Archive Your Important Media

[Arik Paran]

Media is everywhere! People have media in their homes in the form of analog audio and video tapes, celluloid film, paper documents, and photos on albums and slides. Businesses have media in the form of presentations that have been made and stored on disks, paper reports, computer-generated reports, and paper documents. The problem with these forms of media is that they are subject to deterioration, and, in the case of home videos or movies, may not be viewable any more because the viewers no longer exist. How many of us have home movies of the kids as babies, but the projector or VCR doesn't work anymore? For businesses, the sheer amount of records that need to be retained and stored can take up rooms in an office that could be put to better use or the records are stored offsite in a storage unit and subject to degradation through temperature changes and time, not to mention the cost of maintaining the storage facility. And, if you want to share something with another division, how easy is it to locate a particular report or file?

You can archive important media by taking films and videotapes, music, articles, photos, meeting notes, sales presentations, etc, and transferring them to digital storage. Most all of the home-use type of films and videos can be kept for generations if they are in digital form. And, media archiving isn't just for the preservation of home videos, either. The local high school can use media archiving to report on it's sports teams. The local Girl Scout troop can keep records of gatherings or cookie sales forever. It's the perfect way for companies to preserve the content of meetings, sales presentations and seminars, and repurpose the content for different uses. And, the media archiving process allows for sharing of that content through Flash, MediaPlayer, podcasts, and the like, so your information can be spread out on the web.

You can archive important media for:

• Easier media storage: For families, archiving videos and films frees up storage or shelf space in the den. For companies, archiving their reports or sales videos means less storage space is required and off-site storage needs and expenses can be reduced.
• Online accessibility: by archiving videos, slides, and films to digital media, you create a database. This database allows you to send your information out to a greater amount of people, who can access that information anywhere and at anytime. For example, if someone is interested in old cars, they can visit GM's media archives to get information about the 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible.
• Simplification of media management: the database means your information is accessible in many different ways. You won't spend days searching through dusty documents in a physical archive. The preserved content is actual computer readable and searchable text.
• Content can be repurposed and transformed into many different uses. For example: a series of still images can be reproduced as actual hanging displays, as an online slideshow in low resolution, or as high quality digital images for sale in an online gallery. Video content can be re-cut and edited to produce new documentaries and short spots.
• Preservation of the past for the future: when you archive important media, past articles and information can be preserved. It's a snap to access a 4 year old report while sitting in a company meeting if you have it on a database. It's the reason libraries are archiving books and periodicals for future generations. And, it's how Grandma can research her family tree online - someone uploaded the database she's accessing.

When you archive important media, you preserve the content of the media just as it is. You can restore data from an archive if you lose your main hard drive (think of those precious baby photos that are in a folder on your PC!). You can keep your archive current by adding just the new information you want to add. And, you can share that content with the world or confine it to your own home or business - it's your choice. But, no matter what you choose to do with it, your media is preserved as something independent of physical form and is instantly accessible by searching on a computer for anyone with access, at any time and any place.

For more information about how we can help you archive important media, contact Digital Pickle at 1-800-889-0730 or email them today.