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Archive for June, 2010
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
A few weeks ago, we discussed the pros and cons of throwing away tapes after a video conversion. But if you do decide to toss your videotapes, should you just throw them into the trash can?
 No, you shouldn’t. Plus, if you live in a state that bans e-waste, you legally can’t. Waste from electronics is the fastest-growing source of garbage in the U.S. And while it only accounts for 2% of the trash in landfills, it causes 90% of landfill pollution, which can contain lead, mercury, cadmium, and other harmful chemicals. These chemicals can cause cancer and nervous system damage if they leak out of the landfill. That is why many states have begun banning e-waste from landfills, and requiring the original manufacturers to pay for recycling. A bill on this subject has been introduced in Pennsylvania, and is expected to pass later this year.
So if you can’t throw your tapes or other electronics into the trash, what do you do with them? Luckily, there are a few services out there that are dedicated to relieving you of your old video tapes:
ACT (Alternative Community Training) is a nonprofit organization that has been cleaning, degaussing, and re-packing video tapes since 1991. They then resell their tapes to the public, so this is a great solution if you have a lot of movies on VHS that you want to donate. ACT also provides jobs for disabled people, and so while you have to pay shipping costs, using ACT enables you to recycle your tapes while helping others find employment.
GreenDisk is a well-known service that recycles a variety of e-waste, including computers, print cartridges, and tapes. Visit their website, pay the small fee for a shipping label, and then ship as many video tapes as you can box up to them. They’ll take care of the rest!
E-cycling Central is a website that lists electronic waste recycling services for every state in the U.S. If you want to find a local solution, this is the place to look.
Remember, we recommend that you keep your videotapes unless you are absolutely 100% positive that you want to get rid of them. But if you do make that decision, be part of the solution–and not the growing problem!
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
 Long after the dust settled between VHS and Betamax (well, maybe about five years later), another format war geared up–this time in the personal camcorder arena.
In the mid-to-late 1980s, the consumer video camera market was exploding. The problem was, no one was thrilled about carrying around a camcorder the size of Texas–which most VHS cameras were. So manufacturers began developing smaller videotape formats. Unfortunately–and naturally–two competing formats came to the market.
JVC, the creator of VHS, created the VHS-C format in 1982. VHS-C is just VHS videotape in a 3 5/8″ by 2 1/4″ shell. Most tapes held 30 minutes of SP video, or 90 minutes of EP video. And best of all: these little tapes could be slipped inside an adapter shell, and could be loaded inside a VCR just like a regular VHS.
Sony countered with the Video 8 format, and released the first model of its popular Handycam line in 1985. An 8mm tape was roughly the same dimensions as a VHS-C tape, but thinner. And more importantly, the plastic tape inside was much thinner: only 8 mm (hence its frequent nickname). The advantage of  Video 8 was that it could hold 2 hours of footage in SP on a single tape, and arguably offered better quality than VHS (not surprising for the maker of Betamax).
The two formats battled it out through the 1990s, with JVC releasing its S-VHS upgrade and Sony creating the Hi8 and Digital 8 variants. The war didn’t really end until Mini DV became the standard for consumer camcorders around the turn of the millennium, driving both analog formats out of business.
Unlike the infamous VHS v. Betamax war, this is a situation in which both formats were successful. VHS-C fans would argue that playback ease, via the VHS adapter shell, is why their format is better. Video 8 fans would counter that their format has much longer recording time and better video quality. And both sides have valid points, but today, it doesn’t matter. We see VHS-C and Video 8 or Hi8 tapes about equally here at Timeless DVD. Both formats are simply video tapes that have become part of many families’ home movie collections.
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
We addressed in an earlier post how using camcorders and making video can benefit kids. But how old should a child be in order to film and handle video cameras? Actually, kids of all ages can work with video–albeit in different ways.
 By the time kids are old enough to watch and process television, they are similarly old enough to understand the concept of video. And these days, almost every parent begins videotaping their children as soon as they are born! Play back the video of a child’s first few years to him or her. This is a great introduction to how filming works, and makes the idea of family videotaping very normal and personal for children.
By kindergarten age, kids are old enough to learn how to operate a camcorder (with adult assistance). Let them start by recording their favorite things–such as the family dog, backyard, or toys. By doing this, you are combining a natural interest with video, as well as teaching valuable habits of concentration and patience. Plus, children gain a sense of pride when they watch their own footage on the TV or computer–this is something they made!
In the early grades (up to the age of 10), kids should be encouraged to use the video camera in more experimental and creative ways. Performing skits or or other types of musical or artistic acts on video comes naturally to kids; it’s fun to come up with an idea, tape a performance, and then watch it on the TV. But at the same time, kids learn how to handle the camcorder responsibly alongside the fun.
Tweens and teens can use the camcorder for more advanced projects, such as videotaping projects for school. Teenagers who are particularly interested in video might also begin creating more complex movies or videos, and paying attention to the storytelling or composition. (Making movies is also a great slumber party activity!)
Video is useful for children of all ages–teaching everything from creativity to responsibility–as long as the age of the child is kept in mind.
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Last week, the trade group National Association of Theater Operators (yes: NATO) ran an ad that reiterated their stance against the shrinking window between theatrical and DVD releases, as well as studios’ upcoming plan to to institute a new video-on-demand system. Video-on-demand (VOD) would provide premium-priced movies to customers only two months after the theatrical release–and long before a movie launches on DVD. NATO believes that a VOD system such as this will further undercut attendance at movie theaters and make it possible for customers to watch relatively-new movies en masse in the comfort of a host’s home.
To make matters worse, Paramount Home Entertainment also recently announced that it would also begin offering new DVD releases to Redbox the same day they are available to purchase. Previously, Paramount adhered to the 28-day rental delay that other studios favored, in order to encourage customers to buy DVDs rather than renting them. But now Paramount says that they haven’t seen that the 28-day window improved sales–so they are going back to same-day new-release rentals again.
So now the studios are evenly split on the delay: Paramount, Sony, and Disney permit new-release rentals, while Fox, Universal, and WB still have the 28-day rental restriction (which affects Redbox and Netflix, but not Blockbuster). Analysts believe this proves the 28-day window is a failure, since rental customers are disappointed by the unavailability of a new release only half the time they want to rent–which makes it easy to find another new flick from another company.
What does this all mean? It’s just further evidence that studios want to get their product out any way they can, and are not worried about movie theater sales. And when more movies are available faster and more easily, it’s only good news for the consumer.
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
There’s a fallacy out there about Blu-Ray DVDs: they have the best video quality possible. It’s not true. By far, the number one complaint about Blu-Ray from frequent disc purchasers is that the quality is not always the best it can be.
 Why is this happening? For some reason, most Blu-Ray discs that come out these days are loaded with random extras, such as a features that let you use your iPhone as a remote for your Blu-Ray player, or look up recipes with BD-Live. But many of these releases are very disappointing in terms of their audio and video quality–which is the main feature that video enthusiasts look for.
Is is possible that studios are adding all these extra features to try to get more average consumers to buy discs? Absolutely. But here’s the problem: we’re in the middle of a recession, and “average consumers” are not purchasing Blu-Ray right now. They’re still buying or renting plain old standard DVD.
The folks who are spending their hard-earned money on Blu-Ray releases are film and tech enthusiasts. These are the people who buy all the special editions and box sets and view collecting awesome DVD or Blu-Ray releases as a hobby. And by far, what these enthusiasts want are their favorite films on Blu-Ray in the absolute best quality possible. Period!
Ideally, a film on Blu-Ray should look as good as it did using the very best projector on the day that it opened–whether that was in 1940 or 1970. That doesn’t mean it needs to be absolutely perfect. But studios need folks to run these conversions who have real film restoration experience. Too many older films are released on Blu-Ray that have noise reduction taken to extremes, with the grain normally present in old movies completely buffed away. Not every movie needs to look like it was shot in HD. Black and white films can look absolutely beautiful on Blu-Ray, even with much of the grain intact; just look at any of the Criterion releases for a good example. (Clearly, Criterion is one studio that values experienced film transfer technicians, and not added bells and whistles.)
Unfortunately, many studios seem to think that running 5-year-old HD transfers of their films through a DNR-heavy digital process will create an acceptable Blu-Ray transfer. And then they simply load up the disc with picture-in-picture viewing modes, streaming options, and other interactive crap, and charge more money for the disc. Well, this is not a great strategy, given who is purchasing these discs–and over the long-term, will result in lower and lower sales for Blu-Ray, particularly if the economy does not improve.
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Here’s a recent question from a Timeless DVD customer:
Timeless DVD just completed a transfer for my home videos, and the DVDs are great. Since I have a second copy of each DVD, can I throw away my original tapes? Tapes take up a lot of space and that’s one thing we don’t have in our house.
Basically, there are two ways of looking at this.
The pros: By tossing your tapes, you’ll save a lot of space.
The cons: If a better transfer method comes along in the future–or if you are not 200% happy with your DVDs–there is no way to redo the transfer. In addition, you may want your video to be in a different format someday. For example, you might transfer your tapes to DVD now, but what if you want to edit high-quality DV AVI files of your tapes later on? You’ll be much better off creating your AVIs from the original tapes than converting the video from a compressed DVD.
 Most professionals would tell you to NOT throw out your tapes, although the reasons to transfer them to DVD or to video files still applies. The materials that comprise a VHS tape are subject to degradation, especially when the tape is used repeatedly or not kept safe from dust and harsh environmental conditions. And tapes are magnetically-based, which means that the signal recorded on the tape can be affected by electromagnetic energy. But a tape can last anywhere from 10-40 years, depending on the conditions it experiences and the quality of the manufactured tape.
So is it reasonable to assume that with correct care, a tape can last through multiple transfers–the main reason to keep them? Absolutely. Store them in an out-of-the-way but safe place. (If you want to be really safe, store them at a separate location from your DVDs for ultimate protection in the event of a fire or other disaster.) Ensure that they don’t experience any extreme temperatures (either hot or cold), direct sunlight, or humidity. Keep them rewound all the way to the beginning and stand them upright. For added protection, seal them in an airtight container along with a large bag of silica gel to absorb any moisture. (See our How to Correctly Store Video Tapes page more discussion on this topic.)
The other part of the argument is that short-run DVDs are not infallible. The Taiyo Yuden discs we use at Timeless DVD are very highly rated, both in terms of authoring reliability as well as longevity testing. It’s estimated that a well-made disc like TY will last 20-30 years at a minimum, and most will probably average 40-50 years before they begin having issues. But no one single tape or disc brand is 100% perfect, and even DVDs are not immune to fingerprints, dust, scratches, and human error.
Additionally, if a DVD has a bad sector, then the entire disc will be unreadable by a DVD player–and the disc may be unrecoverable if the problem occurs at important points on the DVD. This is not true of video tapes. A tape will usually be playable (or at least fixable) even if it has flaws, splices, or other bad sections.
So we recommend keeping your home video and camcorder tapes, no matter what. These tapes are one-of-a-kind masters that can never be replaced or reshot. On the other hand, most commercial movies or television shows will always be available in one way or another, so it is not critical to safely store every VHS movie you’ve ever owned. (The only exception: rare or out of print TV shows or movies.)
We all want a clutter-free home. But don’t assume that just because you’ve had your tapes transferred to DVD, they are safe to throw away.
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
 Videographers–folks who film events–are an incredibly creative bunch of people. They know how to shoot a party using just the right mix of closeups and establishing shots, and how to edit the raw footage into a moving story with music and effects. But not every videographer also knows the technical ins and outs of video files and DVD production.
Here’s what to look for to make sure your videographer is well-versed in the tech as well as the creative.
View a Full-Length DVD
Most studios will supply online samples or demo disc to show samples of their work, which is the best way to see their actual work. However, you should also ask to see a full-length DVD, one that they might have produced for a customer. This is important to see because the quality of a DVD’s video is determined by the length of video on a disc. The longer the video, the more compressed the data needs to be. It’s easy to encode a few short clips at top quality for a demo disc–but will a full-length video on DVD look as good? The only way to know if a videographer knows how to compress video so that it looks good is to see a full-length program.
Ask About Dolby Audio
Along the same lines, make sure that the DVDs that the studio creates use Dolby Digital Audio (also called AC-3). Dolby is a compressed format that produce amazing sound, but uses very little disc space. The format compresses files so that they are 1/8th the size of traditional audio files such as PCM or WAV. Compressing the audio like this enables the video to have better picture quality at a longer length. So if your videographer doesn’t know what Dolby Digital audio is, find another studio.
Ensure the DVDs are Encoded In-House
Make sure that the videographer is creating the DVD in his or her own studio, as opposed to outsourcing it to a DVD production facility. Ideally, the video should be encoded with different settings for each section–a task that the videographer and/or editor is best equipped to handle. For instance, the ceremony, which usually consists of a long section of the bride, groom, and pastor standing still, can be encoded at a lower bit rate than the reception, which might have stretches of people moving around quickly, lights flashing, and darkness (all of which requires a higher bit rate). The videographer or editor is the person who knows the content of the video, and so that is the person who should be handling the encoding of the finished, edited video as well. If an outside studio handled the actual encoding, they would likely encode the entire production at the same bit rate without regard for content.
Ask What Type of Blank Media the Studio Uses
As we’ve previously noted in our post on DVD Compatibility, there is a wide spectrum of quality available in blank DVD media. The best discs to use are manufactured by Verbatim, JVC Taiyo Yuden, and Sony. Other brands of discs may cause more errors during authoring and don’t generally last as long. If your videographer is up to snuff, his or her studio should be using one of these three types of discs. If not–or worse, if he doesn’t know what brand of discs he uses–look elsewhere.
Ask What Authoring Software Is Used
Simply, your videographer should be using a professional program to create DVDs. Consumer-level programs will not offer as many safeguards, particularly for ensuring compatibility with a wide variety of DVD players. See if he uses a program such as Avid, Final Cut Studio, Adobe Premiere Pro and DVD Encore, or Sony Vegas. If he names another program, check around to make sure it is considered to be a professional video editing and authoring program, or you may find that your DVD player (and others) has trouble playing your discs.
Inquire About Special Options
One of the benefits of a DVD is that many different types of options can be added to it. Special features might include a companion slideshow of photos from the event, a customized scenes menu with chapter stops at the vows, first dance, and bouquet toss (for a wedding video), or even music of your choice added to the video. Don’t assume that any of these features will come with your DVD–or that every videographer will be able to do them. If there is a special option you want on your disc, make sure you ask ahead of time so you know the videographer can accommodate your wishes.
No, you don’t need to know all the technical details that go into DVD production. But by knowing a few specific questions to ask, you can ensure that your videographer is truly the experienced professional he or she claims to be.
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
There’s a lot of software and gadgets out there that imply that transferring VHS tapes to DVD is a snap. However, the truth is that VHS is one of the most difficult formats to transfer! Here are some of the potential issues we watch for when preparing to transfer a VHS tape.
 Before beginning a transfer, it is necessary to visually inspect the tape closely. (This is true of every transfer.) The first thing to do is make sure that the flap covering the plastic tape flips open and closed correctly. If a tape is broken, the hinge is frequently where the problem lies.
If nothing looks wrong there, then the plastic tape must also be checked for rips, mold, dirt, or water damage–all of which can seriously damage a VCR. And of course, give the cassette shell a once-over for any other cracks, peeling labels, or any issues that catch the eye. It doesn’t take much for a small defect to cause serious problems in a deck.
Then you must select the VHS deck to use–a harder prospect than it sounds! VHS was unarguably the most popular home video format throughout the 1980s and 1990s, which means that lots of different manufacturers made decks and video cameras. In general, each manufacturer developed its deck slightly differently, with JVC and Panasonic at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of tape handling.
Because of all the different decks and camcorders that were out there, and by extension the many different ways a tape could have been recorded, it’s difficult to predict exactly how a tape will play when it is inserted in a given deck. It’s usually necessary to try each tape in more than one deck in order to obtain the most stable playback. Naturally, this is one of the most frustrating and time-consuming aspects of VHS transfer! We use a variety of the highest-quality decks out there, from different manufacturers, so we are usually able to circumvent the tracking and stabilization issues that cheaper consumer VCRs experience. But even with the best equipment, it still isn’t always possible stabilize aged tapes or recordings that were created with misaligned heads or tape transport errors.
Finally, there are restoration issues. Many older tapes experience image degradation, which involves everything from contrast to color shifts. The extent of these problems often depends on how well or poorly a tape was stored and cared for over the years. The only way to fix these issues is with a processing amplifier, also called a color corrector. Whenever we begin to transfer a tape, we work with the adjustments on our proc amp to set the black, the gain (white), the saturation, and the hue for the playback picture. Most tapes require at least some adjustment to the black and the gain. Dubbed tapes often need some saturation, while aged tapes are most often in need of some hue shifting.
Video transfer isn’t rocket science, but careful technicians will be aware of these issues and work to deliver the best VHS conversion possible. And that’s what we always do here!
Monday, June 7th, 2010
Most DV video files, whether AVI or MOV/Quicktime, are quite large. The DV codec consumes approximately 13 GB of hard drive space for each hour of video. Unfortunately, smaller drives are sometimes formatted in the Fat32 file system, which limits the size of a single file to 4 GB or less. This means that a single DV file cannot run longer than 15 minutes, or it won’t copy over to the drive.
So what do you do if you want to copy one of these large files to a small USB thumb drive, and the drive refuses to do it? All you need to do is reformat the drive to the NTFS file system, which will replace the Fat32 structure. Here’s how to do it on Windows:
 1) Ensure that any data on the drive has been backed up elsewhere, and that the drive is connected to and readable by the computer.
2) Go to Start and select the Control Panel.
3) Click System, then Hardware, then Device Manager.
4) Select Disk Drives. Your thumb drive should be on the list. Double click it.
5) Switch the option from “Speed” to “Performance.”
6) Return to the desktop. Double-click the “My Computer” icon.
7) Right click on the icon for your thumb drive, and select “Format…”
8) In the drop-down menu, pick “NTFS.” Then just hit “Format”!
Luckily, more and more drives are set up as NTFS, which makes Fat32 a slowly-disappearing problem. And it’s worth mentioning: these problems do not exist on a Mac or a Mac-formatted hard drive. (Just saying!)
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
We’re “animal people” at Timeless DVD. Recently, the story of The Last Elephants in Thailand crossed our paths, and we want it to cross yours too.
 The Last Elephants in Thailand is a powerful documentary short about the nearly-extinct species of Asian elephants. You may recall seeing video of these beautiful animals painting flowers. But what they don’t show you is how Asian elephants are frequently abused in order to produce these works of art. Elephants used to be a revered symbol of Thailand and its culture; now the species is disappearing before our eyes.
The co-director, Donald Tayloe, has also released a companion book for the film, which won awards at the San Antonio Film Festival, the Venice Green Screen Film Festival, and San Luis Obispo International.
The Last Elephants in Thailand was produced by Hae Pictures, which states on its website that it is focused on the relationships between humans, animals, and environments. Visit their website to check out the trailer, purchase a DVD, and find out more information:
http://haepictures.com/
Video can often be used to make the world a better place, and The Last Elephants in Thailand is a wonderful–if sobering–example of that goal.
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