A Cool, Dry Place

How often have you heard something should be stored in a “cool, dry place?”

Probably many times and there’s a reason – mold.

Mold will grow on almost anything. All it takes is a few spores and the right conditions and voila – green, fuzzy stuff.

There are thousands of different kinds of mold some are dangerous, some are beneficial and some are even edible. One thing they all have in common – none are good for home movies.

I don’t know what kind of mold it is, but when I see mold on old movies (and I’m talking about film movies – 8mm, Super8 or 16mm) it’s white and kind of powdery.

Once mold gets a foothold on a piece of film, there’s no going back. The mold damages the emulsion. Even if you were to clean off the mold, it leaves visible damage to the movie.

The problem is, even if you still wanted the damaged movies transferred to adigital format, the mold can be dangerous to handle.

I personally, don’t want mold getting all over my office, getting in the air, or getting all over my equipment.

I make it a policy not to transfer movies that have mold on them.

The best solution is to avoid the mold problem by storing your movies in a a cool, dry place.

For more information about transferring your home movies to DVD or importing them to your computer, visit www.safeandsoundvideo.com

DIY Media Transfer

Most adults over 30 have media (Pictures, music, movies) in an older analog format. Converting that content into a digital format opens up a whole world of options for preserving, sharing and enjoying their media.

As technology marches forward, many types of media are being left behind.

But, you can bring your stuff into the future with you. Just because you don’t have a turntable doesn’t mean you can’t have your collection of rare LP’s on your iPod. Same with grandpa’s old Super 8 home movies – no projector – no problem. And you can start enjoying your VHS movies even though you tossed your VCR out years ago.

Starting in October, 2011 I’ll be teaching a class at Northern Essex Community College on how to convert your movies, music and pictures into a digital format.

That means I can do it for you, or if you take the class, I’ll teach you how to do it yourself.

To sign up for my class visit the NECC website.

For more information about transferring your home movies to DVD or importing them to your computer, visit www.safeandsoundvideo.com