finish, who can and will contact you if he has any questions, as well as answer your questions or concerns if you have them mid-transfer. Your order will also be taken by this technician, if at all possible.

We guarantee compatibility of the new media. We know of no other store that does this. If your media doesn’t work, DON’T THROW IT AWAY! Most likely, it’s a compatibility problem, and we can figure out a way to fix it! Also, you will want to keep your original copy as a master (even if it is not compatible with your player, compatible copies can be made from it), since it is an archival grade disc.

Of course, I answered his other question, too. We print the song titles on the CD upon request (most often at no charge. If it’s determined that it’s just basic labeling instructions, there’s no additional fee to print the titles on the CD). As standard operating procedure, we will play back the first 2 minutes or so of the tape in order to check the gain and adjust the levels appropriately. This is the best time to do this, as trying to boost them afterward just increases the extra noise in the background.  Although we do try to minimize tape hiss, if the tape itself has the hiss recorded into the tape, it will require restoration work, which we charge per half hour. Most audio tapes do not need this, and you can decide whether or not to do it after listening to it.

Guess what? He decided to have us transfer them.

Congratulations! You found our blog! This is a place where we will post answers to common (and not so common) questions, interesting information about different products and technologies, and lots of other audio/video stuff. As “The Leader in Family Media Transfer,” we can help you take the guesswork out of getting your media transferred, whether you have us do it to save time and hassle, or decide to do it on your own in order to learn the ins and outs of the process.

Of course, we’ll  include suggestions on editing and creating a beautiful slideshow, neat cassette to CD tricks,  camcorder tapes and VHS to DVD tips, and  film to DVD recommendations. We’ll try to talk about our equipment for slide scanning, how the same equipment can be used to scan negatives, what attachments you’ll need, and what to expect when you start using them. We’ll also go into photo scanning, why “flatbedding” is better than fast/batch scanners, and recommendations for balancing quality and your budget.

Some entries will be based on questions we answer on our forum, or other forums. When we are cruising the internet and come across questions about film transfer, we can’t help but jump into the conversation!  We’ll also answer questions relating to computer problems (if they’re related to media transfer) as well, and some software and hardware recommendations. So keep watching!