Source & Release
When you open your flash drive with a transfer from Advent Digitizing, you're very likely to find two versions of your video, film or audio.
In the root of your drive you'll see the "Release" copies that are ready for viewing on nearly any media player, whether on a computer, mobile device or HDTV with a USB port. They're also available to upload to social media or file sharing services.
In a folder called "Source," you'll also find the files that were used to make the release files. These are robust, low or lossless compression files that are huge. These are the files that come from the capture devices we use that preserve the highest quality. The source files can be as much as 10x larger than the release files. They're way to large to share with friends and family, and may not even be able to play on most media players or consumer-level computers without special software or beefy hardware. Here's an example of a typical VHS transfer:
So what are the source files good for?
Editing
- If you decide you would like to edit the footage, you should use the source files to get the best quality results when edited into a shorter version. The source files capture every frame of video or film, and have the highest color quality. You can adjust color and audio with much better results than using the highly-compressed release files.
Future Proofing (Archival)
- Sooner or later they're going to invent a new format (codec) for media players that won't be compatible with today's release files. Rather than recompressing your release files, you can use the source files to create release files in the newest, yet-to-be released format with no generation loss.
When it comes to sharing your footage with friends or family, share the release files because they're smaller and won't take as much time to copy.
And when it comes to preservation, we recommend copying everything to your computer, and then backing that up to other offline media, like portable hard drives.
Source Formats
In your source folder you are likely to find the following file types:
Video/Film
- .AVI (Audio Video Interlaced) which has been a standard production format for a long time. AVI is a "wrapper" which can contain files encoded with many different "codecs" (compressor/decompressor). For VHS or other Standard Definition footage, the footage will be in the "DV" or Digital Video codec, which is 720x480 pixels, 30 frames per second, interlaced (aka 480i). For film transfers, the AVI files are a string of individual frames at the actual frame rate of the film (16, 18 or 24 frames/second).
- .M2V (MPEG-2 Video) which is the standard format for HDV high definition video, 1440x1080, 30 frames per second, interlaced.
- .MOV (Apple QuickTime), which is also a "wrapper" format and can have footage in the h.264 codec, h.265 codec, Apple ProRes codec or even a string of JPG frames. High-end codecs require special software for playback, even on Apple devices.
Stills:
- .ARW which is the "RAW" codec from our cameras. Raw images are not compressed and contain much more color data than the JPEG format. We use Adobe Lightroom to convert your photos to JPG release files, so the Lightroom database is usually included on your master flash drive.
- .JPG/JPEG (Joint Photo Experts Group). JPG is a "lossy" format, in that it throws away data and leaves clues for the playback device on how to reconstruct the data. The more compression, the greater the image loss, and the more obvious the lossy artifacts become. Unless requested, all our JPG output is at the highest quality with minimum compression. Reduced quality/size exports are available for online image sharing or website use. With machine scans, you may receive up to 3 images per print: (1) the scan as is, (2) an enhanced version of the scan, recovering print fading, and (3) an image of the back of the print if there is writing. Machine scans are made at 600dpi, and so the image sizes vary depending on print size.
- .PNG (Portable Network Graphics). For high quality flatbed scans, we deliver in lossless PNG. These files are compressed, but in such a way that no pixels are lost.
Audio:
- .WAV is an uncompressed audio file created when we capture your digital audio. WAV files can be played by most audio players, but they're very large, so for media player use, load the MP3 or other compressed format that came with your order.
Release Formats
We commonly render release formats in the following file types. If you prefer a different file type, please let us know in advance. Lower compression formats may require larger drives for delivery.
Video/Film
- MP4 (h.264) - The defacto standard for digital video these days. MP4 is universally playable in nearly every modern media player, computer or TV.
- SD video from VHS, etc. SD tape formats will be in the DV format (720x480 in 4:3 aspect ratio, 30fps interlaced).
- HD video from HDV/XDCAM will be in the HDV format (1440x1080, 16:9 aspect, 30fps, interlaced
- HD video from film transfers will be in Full HD 1920x1080, 16:9 aspect, at the frame rate of the original film (16, 18 or 24fps).
- MP4 (h.265) aka HEVC - The High Efficiency Video Codec was created to provide much higher quality with even smaller file sizes. This is incompatible with some older media players, but will be the standard in the near future for high definition with high dynamic range (HDR).
- Other formats including Apple ProRes, and frame rate or raster size conversions are available.
Stills:
- .JPG (Joint Photo Experts Group) standard at "Fine" or minimal compression settings. JPGs at this setting are visually indistinguishable from the source RAW files.
- From Machine Scans, you may see up to 3 images, (1) the original scan, (2) the color corrected enhanced version, and (3) a scan of the back of the print if there is writing.
- Additional JPG copies at lower resolution or higher compression are available upon request, useful for online photo sharing or website display.
Audio:
- MP3 is the universally recognized format for compressed audio. We use low compression for larger files that are indistinguishable from the source WAV files.
- Additional MP3 copies with higher compression are available upon request, useful for online sharing or website streaming.
- Other compressed audio formats are available including AAC and AIFF.
At Advent Digitizing, we want to be sure your transfer investment will last for generations to come.