Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with digitizing

ScanFilter: Scanning a page from a book

qbxk — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 08:28:25 -0800

How do I properly scan a page out of a hardcover book on a flatbed scanner? I have a thick hardcover book I'd like to scan a few pages out of to maintain in a private reference (fair use!) -- it's sheet music if you care (i want to keep all the songs I learn in one place) It's a fairly thick book and i can't get a clean image. Short of tearing the page out, anybody know of some kind of "hack" to use a flatbed scanner (which I already own, don't want to buy a special book scanner) to accomplish this?

Which is better scanner or photos?

alan — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:16:57 -0800

Is there any benefit to using a flatbed scanner instead of a copy stand with a digital camera to digitize flat art?

Advice on transferring 8mm film to digital video.

squirrel — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 10:39:11 -0800

Transferring 8mm film to digital video advice (+) I have several hours of 8mm and super-8 film from 30 years ago and it's high time I got it digitized. I know that there are lots of companies that convert old films to DVD, but I'm looking for a company or service package that includes the relatively uncompressed video files from the first scan in addition to the MPEG-2 compressed DVD that's usually on offer. I want to be able to play with the video myself.

Does anyone here have experience with 8mm film digital transfer? Can you give me an estimate or too-high threshold for transfer cost per foot or per minute? What should I look for in a service? What should I expect in the quality? Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what format these companies typically scan the films into before compressing in MPG-2. I'm hoping that the lightly compressed format (e.g. DV or DV-Pro50) creates files small enough to fit onto a data DVD.