Notes From Digital Pickle

Video Transfer Services Convert Old Films Into A Long-lasting Digital Format

digitalpickle — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:36:11 +0000

It wasn’t that long ago that VHS tapes were the primary form of video entertainment across America and the rest of the world. Today, however, the VHS format is quickly becoming obsolete. In Europe, the VCR is all but gone and it won’t be too much longer before they disappear from U.S. markets, as well. This leaves millions of people with collections of home videos and VHS movies that contain vast amounts of material that could be lost if steps are not taken to transfer them into a digital format.

Video transfer services offer the means to do this. High tech companies like Digital Pickle operate dedicated commercial equipment complete with noise reduction and image stabilization when they transfer home movies to DVD. Digital Pickle specializes in digitizing the following formats:

VHS, VHS-C, and S-VHS
8mm
NTSC
PAL
Video 8 and Digital 8
WMV formats
Laser Disc

Recent reports have shown a growing number of video tapes are deteriorating past the point where a digital transfer is even possible. It is for this reason that it is most important to utilize video transfer services as soon as possible. This deterioration problem is seen mostly in Video 8, Hi 8, and Digital 8 tapes as well as older VHS formats. Fortunately, Digital Pickle can complete any necessary format conversions as well as professional video editing and DVD authoring to your requirements. They also have vast experience with a high volume of video archiving projects and can transfer video tapes to DVDs as well as uncompressed video to external hard drives or mini-DVs in AVI, Quicktime, MPEG4 (H.264), and any required proprietary format for editing and archiving. We recommend that you preserve an uncompressed master copy of your film. It will be invaluable in the future.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who still have dusty VHS videos filling up your attic or basement, consider changing them to a digital format as soon as possible. Video transfer services will convert them so you’ll be able to enjoy them for a lifetime. Waiting too long can result in the loss of precious family memories or the loss of money originally spent on the tapes. The next time you walk past your collection of videos, think about how much time and money went into them and you’ll realize how horrible it would be to lose them in the near future.

For more information about video transfer services, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at www.digitalpickle.com, or email them today.

Use Fragile Document Scanning To Store Important Documents Digitally

digitalpickle — Thu, 27 May 2010 01:25:37 +0000

Have you ever come across aged records from generations past? These records can consist of anything from old wedding announcements to birth certificates of grandparents or great-grandparents to immigration documents – in short, simple items that quickly become treasured by living generations. The same can be said for many different businesses and organizations. A library or historic preservation society, for example, will often have fragile documents that relate important information that occurred many decades ago. Anyone who has seen these types of papers knows they must be handled with extreme care. After being worn down from age it can take very little to destroy old documents. It is for this reason that many people are working toward digitizing fragile documents so as to make them available for many years to come.

Professional Photo Restoration companies like Digital Pickle are able to handle any type of digital or document imaging and fragile document scanning requirements that may arise, including EMR (electronic medical records) conversion. Utilizing the latest in flatbed scanning technology, they can export full-color, high-resolution document scanning of delicate documents that require flatbed scanning and special handling. They will assist in the organizing and digitizing of the content, and work with you on digital asset organization and management to help you import those important documents into content management systems.

Fragile document scanning is performed on high-speed, ADF-equipped, high-resolution, gray-scale scanners. And as an added bonus for special projects, the Digital Pickle team is able to perform scanning and conversion services on-site with their own equipment so that delicate material does not need to leave your premises.

Through these fragile document scanning services, your important documents can be digitally stored and preserved so future generations can fully enjoy and appreciate them. This means your grandchildren will be able to see the birth certificate for your great-grandfather, the public can view turn-of-the century documents that were important to their city, and no one has to worry that the paperwork will be handled improperly.

For more information on fragile document scanning, please contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at www.digitalpickle.com, or email them today.

Photo, Slide, And Negative Scanning Can Help You Keep Your Cherished Photos Forever

digitalpickle — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:06:30 +0000

Digital pictures have lately become the way of the photographic world. Fewer and fewer people are utilizing traditional film-to-print cameras, opting instead for digital cameras that allow photos to be stored on computers, CDs, and DVDs. Such formats allow for easy storage, easy printing, and extended preservation of treasured memories. It only makes sense then that, in addition to developing new photos digitally, many people are working toward converting their old, traditional pictures into this newer, more sophisticated format.

Digital Pickle, a professional photo restoration company, has the ability to digitize your images with photo, slide, and negative scanning of any format using high-end commercial scanners that produce unmatched image quality. Over time, film-based images will fade and become cracked or damaged. Improper storage can sometimes result in favorite memories being lost forever. However, the latest technology in photo, slide, and negative scanning allows these images to be adapted into digital formats. Conversion into this format ensures these images can be reproduced with the ideal:

Exposure
Focus
Color fidelity
Cropping
Orientation

As a result, your family’s photos can be appreciated the way they were intended: with no compromise on image quality. In addition to image correction through photo, slide, and negative scanning, such technology provides the option of creating files suitable for online photo sharing as well as CDs or DVDs with image files and folders. This allows your old photos to be passed on from generation to generation so they can be enjoyed for many years to come.

Digital Pickle utilizes flatbed scanning for items up to 11”x17” in size and a special setup for artwork and larger items. They also have the ability to scan items in albums individually or as an entire page while capturing captions and album artistry as well. The digitizing and converting of slides are performed on commercial slide transfer Nikon auto-feeding scanners equipped with Digital-ICE technology for scratch and dust removal. Professional photo experts airbrush all slides prior to scanning to ensure the highest quality results.

Digital Pickle was ranked by CNN Money as the #1 photo scanner in the US in 2006 and is a great source of information about photo, negative, and slide scanning. To ask how to keep your cherished photos forever, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at www.digitalpickle.com, or email them today.

Professional Video Production Services Improve Internal Training

digitalpickle — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:26:29 +0000

In today’s fast-paced world it seems like everything can change at a moment’s notice. With the recession at all-time highs, companies everywhere are doing their best to boost their performance in the areas of customer service and customer relations. They’re pushing for the hottest and newest products in an effort to keep their customers loyal to their brand. The only problem is that policies and products have begun to change at such a rapid pace that it can be very easy for employees to lose track of what changes have occurred.

It is for this reason that professional video production services have become such an important part of the business world. Video production companies like Digital Pickle can create internal marketing and communication videos that aid in a company-wide understanding of changes that come down the pipeline. High-quality internal communications videos combine presentations details with clips of video or synchronized video streams to create a training aide or to assist in rolling out new policies and ideas to staff.

Not only do these videos allow the employees to be a part of the company culture and to understand the goals of the organization, they can improve the efficiency of the business as well. Internal communication videos:

Allow new policies or decisions to be instantly transmitted to employees worldwide so the entire working body can start in a new direction without any lag time.
Bring coherence to a company with less chance of miscommunication.
Reduce micromanaging because employees are given the knowledge to make correct decisions.
Allow training to take place at different facilities and be shared world-wide at the same time.
Reduce the cost of training since a video and the people who make it only have to complete the presentation once.

Using professional video production to creat internal videos means that sales and marketing training can be done with edited digital content. This content includes presentation slides that are synchronized with presenter video or any other combination of multiple, synchronized video streams in any digital format required for streaming, downloading, or archiving. Digital Pickle provides full-scale professional video production service for such videos, including filming, editing, formatting, special effects additions, and improvements to picture and sound. They can even provide a camera crew and necessary recording equipment for the project.

For more information about how to implement professional video production services anywhere in the U. S. for the production of sales and marketing, training, and customer support videos, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at digitalpickle.com, or email them today.

Professional Video Production Services Can Improve Your Customer Support And Your Bottom Line

digitalpickle — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:46:26 +0000

In today’s starving economy, businesses all over the world are pulling out all the stops to make sure their company comes out at the top of every consumer’s list. High technology items like cell phones, computers, and televisions make up an industry that has created high demand. Unfortunately, the technical problems that often arise with these products also means that customers are talking to company representatives more than ever before. Because of this demand, customer service has become that factor that separates the drowning businesses from the ones that will outlast the recession. As a result, many companies are scrambling to provide increased consumer quality while decreasing overall costs.

For companies in today’s world, technical support can encompass a vast range of topics from basic installation questions and common errors to difficult troubleshooting and full-out repair assistance. Imagine being able to provide how-to videos to your consumers for those most basic technological questions. Simple step-by-step videos included with their purchase would allow your customers to get immediate answers to easy questions, as well as a visual demonstration they can follow to reduce mistakes. Not only would this save your customer’s time, it would free up more agents in technical support departments, allowing them to focus their attention on the more difficult technology issues.

Professional video production companies, such as Digital Pickle, can create edited digital content that consists of a combination of multiple, synchronized video streams in virtually any digital format required for online streaming, downloading, or archiving. For booming technology companies this means their user-friendly how-to videos can be included in the box with a customer’s purchase or streamed online through the company Web site, which would reduce costs even more.

Continuing education in customer service is yet another way businesses are ensuring their agents meet the expectations of consumers everywhere. Such education often requires having a specialized trainer travel from branch to branch relaying the same message over and over. However, companies that utilize professional video production services can reduce this cost as well by creating videos that can be reused for refresher training or educating new-hires.

Video production for either internal company use or external company support is cost-effective to produce and can further increase a company’s bottom line by leveraging the knowledge of the existing engineering and support staff. In addition, corporate video digital media production can be used for all types of products in any industry. To make it even easier, Digital Pickle is able to provide a camera crew and any necessary recording equipment to complete the videos. They will create edited digital content that may consist of presentation slides synchronized with the presenter video or any other combination of multiple, synchronized, video streams in virtually any digital format required for online streaming, downloading, or archiving. They will even take care of post-production services such as editing, formatting, special effects additions, and improvements to picture and sound. It doesn’t get much simpler than that!

Photo Restoration And Retouching Services

digitalpickle — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:43:27 +0000

Everywhere you look nowadays, someone has a camera. We have them built into our phones, tucked into our purses and backpacks, or sitting in our car’s glove compartment so they’re available wherever we travel. A quick glance around will find them dominating birthday parties, weddings, picnics, vacations, graduations, or any other occasion we truly want to remember – after all, that’s the purpose of taking pictures. Photographs are a very vulnerable medium and, unfortunately, most of us don’t take care of our photographs the way we should. The vast majority of people tuck them away in shoe boxes in the attic or basement, making them more susceptible to damage such as cracks and scratches, tears, discoloration, water damage, and mold spots. Even photos that are quickly separated into photo albums can be subject to aging or chemical discoloration from the album material.

If you’ve run into these types of problems the best solution is to contact a professional photo restoration and retouching company like Digital Pickle. Depending on your specific needs, restoration experts will rejuvenate your favorite photos in a variety of ways, using:

Chemical restoration. Best for black and white images, chemical restoration uses a black and white developer medium to activate the oxidized silver found in many old photos into silver metal that clarifies the image.

Electronic restoration. Photos can be uploaded into a computer and restored digitally through photo editing software. Professionally trained artists have the technical abilities to make damaged photos appear just like the original.

Physical restoration. This method utilizes a combination of photography, neutron irradiation, and autoradiography to restore your pictures using hard-to-find equipment that ensures your photos won’t be damaged during the process.

Airbrush restoration. Professional restoration artists use airbrush equipment to “brush out” defects like scratches and cracks. They can also correct over- and under-exposure and contrast defects found in many photographs.

No matter what your particular needs, professional photo restoration and retouching companies like Digital Pickle can assess the damage to your treasured photographs and ensure you get the best results possible. Before you know it those old family pictures from your parent’s or grandparent’s childhood will look as if they were just taken yesterday.

For more information about photo restoration and retouching, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at www.digitalpickle.com, or email them today.

Organize Your Photos Into Albums With Custom Photobooks

digitalpickle — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:17:55 +0000

It seems like we are always taking pictures nowadays. Whether it’s a birthday party, a holiday, or just a beautiful sunset that strikes us just the right way, that camera is constantly clicking; preserving the memories and moments that we want to hold close to our hearts no matter how old we get. If you are like most people, however, those pictures you take quickly begin to pile up in old shoe boxes, or files on your computer. They are constantly sitting there waiting for you to do something with them; waiting to be organized in a way that will allow you to easily look back over them so they can truly be appreciated.

It is for this reason that so many of us have a note to “organize photos into photo albums” on that perpetual to-do list we’re always worrying about. Well, now professional photo service providers like Digital Pickle can save you time and help you put together custom photo books to fit any of your needs. From the comfort of your own home you can upload your digital photos and format them into your own personalized photo book. Digital Pickle’s Smart Arrangement technology automatically analyzes your pictures and rearranges them into an intelligent layout while still giving you complete control over layout, backgrounds, themes, and cover types. They offer various size specifications, binding, designs, and your custom photo books can be produced with matte or glossy pages.

Whether you’re trying to save time on organizing your own photo albums or seeking a unique, personalized gift for friends or family, Digital Pickle is one of your greatest resources. They can even scan and restore those physical photos filling up the old boxes in your attic or basement so no picture will go to waste. Forget shopping for the typical gifts and wasting your precious time to organize your family’s favorite memories. Simply sit down at your computer and let your imagination run wild. Custom photo books are perfect for wedding thank-you gifts, holidays, vacations, graduations, birthdays, and retirement parties.

For more information on custom photo books, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730 or email them today.

Give A Gift From The Heart With Digital Photo Keepsakes

digitalpickle — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:15:38 +0000

Throughout the year we all have multiple occasions arise that require us to purchase gifts: birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, holidays, etc. Between all these gift-giving events it often becomes difficult and nearly impossible to get someone something they don’t already have, never mind a present that’s unique and truly expresses how much you care for the recipient.

For such occasions consider personalizing a gift with pictures, slides, or negatives that you already possess to make digital photo keepsakes. Digital Pickle, a photo and video preservation company offers unique services for creating that one-of-a-kind present for all your loved ones. Through their Zazzle store, you can customize high-quality gifts without going through the trouble of downloading your own software; and the process couldn’t be easier.

Simply choose the type of product you want to put your image on. Digital Pickle and Zazzle can add your picture to mugs, aprons, hats, mouse pads, key chains, and much, much more. This doesn’t include the paper items they also have available such as greeting cards, calendars, posters, stationary, and photo books. They even offer customized stamps that would be perfect for invitations to weddings or anniversary parties. Their Smart Arrangement system automatically analyzes your photos and produces an intelligent layout to fit the product you’ve chosen for your gift. While this program makes your life easier for the initial layout, it also gives you the power to alter or customize the image any way you see fit.

Once your digital photo keepsakes look the way you want, simply hit the “Buy” button and your gift is on the way to being completed. All prices and discounts are clearly listed throughout the buying process and most products ship within 24 hours of being ordered. Best of all, Digital Pickle’s Zazzle store allows you all the no-obligation customizations you want, which means you can alter and play with your gift to your heart’s content without being hassled by the program.

With such a user-friendly system at your fingertips, you can create digital photo keepsakes to make your next gift-giving occasion a hit with a personalized present that truly comes from the heart.

For more information about digital photo keepsakes, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at www.digitalpickle.com, or email them today.

Custom Photo Albums Capture a Lifetime of Memories

digitalpickle — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:06:32 +0000

Think of all the memories in your life – your wedding day, your baby’s first smile, your daughter’s first dance recital, and your son’s high school graduation…These memories are the ones you want to hold on to through all the years of your life and are the legacy you want to give to your children and grandchildren. Due to recent advances in digital photo technology, you can now capture all those wonderful memories and more in glossy full color custom photo albums with pictures that will never fade or discolor.

Custom photo albums are all about sharing those precious by-gone days with family and friends on special occasions.

Custom photo books are great for so many events including:

Family reunion albums – have everyone send in pictures of their kids and grandkids and then take more pictures during the reunion. You can make a photobook for each family "group" that can be enjoyed for years to come.
Grandparents love getting custom designed, long-lasting photobooks that capture all of the stages of their grandchildren’s lives!
How about sending these photo albums to family and friends for special occasions to preserve and share the memories? Custom photo albums offer a wonderful way to revisit old times with friends or to capture new memories.
Newlyweds also love custom photo albums! They can unleash their creativity and create beautiful photo books while retaining complete control over the layout, backgrounds, themes, and cover types.
Everyone loves a photo album of their childhood. What more perfect gift could there be for a "milestone" birthday than a photo book that shows the birthday person at all the stages of their life, from birth up until the present day?
Special anniveraries also call for a custom photo album that captures the lives of the the happy couple.

Given how unique custom photo albums can be, you might think it would be difficult to make one, but you would be wrong. Digital Pickle offers a download of their free book design software so you can design your book using digital images and upload it directly to them for production. You approve the proof copy they provide and, once completed, they will ship you the professionally produced photo album.

Still nervous about how creative you might be? In that case, they will be happy to provide a one-stop-shopping experience for you by scanning your photos (or slides & negatives), designing your book, and then providing you with a finished photobook. With flexible, variable photo sizes, customizable covers, and glossy paper, you can preserve your happy moments in a beautiful, professional form. The photo professionals at Digital Pickle can also assist you with scannning or restoring physical photographs to include in your photo book.

For more information about custom photo albums, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730 or email them today.

Preserve And Share Memories – Problem Definition

digitalpickle — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:10:39 +0000

Mankind’s desire to preserve and share memories from one generation for the benefit of future generations has been evident for millennia. Records of family genealogies, histories of the rise and fall of nations, societies, and individuals with stories of their successes and failures have been kept since the beginning of recorded history in every enduring society.

This desire to preserve and share memories continues unabated and may be increasing in our day. For example, the two key reasons given for taking pictures with digital still cameras, driving this market’s huge growth, are the desire to "Preserve memories" (91% of respondents in a 2007 survey, up from 68% in 2000) and the desire to "Share with others" (74% in 2007, up from 67% in 2000). [i]

At the same time, however, our modern tools of preservation, including and especially digital preservation, are more fragile than the rolls of papyrus buried with the pharaohs. [ii]
Even if optical disks could preserve data for 100 years, machines capable of reading them would be largely unavailable in less than half that time. The baked-clay tablets of the Sumerians and Babylonians have preserved history for 60 centuries while today’s technologies cannot guarantee preservation and readability for one.

This article was authored in 2010 by Robert R. Dunford, CEO/CMO of Lasting Links, Inc. and provided to Digital Pickle for public dissemination

[i] 2001 & 2008 PMA Camera/Camcorder Digital Imaging Surveys
[ii] Paul Conway, Preservation in the Digital World, Preservation Department, Yale University Library, March 1996

The conversion and preservation services you are seeking from Digital Pickle and other companies in our industry today are not the end of the journey but a critically required cycle in the on-going cycle of preservation. Today, in order to preserve and share memories, you may be transferring paper photos or analog tapes to digital files and media. Tomorrow (hopefully not in many years…), you will go through another transformation cycle required by the then available presentation technology. We will be here to help you during that next cycle as well.

The current cycle we are in is unique in the sense that the content is being transferred into digital form mostly for the first time. The next cycle will probably be about medium transfers and file format conversions but the content will be viewable and transferable with very little loss of quality for a very long time.

In this current cycle, however, we are already seeing the analog presentation technology (film projectors, VCRs, slide projectors) disappearing. Already, in most of Europe you cannot buy a VHS VCR… The U.S. is not far behind. A Beta VCR anyone? Professional format VCRs are even harder (and much more expensive) to find. If you are considering digital scanning, conversion, transfer, and archiving to preserve and share memories – the time to act is now!

For more information about how you can preserve and share memories, please contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730, visit their website at www.digitalpickle.com, or email them today.