Consumer Video
Assure the Preservation of a Lifetime of Photos and Home Movies
Highest Quality Transfers and Restorations
Featuring free pickup and delivery in Ann Arbor and many parts of Washtenaw County.
We process both NTSC (North American Television Standard) and the European PAL formats. No matter where in the world your video was recorded, we can probably duplicate it to the digital domain.
More than a Simple Transfer or Duplication to Digital
Operating in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and all of SE Michigan including Greater Detroit, we employ advanced image enhancement technology such as digital noise reduction and image stabilization to instantly clean, stabilize and preserve old VHS, BetaMax and Hi-8 videos in pristine DVD format. Each frame is cross-referenced with the frames immediately in front of and behind further refining and improving the overall image quality.
In addition special attention is given to precision de-interlacing of legacy video for display on modern progressive scan technology TVs and computers. A common practice in the duplication to digital of legacy video is to not de-interlace but simply pass along the interlaced scan format into the digital version. Modern TVs will then de-interlace the footage. However, the temporal information necessary for precise alignment of the fields is not present in the digital version. The TV will make successful educated estimates on those alignments ninety percent of the time. When fields are misaligned “jaggies” result. These happen so fast that they are generally not noticeable but do distract from the overall viewing experience. Our process aligns the fields during the original download when the temporal information is still available. This allows precision alignment of the fields for a true progressive frame digital version.
And also as with all of our family memory duplication to digital products, your product is packaged to look like the family heirloom that it is. Anyone finding your DVD in its professionally designed folding case will instantly know that it is something precious and personal.
We accept media recorded in either the European PAL or North American NTSC format.
Why Transfer to DVD
Analog magnetic tape used in video is estimated to begin to show significant degradation after ten years. Digitally recorded tape may give the appearance of lasting longer because of its error correction and ability to drop frames without being noticed. Even consumer grade DVDs are subject to rapid aging making it extremely important to only use professional grade media when your memories are at stake.
Consider also Blu-ray
Professional grade CD-ROMS and DVDs, while they are estimated to hold their information for a hundred years, are susceptible to scratches and finger prints. When CDs (and later DVDs) were being designed in the 1970s, nobody imagined they would one day find their way into the hands of children. Blu-ray media, however, was designed with the family home environment in mind.
Why W. Cardone
W. Cardone Productions has the latest technology to do your photo and home movie transfer (we accept both prints and negatives) to DVD or Blu-ray disk. We offer options for restoring and/or improving the quality of both aged celluloid and video home movies as well as still pictures and audio.
The DVD and CD media we release on is of the highest quality costing roughly three times what is available to the consumer and is certain to last for decades. We print a full color photo quality label directly on the disk which resists water. In addition, we offer an archival grade DVD option which uses a 24ct gold reflective layer for ultra longevity.
Please call for details on what specific capabilities exist and for pricing. We offer free pickup and delivery. If you choose to use a credit card we use wireless technology at your door for maximum security.
Consumer Video (both NTSC and PAL)
VHS and the rare S-VHS to Digital
S-VHS was a very late digital upgrade to the analog VHS format. Video cassettes recorded using the S-VHS format are digital rather than analog are equal to the later MiniDV (digital video) format.
An S-VHS cassette is identical to a VHS cassette in appearance. In fact, a cassetted manufactured for use in a VHS machine could be recorded in an S-VHS machine though it was claimed some quality would be lost.
VHS-C to Digital
The VHS-C cassette could be described as a VHS cassette disguised to look like VHS to the machine but be physically much smaller. Because the physical size of the VHS-C cassette was very small it allowed the new camcorders to be much smaller as well. Yet the VHS-C cassette could be used in the existing video VHS players with the use of an inexpensive adapter. Consumers didn’t need to buy new players.
.
Beta or BetaMax to Digital
Released by Sony in 1975, the Betamax format competed with VHS for market dominance. It was technically slightly better than VHS but sadly, it lost the war and VHS emerged to dominate the market.
8mm and Hi-8 Video to DVD
The Video 8 format succeeded VHS introducing new quality of picture. A later improvement, the Hi-8 format, provided even yet improved performance but using the same cassette.
MiniDV to Digital
MiniDV cassettes are used for recording baseline DV, DVCAM, and HDV. Each tape holds about 13 GB for one hour of video. These were extremely popular beginning about the year 2000. We are seeing more and more of these as they move into the legacy market.
Both U-Matic and U-Matic SP to Digital
U-Matic was an analogue recording video cassette format introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various reel-to-reel or open-reel formats of the time.
U-Matic SP (Superior Performance) was a variant of the U-Matic video cassette format that used chrome tape and offered improved in performance.
These cassettes are virtually unknown to today’s consumer public. In their day they were priced outside the consumer market and only used by TV stations and other professionals. We only see this legacy format on rare occasions.
