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Schedule a Memory Lab Transfer Session
The Memory Lab provides equipment for personal archiving of documents, home movies and photographs. It's a do-it-yourself (DIY) model, meaning we provide step-by-step instructions, but you control the process from start to finish. Please review transfer instructions for the format you are digitizing.
Transfer VHS
How to identify a VHS tape
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How much time will this take?
For every 1 minute of video, it will take 1.5x to digitize it. Capture happens in real time, and then the file must be encoded, described, and saved to your hard drive to ensure it will last. We recommend digitizing no more than 2 hours of video in a lab session.
How much storage space will I need?
1 hour of video = 100 GB
We suggest compressing your videos using the HandBrake software. It will convert 100 GB of video to 4 GB making it more manageable.
Step 1: Preview your video on the monitor
What to do with the CRT monitor
- Make sure the CRT monitor is powered on.
- Make sure the CRT monitor is set to A/RGB.
- Make sure the CRT monitor's knobs are set to the middle.
What to do with the TBC deck
- Make sure the TBC deck (top shelf of AV equipment rack) is powered on.
- Make sure the TBC deck is set to S VIDEO.
What to do with the VHS deck
- Make sure the VHS deck is powered on.
- Make sure the VHS deck is set to local.
- Load your tape into the VHS deck.
- Press play and confirm that you can see it on the CRT monitor.
Step 2: Open BlackMagic Media Express
- Once you have logged onto the Mac computer, double click the BlackMagic Media Express icon. Note: If the icon is not there, search for "BlackMagic Media Express" and double click the icon that pops up.
- BlackMagic Media Express will open to this screen where the Playback tab is selected in green.
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Step 3: Preview your video on BlackMagic Media Express
- Switch to Log and Capture tab. It is the tab on the left of Playback.
- When selected, the tab will appear red as shown in the screenshot below and either a blank screen or your image should pop up.
- Don't worry about naming your file at this point: You will be able to do so later.
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Step 4: Capture your video
- Make sure you rewind your tape all the way to the beginning.
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- When you want to start recording, press the Capture button at the bottom of the BlackMagic window first.
- Then hit the play button on the VHS deck.
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- You should now see the tape playing in the BlackMagic window. If you do not see anything playing, check to make sure the TBC is turned on and start over.
- When you want to stop recording, press the Capture button again.
- Then hit the stop button the VHS deck.
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- Your movie will automatically save as a .MOV file. The file will be displayed on the left side of the window with the name "Untitled".
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Step 5: Make your access copy using Handbrake
- What you now have is a very large MOV file! You will need to compress it to create a more manageable MP4 file.
- Open the HandBrake icon in the desktop tray. Note: If the icon is not there, search for "HandBrake" and double click the icon.
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- HandBrake will ask you what video file you want to encode. If not, go to OPEN SOURCE and find your video file.
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- Select your settings for your access copy. We suggest the following:
- Destination: Click Browse and choose your USB drive (Note: If you are using cloud storage, save to the "Desktop"). You can now change the name of your file. IMPORTANT: Leave the ".mp4" file extension at the end of the file name.
- Format: MP4 file
- Video Encoder: H.264 (x264)
- Framerate: 29.97 (NTSC Video)
- Quality: Constant Quality - leave RF as is
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- Press the Start button to begin encoding. This might take awhile depending on how long (and big) your file is. When progress is complete, you will see this message.
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Step 6: Describe your file in Tag Editor
- Don't let all this hard work go to waste. Adding metadata to your home movie will ensure that you have it for years to come!
- Double click on the Tag Editor icon
- Select your home movie, then click "Open Files".
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- Enter the title and "Artist" name.
- In the "Comment" field, you can add the approximate date the movie was filmed and any other important contextual and technical information such as: names, locations, description of event, rights information, and how it was originally captured (VHS, VHS-C, etc.)
- To save your information, select the "Save" icon at the top of the window.
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Step 7: Save your video on your hard drive
- Check your storage device to make sure that your movie is saved.
- Safely eject your device from the computer by dragging its icon to the eject button on the right-hand side of the desktop tray.
- Eject your tape from the VCR.
- Notify a staff member that you are finished using the lab.
Transfer VHS-C
How to identify a VHS-C
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Step 1: Load your VHS-C tape into the adapter
NOTE: Do NOT try pushing a VHS-C tape into a regular VHS playback deck. It is too small and it will get stuck. Use the adapter.
- Load your VHS-C tape into the Videocassette Adapter. Check to make sure the tape threaded properly.
Step 2: Preview your video on the monitor
What to do with the CRT monitor
- Make sure the CRT monitor is powered on.
- Make sure the CRT monitor is set to A/RGB.
- Make sure the CRT monitor's knobs are set to the middle.
What to do with the TBC deck
- Make sure the TBC deck is powered on.
- Make sure the TBC deck is set to S VIDEO.
What to do with the VHS deck
- Make sure the VHS deck is powered on.
- Make sure the VHS deck is set to local.
- Load your tape in the VHS-C adapter into the VHS deck.
- Press play and confirm that you can see it on the CRT monitor.
Step 3: Open BlackMagic Media Express
- Once you have logged onto the Mac computer, double click the BlackMagic Media Express icon.
Note: If the icon is not there, search for "BlackMagic Media Express" and double click the icon that pops up - BlackMagic Media Express will open to this screen where the Playback tab is selected in green.
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Step 4: Preview your video on BlackMagic Media Express
- Switch to Log and Capture tab. It is the tab on the left of Playback.
- When selected, the tab will appear red as shown in the screenshot below and either a blank screen or your image should pop up.
- Don't worry about naming your file at this point: You will be able to do so later.
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Step 5: Capture video
- Make sure you rewind your tape all the way to the beginning.
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- When you want to start recording, press the Capture button at the bottom of the BlackMagic window first.
- Then hit the play button on the VHS deck.
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- When you want to stop recording, press the Capture button again.
- Then hit the stop button the VHS deck.
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- Your movie will automatically save as a .MOV file. The file will be displayed on the left side of the window with the name "Untitled".
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Step 6: Make your access copy using Handbrake
- What you now have is a very large MOV file! You will need to compress it to create a more manageable MP4 file.
- Open the HandBrake icon in the desktop tray.
Note: If the icon is not there, search for "HandBrake" and double click the icon.
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- HandBrake will ask you what video file you want to encode. If not, go to OPEN SOURCE and find your video file.
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- Select your settings for your access copy. We suggest the following:
- Destination: Click Browse and choose your hard drive. You can now change the name of your file.
- Format: MP4 file
- Video Encoder: H.264 (x264)
- Framerate: 29.97 (NTSC Video)
- Quality: Constant Quality - leave RF as is
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- Press the Start button to begin encoding. This might take awhile depending on how long (and big) your file is. When progress is complete, you will see this message.
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Step 7: Describe your file in Tag Editor
- Don't let all this hard work go to waste. Adding metadata to your home movie will ensure that you have it for years to come!
- Double click on the Tag Editor icon
- Select your home movie, and click "Open Files".
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- Enter the title and "Artist" name.
- In the "Comment" field, you can add the approximate date the movie was filmed and any other important contextual and technical information such as: names, locations, description of event, rights information, and how it was originally captured (VHS, VHS-C, etc.)
- To save your information, select the "Save" icon at the top of the window.
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Step 8: Save your video on your hard drive or flashdrive
- Check your storage device to make sure that your movie is saved.
- Safely eject your device from the computer by dragging its icon to the eject button on the right-hand side of the desktop tray.
- Eject your tape from the VCR.
- Notify a staff member that you are finished using the lab.
Transfer DV
How to identify a DV
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How to identify a mini DV
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Step 1: Turn on DV deck
- Make sure the DV cam deck is on. The power button is on the lower left hand side of the deck.
- When the light turns green, that means the deck is on
- Load your tape into the DV CAM deck.
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Step 2: Open iMovie
Note: iMovie is Apple's proprietary software for video editing. We choose to use it because it is already on the iMac and the user interface is easier to navigate than many other capture softwares.
- Once you have logged onto the Mac computer, double click the iMovie icon in the dock.
Note: If the icon is not in the display, search for "iMovie" and double click the icon that pops up - iMovie will open to this screen where you can Import Media.
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Step 3: Import your media
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Click on the "Import Media" button on the screen, iMovie will recognize the deck and show you an image.
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Click the blue button that says IMPORT at the lower right-hand side of the screen.
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If an image does not pop up, make sure that SONY HDV-VCR is selected.
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Click STOP IMPORTING to stop recording
Note: You can stop your DV and/or miniDV tape at any time if you only want to capture part of the tape. If you want to capture the entire tape there will be a black screen when the video is done. DV and miniDV tapes can be 5 minutes to 2 hours long.
Step 4: Save your video file
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Once you have stopped recording, iMovie will show a sequence of frames from your video as shown below.
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Save your file by clicking File > Share > File (NOTE: iMovie may take up to an hour to export your file fully.)
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NOTE: If your video has multiple clips rather than one continuous clip, the Share > File option may be grayed out. To save these separate clips as one file, click on "New" at the top of the window and select "Movie".
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Choose "No Theme", click "Create", give the new movie a name, and click "OK". The bottom half of the window should now be empty. This section is the timeline. Your separate clips should be displayed in the top left corner.
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- Double-click on the first clip, then go to "Edit" > "Select All". Once all the clips are selected, drag them down into the timeline, then go to "File" > "Share" > "File".
- Name and describe your title. Your setting should be the following:
- Format: Video and Audio
- Resolution: 640 x 480
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Quality: High
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- Remember to save to your USB or external hard drive!
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When your file is done, iMovie will let you know with this message
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Step 5: Describe with Tag Editor
- Don't let all this hard work go to waste. Adding metadata to your home movie will ensure that you have it for years to come!
- Double click on the Tag Editor icon
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Select your home movie, then click "Open Files".
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- Enter the title and "Artist" name.
- In the "Comment" field, you can add the approximate date the movie was filmed and any other important contextual and technical information such as: names, locations, description of event, rights information, and how it was originally captured (MiniDV, DV, etc.)
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To save your information, select the "Save" icon at the top of the window.
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Step 6: You are done!
- Do not forget your tape and USB!
Transfer Video8/Hi8/Digital8
Video8/Hi8/Digital8 is currently not available.
How to identify Video 8
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How to identify Hi8
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How to identify Digital8
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Step 1: Turn on tape deck
- Make sure the tape deck is on. Push the button on the front of the deck to open the lid. The power switch is on the upper right-hand side of the deck.
- When the light turns green, that means the deck is on.
- Load your tape into the deck by pushing the "Eject" switch to the right. Your tape should go into the metal slot face-up with the top end going in first. Press the door down to close it and wait for the tape to load (you will hear the deck making noise, which is normal).
- Rewind your tape by pressing the "REW" button on the tape deck.
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Step 2: Open QuickTime
Note: QuickTime is Apple's proprietary software. We choose to use it because it is already on the iMac and the user interface is easier to navigate than many other capture softwares.
- Once you have logged onto the Mac computer, double click the QuickTime icon in the dock.
Note: If the icon is not in the display, search for "QuickTime" and double click the icon that pops up - Once QuickTime is open, go to File -> New Movie Recording.
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- You should now see a window that looks like the picture below. You can adjust the volume by moving the slider to the right (louder) or left (softer).
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- Click on the little arrow to the right of the red dot and make sure that "GV-D800" are selected for both "Camera" and "Microphone", as shown below:
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Step 3: Import your media
- Click on the red dot at the bottom of the window to begin recording, and then immediately press "Play" on the tape deck. You should see the tape beginning to play in the QuickTime window.
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- When you are done recording, click the gray square to stop recording. Then, press "Stop" on the tape deck.
Note: You can stop your tape at any time if you only want to capture part of the tape. If you want to capture the entire tape there will be a gray screen (in QuickTime) and a blue screen (on the tape deck) when the video is done. Video8/Hi8/Digital8 tapes can be up to 2 hours long.
Step 4: Save your video file
- Once you have stopped recording, go to File > Save.
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- Your file will be called "Untitled" by default, but you can change that in the Export As box. Be sure to leave in the .mov extension at the end of your file name and choose Desktop as the save location.
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Step 5: Make your access copy using Handbrake
- What you now have is a very large MOV file! You will need to compress it to create a more manageable MP4 file.
- Open the HandBrake icon in the desktop tray.
Note: If the icon is not there, search for "HandBrake" and double click the icon.
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- HandBrake should ask you automatically what video file you want to encode. If it does not, click OPEN SOURCE and find your video file.
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- Select your settings for your access copy. We suggest the following:
- Destination: Click Browse and choose your USB drive (Note: If you are using cloud storage, save to the "Desktop"). You can now change the name of your file. IMPORTANT: Leave the ".mp4" file extension at the end of the file name.
- Format: MP4 file
- Video Encoder: H.264 (x264)
- Framerate: 29.97 (NTSC Video)
- Quality: Constant Quality - leave RF as is
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- Press the Start button to begin encoding. This might take a while depending on how long (and big) your file is. When progress is complete, you will see this message.
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Step 6: Describe with Tag Editor
- Don't let all this hard work go to waste. Adding metadata to your home movie will ensure that you have it for years to come!
- Double click on the Tag Editor icon
- Select your home movie, then click "Open Files".
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- Enter the title and "Artist" name.
- In the "Comment" field, you can add the approximate date the movie was filmed and any other important contextual and technical information such as: names, locations, description of event, rights information, and how it was originally captured (Video8, Hi8, etc.)
- To save your information, select the "Save" icon at the top of the window.
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Step 7: You are done!
- Do not forget your tape and USB!
Transfer 8mm/Super8 Film
How to identify 8mm and Super8 film
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Step 1: Insert your SD card
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- On the back of the Wolverine MovieMaker Pro film scanner, insert an SD or SDHC card into the appropriate slot (up to 32 GB maximum).
- Make sure your SD card is unlocked (white tab switched to up position) before inserting it into the slot. If your card is locked, the scanner will not work.
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Step 2: Turn on the film scanner
- To turn the scanner on, press the Power button under the display screen. If it does not turn on, make sure the power adapter is plugged in and connected to the back of the machine.
- When the scanner is on, the bottom-left corner of the display screen will show what format the scanner is currently set to (either 8mm or Super8 - this can be changed later if need be). The bottom-right shows how many films have been scanned with the machine thus far. The top of the screen shows what the exposure level is currently set to.
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Step 3: Load your film
- Before loading your film, use an air duster to remove dust and other particles from the light table.
- The Wolverine can scan 8mm and Super8 film reels up to 9 inches in diameter. Before loading your film, use the identifying guide on the top right of this page to determine which format you have.
- Place your film on the red spool on the left-hand side. (NOTE: If you have a film reel with a larger mounting hole, you may have to use a reel adapter. Ask a staff member for assistance.
- The light table has a flap door that can be opened by moving the "Open" switch to the left. Using the guides printed on the front of the scanner, thread the film around the knobs and through the light table as shown below. Place the end of the film in the notch on the black take-up reel.
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Step 4: Adjust the display settings
- When you have loaded your film, it is a good idea to check to make sure the frame adjustment, exposure, and sharpness are set correctly. If the frame adjustment is not correct, it may cut off part of frames and decrease the quality of your scan.
- To check the frame adjustment, press Menu and use the up/down arrows to find Frame ADJ. When this option is highlighted, press Enter.
- The scanner will display one frame from your film with options to adjust the X (horizontal), Y (vertical), or W (zoom in/out) views of your film. When you are finished adjusting the frame, press Menu.
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- You can also adjust the Exposure and Sharpness of your film. For sharpness, the default is Medium (the other options are Low and High). The default Exposure setting is 0.0. The total range is -2.0 (darkest) to 2.0 (brightest).
- Press Enter when you are done adjusting the exposure or sharpness.
Step 5: Scan your film
- To begin scanning, press Enter.
- The Wolverine will ask you to select the correct format (either 8mm or Super8) using the switch under the light table. Select the correct format and press Enter again.
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- As the film progresses through the scanner, pay particular attention to the following:
- Changes in the frame adjustment. While the film is being guided through the scanner, it may shift slightly and disrupt the frame adjustment. If this happens, press Enter to stop scanning and review step 4 above to reset the frame adjustment. (NOTE: Every time you press Enter to stop the scanning process, it creates a new file on your SD card.)
- Splices in the film. These may cause the film to get stuck.
- What to do if your film gets stuck: If your film gets caught while scanning, press Enter immediately to stop the scanner. If necessary, open the light table and carefully move your film so that the problem area is past the end of the light table. When the problem area is moved and the film is re-loaded, press Enter to begin scanning again.
- When all the film on your reel has been scanned, press Enter to stop the scanner.
NOTE: The Wolverine scans at a resolution of 1080p and creates MP4 files that play back at a rate of 20 fps (frames per second). These settings are not adjustable.
Step 6: Unload and rewind your film
- When your film is finished scanning, it will be wrapped around the black take-up reel. Remove the take-up reel from the gray spool. If there is any part of your film left in the light table, open the table's flap door and carefully remove the film from the guides.
- Remove your now-empty reel from the left side of the scanner (red spool) and place it on the gray spool (where the take-up reel was during scanning).
- Press Menu and use the up/down arrows to navigate to Rewind. Press Enter.
- You will see a message on the display screen as shown below. Make sure that the reels are correctly placed and that your film follows the routing path indicated by the dotted lines on the front of the scanner.
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- Press Enter to begin rewinding. When the film is completely rewound around the original reel, press Enter again to stop.
- Remove your film reel from the gray spool. Place the black take-up reel back onto the gray spool.
Step 7: Add metadata to your files (do this outside of the Memory Lab)
- Don't let all this hard work go to waste. Adding metadata to your home movies will ensure that you have them for years to come!
- By default, the scanner uses four-digit numbers as files names for each movie it saves to your SD card. It is important to keep a record of which numbers match which film reel(s) so that you can go back and edit your file names later to be more descriptive.
- In addition to descriptive file names, it is important to add information about the "Who, What, Where, and When" of your file (for example, who shot the movie, who is in the movie, what is shown, when it was taken, where it was taken, etc.).
- You can add this information by right-clicking on a file and selecting "Get Info" (on Mac) or "Properties" (on Windows). There are various fields you can fill out, including "Comments", "Title", and "Tags" (these can be very helpful when searching for files on your computer).
Step 8: You are done!
- When you are finished scanning your film reels, turn off the scanner and take your SD card out of the slot in the back of the scanner.
- Take your film reels and SD card with you and notify staff that you are finished.
Transfer Audio Cassettes
How to identify an audio cassette
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How to load an audio cassette tape
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Step 1: Turn on compact cassette deck
- Make sure the deck is on! Power button is on the lower left hand side of the deck.
- When the button is pushed in, that means the deck is on.
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Step 2: Load your tape
- Press the EJECT button on the left side. This will automatically open the deck.
- Compact cassettes usually come with two sides! "Side 1 and 2" or "Side A and B". Start with side 1 or side A facing you
- Insert your cassette tape with magnetic tape side first.
Step 3: Open Audacity
- Once you have logged onto the Mac computer, double click the Audacity icon.
Note: If the icon is not there, search for "Audacity" and double click the icon that pops up - Audacity will open up to a blank screen and monitors
- Make sure of the following settings:
- Input (little microphone icon) is set to "iMic USB audio system" and output (speaker icon) is set to "Built-In Output", as shown below. This will allow you to hear the audio playing while you record it.
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Step 4: Capture your audio
- Be sure that you rewind the tape!
- Click on the words "Click to Start Monitoring" displayed over the numbers at the top of the Audacity window.
- Press PLAY on the tape deck. In Audacity, you should see green bars moving across the numbers as your tape is playing.
- If the bars are generally below the "-15" mark or above the "-3" mark (and showing some red), you will need to adjust the recording volume.
- To adjust recording volume, move the slider next to the microphone icon toward the minus sign (softer) or the plus sign (louder), as shown below:
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- Rewind the tape.
- Press RECORD on Audacity first.
- Press PLAY on the tape deck.
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- You should see activity in the window like that in the screenshot above.
Step 5: Save Your File onto your USB
- Make sure your USB is connected to the computer.
- Go to File > Export > Export as WAV in the Audacity menu.
- Give it a name that is consistent and obvious.
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- When you save the file, a window will appear for you to enter metadata (description info) about the file. Be sure to include how the file was digitized and who owns the rights to the recording.
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Step 6: You are done!
- Do not forget your USB and audio tapes
Transfer 3.5-inch Floppy Disks
How to Identify 3.5-inch floppy disks
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Step 1: Attach the Sabrent 1.44MB External 2X Floppy Disk Drive
- Ask a DC Public Library staff member for the Sabrent external floppy disk drive.
- Attach the drive's USB cord to a USB port on the back of the Station 1 computer.
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Step 2: Insert your 3.5" Floppy Disk
- When you connect the external floppy drive to computer's USB port, the drive should start flashing red. This is when you will insert 3.5" floppy disk.
- Watch "How to insert and eject 3.5" floppy disk" if you have concerns on what to do.
Step 3: Grab your files
- If there is data on your floppy, the Floppy Disk Drive will pop up as NO NAME on your desktop.
- Open NO NAME and look at your files.
- Drag and drop the files to your USB.
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Note: In this example, the files are TXT or text files, which can be opened on this computer.
Some older formats such as WPD (Word Perfect Files) may not be able to open with contemporary operating systems. We recommend that you move all files off of your floppy and on to an accessible storage environment anyway. There are many conversion software options available online for older and obsolete file formats.
Step 4: You are done!
- Eject the Sabrent Floppy Disk Drive by clicking the EJECT button next to NO NAME
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- Please return the Sabrent Floppy Disk Drive to library staff
- Do not forget your floppy disks and USB drive!
Transfer CDs/DVDs
Step 1: Attach the Apple external optical disc drive
- Ask a DC Public Library staff member for the Apple external optical disc drive.
- Attach the drive's USB cord to a USB port on the back of the computer.
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Step 2: Insert your optical disc
- After connecting the external drive to the computer, insert your disc into the drive.
- Keep in mind that there are different types of optical discs: Data CDs/DVDs and media CDs/DVDs.
- Data discs are simply storage devices, like USB thumb drives or floppy disks. They typically come in two varieties: Discs that can be written once ("CD-R" and "DVD-R") and discs that are infinitely re-writable ("CD-RW" and "DVD-RW"). If your optical disc is a data disc, you will see an icon pop up on the desktop when you insert the disc into the external drive (just like with USB flash drives or hard drives).
- Media discs include things like music CDs or movie DVDs that are usually commercially produced and that may have special encryption on them to prevent copying. (NOTE: If you do not own the copyright to the material on your CD or DVD, it may be a violation of U.S. copyright law to transfer that material off of the disc even if you no longer possess the technology required to play CDs or DVDs. Click here to learn more about copyright and fair use.)
- The instructions in this guide only apply to data CDs and DVDs.
Step 3: Transfer the content from your disc
- What to do for DATA discs:
- If there is data on your optical disc, it will pop up as NO NAME on the desktop.
- Open NO NAME and look at your files.
- Drag and drop the files to your USB.
- Note: In this example, the files are TXT or text files, which can be opened on this computer. Some older formats such as WPD (Word Perfect Files) may not be able to open with contemporary operating systems. We recommend that you move all files off of your disc and on to an accessible storage environment anyway. There are many conversion software options available online for older and obsolete file formats.
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Step 4: You are done!
- Eject your disc from the drive by clicking the EJECT button next to your disc's name in the left-hand menu in Finder. In the example below, the disc is labeled "NO NAME" because it was a data disc. Your disc may be labeled differently.
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- Please return the external optical disc drive to library staff
- Do not forget your optical discs and USB drive!