Archival-grade tech refers to technology that is designed to meet the long-term preservation needs of organizations. It is generally more reliable and of higher quality than consumer grade technology and is designed to last for decades. It is also more secure and has better data protection features. Additionally, archival-grade tech may offer more control and customization options than consumer grade technology, allowing organizations to tailor their solutions to specific needs.

Frame-by-frame film scanning is a process in which each frame of a film is scanned individually. This process offers numerous advantages over other methods of scanning, such as increased detail, accuracy, and quality. Additionally, frame-by-frame film scanning can also be used to repair damaged films, as it allows for precise adjustments to be made to each individual frame. Frame-by-frame film scanning is often used for archival purposes and for restoring and preserving films.

MPEG-4, also known as H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10, is a video compression standard based on block-oriented, motion-compensated coding. It is by far the most commonly used format for the compression of digital video, and is used in a wide variety of applications from streaming media to Blu-ray discs. Compared to previous encoders, MPEG-4 has a higher compression ratio and can encode DVD-quality images with a fraction of the bandwidth required by earlier video compression techniques. This makes it perfect for streaming media, enabling faster transmission and better video quality. MPEG-4 is currently the most universally compatible video encoding format, as it can be used on almost any device and platform, making it an ideal choice for digital video applications.

Wet gate transfer is a film restoration and archival scanning technique that submerges the film gate in liquid. This liquid has a suitably matched refractive index, which helps reduce the effects of scratches on the film. The liquid also helps to lift other forms of defects from the film. By using this technique, the appearance of the footage can be altered to make it look more smooth and clear, while still preserving its original quality.

ProRes is a high quality, "visually lossless" lossy video compression format developed by Apple Inc. for use in post-production that supports video resolutions up to 8K. ProRes achieves small file sizes while preserving quality, making it ideal for use in a variety of applications. The most widely used application for ProRes is for video editing, as it produces high quality video with small file sizes and is easy to edit.

The physical difference between gauges of motion picture film can be determined by measuring the width of the film strip. Generally, the gauges range from 7.5mm to 105mm, but the most common gauges are 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm. Additionally, the perforation shape and the actual image size can also be indicative of the gauge.

High definition (HD) is a higher resolution than the standard definition video. HD has a pixel height of 1080 or 720p, while standard definition (SD) has a resolution of 480-pixel height. HD offers a much better picture quality than SD, with more detail and sharper images.

Standard Definition (SD) is the predecessor of High Definition (HD) video and is characterized by the smaller 720 x 480 interlaced screen size 4:3 ratio. It refers to a pixel height of 480 in a single image, which is less detailed than one that is 720p or 1080p. SD resolution has been in use for many years and is largely considered the video resolution of yesteryear, primarily being used for older technologies.

SHigh Definition (or HD) refers to video that is of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition video. The definition of video, in general, refers to the number of pixels in a given display. A pixel is the smallest visible element on a display. With HD video, there are more pixels packed into a display, producing a sharper, cleaner image. Video images with more than 480 horizontal lines in North America or 576 horizontal lines in Europe are accepted as high definition. In general, 480 scan lines is the minimum for high definition video even though the majority of systems greatly exceed that. In some contexts, standard-resolution images captured at rates faster than normal by a high speed camera can be considered high definition. These capture rates are typically 60 fps in North America and 50 fps in Europe. Today, we have many forms of high definition video, including 720p HD and 1080p. Anything beyond 1080p, such as 4K would be categorized as Ultra HD.

4K technology is capable of displaying/recording nearly 4x more pixels than 1080p HD. This obviously represents a huge increase in display quality. The quality of 4K footage is much higher than HD or Standard Definition (SD) as it provides more detail, contrast, and color. However, with 4K there are some drawbacks. Firstly, 4K technology is still relatively new and therefore more expensive than HD or SD. Secondly, shooting in 4K requires a lot of power and storage space, so it is not suitable for all devices. Lastly, it can be challenging to edit 4K footage, as it requires powerful computer hardware.

A DVD is a type of optical disk that is used for storing data such as movies, music, and computer programs. DVDs are usually encoded using the MPEG-2 standard, which is an older version of the MPEG-4 standard used for digital video. MPEG-2 offers lower video quality but can store more data than MPEG-4. However, MPEG-4 offers higher video quality but requires more space for storage.

An uncompressed file is a file that has not been reduced in size or quality by any type of compression. This means that the file size is much larger than a compressed file, but it is also of much higher quality. Uncompressed files have a number of benefits over compressed files, such as the preservation of all data within the file, improved transmission speed, improved file integrity, and improved audio fidelity when dealing with digital audio. Depending on the application, uncompressed files are sometimes the only option that will provide the highest quality results.

Compressed files are files that have been reduced in size by using a compression algorithm. Compression is used to reduce the file size and make it easier to store and transmit digital data. In field’s of media, lossy compression reduces file size by removing redundant or unimportant information, but this comes at the cost of reduced quality. The main drawback of compressed files is the loss of quality, which is more pronounced for audio and video formats.

Cloud services work by storing your files on a server out in the internet somewhere rather than on your local hard drive. This allows you to back up, sync, and access your data across multiple devices as long as they have internet capability. Fortunately, most storage services will encrypt the data while it's traveling back and forth, making it impossible to read even if someone captures the files. Commercial cloud storage systems encode each user's data with a specific encryption key. Without it, the files look like gibberish—rather than the original data. Additionally, file encryption is used to make sure files stored on cloud servers are encrypted, making it more difficult for hackers to access them.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) and JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) are two common file formats for images. JPG is a format that uses a lossy compression algorithm to reduce the size of the file, which results in some quality loss. TIFF, on the other hand, is a lossless format, meaning no quality is lost when saving the file. This results in very high quality images and, subsequently, very large file sizes. The main difference between TIFF and JPEG files is that TIFF files are lossless and so store more image data, resulting in higher quality images, while JPEGs are compressed and therefore lower quality (but also smaller). Some drawbacks of TIFF include large file sizes, slower processing time, and limited browser compatibility.

DPI stands for dots per inch and is a measure of resolution in digital imaging. It is an important trait to consider in photography because it affects the size and quality of the final image. A higher DPI value will give you a higher resolution image, meaning it will look sharper and crisper. If the DPI is too low, the image will look pixelated or blurry. It is important to consider DPI when printing an image, as a higher DPI value will give you a better quality print.

In our Family Grade transfer tier, customers can choose to receive their converted tapes as .mov files containing a standard-definition QuickTime DV codec video, or a high-bitrate ProRes video. The QuickTime container (.mov) can contain a variety of video and audio codecs. FG customers can choose between the DV codec, which balances file size and quality while retaining the original dimensions of the source.

AVID DNx (Digital Nonlinear eXtensible) is a video format and codec used for editing and mastering high-definition video and audio. It is a popular video codec for film and television post production and has become a common choice for many professionals in the industry.

AVID DNx offers a number of advantages over other popular video codecs, such as higher image quality and better color accuracy. DNx also offers lower file sizes, making it more efficient for storage and streaming video. Furthermore, the codec is highly compatible with AVID editing software, and can easily be used with other programs.

However, DNx is not without its drawbacks. The codec is not as widely supported as other formats, as it is limited to AVID products. Additionally, DNx is not as efficient when compressing HD video into smaller file sizes as other popular codecs, such as H.264. Additionally, the codec is not as widely used as other formats, so it may not be available in all editing software packages.

H264 is a popular video codec that is widely used for streaming, broadcasting, and HD video. It is a digital video compression standard produced by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).

H264 is one of the most efficient codecs and offers good quality at low bitrates. It also offers versatile and adaptive options, making it attractive for a variety of applications.

The main benefits of H264 include high image quality, low bitrate, and support for a range of resolutions. It also supports multiple profiles, allowing users to optimize video compression for their specific needs. Additionally, it supports scalable video coding, enabling content producers to encode and deliver video for different viewing devices and bandwidths.

One of the main drawbacks of H264 is that it can be computationally intensive, requiring powerful hardware to encode and decode the video in real-time. Additionally, as the number of pixels increases, so does the processing power required. This can lead to a decrease in image quality due to the additional compression.

Blu-ray is an optical disc storage medium that is used to store high-definition video, audio, and computer data. It was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association and was designed to supersede the DVD format.

Blu-ray provides a much higher storage capacity and transfer rate than DVD, making it an ideal choice for storing high-definition content. Blu-ray discs can store up to 25GB of data per layer, with some dual-layer discs offering up to 50GB of data storage. This makes Blu-ray discs the highest capacity media storage currently available.

In terms of transfer rate, Blu-ray has a maximum transfer rate of 54 Mbps, which is much higher than the 7.8 Mbps seen in DVD. This means that Blu-ray discs can store and transfer large amounts of data much faster than DVD discs.

Another benefit of Blu-ray is that it is very resilient and is less prone to scratches and other damage compared to other optical storage media. This makes it an excellent choice for video and audio storage that needs to stay intact for longer periods of time.

Printing from a negative offers a number of advantages over printing from an existing print copy. The most important advantage is that it will produce a much higher quality image. This is because the negative contains all of the light, color, and detail information of the original scene, which is not the case with a print copy.

Standard Play (SP) is the original format for VHS tapes and is the most common. It provides the best quality for both audio and video, but the recording time is limited to two hours.

Long Play (LP) was developed to allow for longer recordings, up to four hours, at a lower quality. The video and sound quality are compromised, but the advantage is that you can record more video in a shorter period of time.

Extended Play (EP) was created to allow for even longer recordings, up to six hours, at a drastically reduced quality. This mode of recording was mainly used for recording television programs.