- 1 -

!"# %" &'()('*( +",' -#. /010%23 42%('023)

!" $%& '()($*+ ,-&.&-/*$(01 233(4& *$ $%& 51(/&-.($" 03 6(4%()*1 7(8-*-"9
7(1:. $0 ;&8 .($&. *1< =-(4&. 4>--&1$ *. 03 6*" ?@A?
Cur personal phoLos, leLLers, movles and paper documenLs serve as vlLal llnks Lo Lhe pasL. Whlle Lhese
documenLs have LradlLlonally been Langlble ob[ecLs, much of Lhe lnformaLlon we creaLe ls now dlglLal,
and musL be preserved uslng dlfferenL meLhods. 1hls documenL wlll gulde you ln keeplng your dlglLal
maLerlals safe, so LhaL you and your famlly can look aL Lhem ln Lhe fuLure.
?ou wlll noLlce LhaL Lhe same plan ls repeaLed ln each secLlon: 05(.%0678 5(905(8 "'12.0:(8 and ;29<,=>
1hls meLhod can be used wheLher you wanL Lo preserve phoLos, e-mall, personal records, audlo
recordlngs, or vldeos, wlLh parLlcular concerns for each Lype.
Several sofLware programs and oLher producLs are menLloned by name. 1hese are lncluded as examples
and should noL be consLrued as speclflc endorsemenLs by Lhe unlverslLy of Mlchlgan Llbrary.
?"' @33 "6 +",' &(')".23 /010%23 ?03()
214& "0> %*/& $%&B 0-)*1(C&< D.&& 8&+0;EF "#$% &'()%* *1< *+',% +-%" (1 <(33&-&1$ =+*4&.
Make aL leasL Lwo of Lhem Lo sLarL, preferably 3 wlLh one locaLed off slLe."
Cne copy should sLay on your compuLer or exLernal hard drlve. uL oLher coples on wrlLeable
uvus, Cus, oLher hard drlves, or sLore Lhem on Lhe lnLerneL (Lhere ls a llsL of onllne backup
soluLlons aL Lhe end of Lhls handouL).
1ry Lo sLore coples ln dlfferenL =%".(4*+ locaLlons ln case of a dlsasLer.
updaLe your archlval collecLlons and creaLe new backups on a regular basls.

SomeLlmes, for a few lmporLanL LexL flles or phoLos LhaL you wanL Lo keep for decades or more, Lhe
mosL secure way ls Lo prlnL ouL coples of Lhe flle and preserve Lhe hard copy.
/010%23 &A"%"1'2=A)
?our phoLographs llkely have deep personal meanlng Lo you and your famlly. Lach phoLo ls unlque, and
lf Lhey are losL Lhe lnformaLlon Lhey provlde can never be replaced. ?ou wlll llkely wanL Lo keep some of
your phoLos for qulLe a long Llme. lL's a good LacLlc Lo focus your aLLenLlon on organlzlng your lmporLanL
phoLographs lnLo relaLed groups, and weedlng ouL lmages you ldenLlfy as unlmporLanL.
./%0+)12 ;%&-& "0> %*/& <()($*+ =%0$0.
?ou mlghL have dlglLal phoLographs on cameras, varlous compuLers, memory cards, uS8 sLlcks,
and on Lhe Web.
3%&)/% ;%(4% =%0$0. *-& $%& B0.$ (B=0-$*1$ $0 "0>

- 2 -
SelecL lmages you feel are especlally lmporLanL. 1hls can be as many as you would llke.
lf you have dupllcaLes, you should save Lhe verslon LhaL ls Lhe hlghesL quallLy.
1he selecLlon process ls helpful, as lL allows you Lo focus your efforLs on Lhe phoLos wlLh Lhe
greaLesL meanlng and lmporLance Lo you, lnsLead of every phoLo you ever Look. ln Lhe dlglLal
envlronmenL, phoLos can accumulaLe qulckly!
lL ls helpful Lo weed" as you go, raLher Lhan aLLempLlng Lo go back and do lL laLer. Weedlng ouL
a few lmages every Llme you add new plcLures from you camera, ls much easler Lhan aLLempLlng
Lo sorL Lhrough hundreds or Lhousands of lmages all aL once.
4,5#0)6% $%& .&+&4$&< =%0$0.
CollecL your phoLos LogeLher on one compuLer or exLernal hard drlve so you can work from a
slngle locaLlon.
CreaLe a dlrecLory/folder sLrucLure on your hard drlve LhaL allows you Lo organlze your lmages ln
a way LhaL makes sense Lo you. Some examples are:
o uaLe-based: 2010/03
o LvenL-based: vacaLlons/new ?ork ClLy 2009
o ComblnaLlon: 2010/03/new ?ork ClLy vacaLlon
Clve your phoLos descrlpLlve flle names
WrlLe a brlef descrlpLlon of Lhe dlrecLory sLrucLure and Lhe phoLos
hoLo organlzlng sofLware can allow you Lo easlly organlze, descrlbe, and Lag" your phoLos. 1ag
each phoLo of a famlly member wlLh Lhelr name, and you can easlly search for Lhem across
mulLlple groups of lmages. Lxamples of Lhese sofLware packages are:
o ulead hoLo Lxplorer
o Corel hoLo Album
o ACuSee
o lcasa
o Adobe hoLoshop Album SLarLer LdlLlon
/010%23 @,50"
?our dlglLal audlo flles mlghL lnclude muslc, lecLures, and oLher lmporLanL sound recordlngs. As Lhey wlll
have personal, flnanclal, educaLlonal, or oLher long-Lerm value, you wlll llkely wlsh Lo keep Lhem for a
long Llme.
?our audlo flles should be saved ln open, non-proprleLary (meanlng Lhe formaL ls noL owned by a
parLlcular enLlLy) and popular flle formaLs. 1hls wlll ensure Lhe mosL flexlblllLy for fuLure use.
./%0+)12 ;%&-& "0> %*/& <()($*+ *><(0 3(+&.
?ou mlghL have dlglLal sound recordlngs on audlo players, varlous compuLers, memory cards,
uS8 sLlcks, and so on.
8e sure Lo lnclude flles you manage Lhrough audlo sofLware.

- 3 -
3%&)/% ;%(4% *><(0 -&40-<(1). %*/& +01)G$&-B /*+>& $0 "0>
SelecL Lhe recordlngs you feel are lmporLanL.
lf you have dupllcaLes, you should save Lhe verslon LhaL ls Lhe hlghesL quallLy.
4,5#0)6% $%& .&+&4$&< *><(0 -&40-<(1).
CollecL your audlo flles LogeLher on a slngle compuLer or exLernal hard drlve so you can work
from a slngle locaLlon
CreaLe a dlrecLory/folder sLrucLure on your hard drlve LhaL allows you Lo organlze your audlo
flles ln a way LhaL makes sense Lo you. Some examples are:
o uaLe-based: 2004/03
o LvenL-based: lnLervlews/!ohn SmlLh 2004-03-12
o ComblnaLlon: 2004/03/lnLervlew wlLh !ohn SmlLh
Clve your flles descrlpLlve names
WrlLe a brlef descrlpLlon of Lhe dlrecLory sLrucLure and Lhe audlo flles
lf your flles are ln unpopular or older formaLs, you B()%$ conslder encodlng Lhem ln, or
converLlng Lhem Lo, more open formaLs such as WAv or M3, whlch have a wlde amounL of
supporL. Some sofLware packages LhaL can help you wlLh Lhls are:
o SwlLch Audlo llle ConverLer - free verslon avallable for non-commerclal use
(hLLp://www.nch.com.au/swlLch/lndex.hLml)
o 8lver asL Audlo ConverLer - $29.93-49.93
(hLLp://www.rlverpasL.com/en/prod/audloconverLer/)
o noLe8urner - $34.93
(hLLp://noLeburner.com/noLeburner-audlo-converLer.hLml)
o lm1CC Audlo Lncoder - $39.93
(hLLp://www.lmLoo.com/audlo-converLer-pro.hLml)
o Audlo Commander - $64.93
(hLLp://www.mysLlkmedla.com/audlocommander.asp)
CreaLlng ulglLal Audlo llles
lf you declde Lo converL some of your analog audlo maLerlals (Ls, casseLLes, Cus, eLc) lnLo dlglLal
formaLs, you wlll cerLalnly wanL Lo follow Lhe Lhree-sLeps ouLllned above (ldenLlfy, ueclde, and Crganlze)
once Lhe flles are dlglLlzed on your compuLer Lo help you preserve Lhem lnLo Lhe fuLure. Powever, when
dlglLlzlng Lhese medla, you should keep a few exLra Lhlngs ln mlnd because, when creaLlng audlo flles
yourself, you have more conLrol over Lhe Lechnlcal speclflcaLlons of recordlngs.
1here are four prlmary characLerlsLlcs of dlglLal audlo flles LhaL you should keep ln mlnd when dlglLlzlng
your analog maLerlals: flle formaL, sampllng raLe, blL depLh, and compresslon/blL raLe.



- 4 -
H(+& H0-B*$
osslble formaLs Lo conslder uslng, dependlng on whlch sofLware you have avallable Lo you, lnclude:
WAv (.wav), M3 (.mp3), Alll (.alf), and MCv (Apple Culck1lme, .mov) formaLs. Whlle Alll and MCv
are boLh proprleLary, Lhey are ln wldespread, popular use and should be accepLable cholces for your
audlo flles lf you have Lhe sofLware Lo play Lhem. uslng any of Lhese formaLs helps Lo ensure LhaL you
wlll be able Lo en[oy your dlglLal audlo flles for years Lo come.
I*B=+(1) J*$&
Sampllng raLe" refers Lo how many Llmes per second Lhe sound wave ls measured and ls expressed ln
kPz. Audlo Cus have a sampllng raLe of 44.1 kPz, and uvu-quallLy audlo has a sampllng raLe of 48 kPz.
uslng Lhese speclflcaLlons for your own audlo flles wlll help produce quallLy flles LhaL wlll lasL over Llme,
Lhough lf you are lnLeresLed ln hlgher quallLy audlo flles, uslng a sampllng raLe of 96 kPz wlll glve you
hlgher resoluLlon flles. keep ln mlnd, however, LhaL flles wlLh Lhls hlgher sampllng raLe wlll be larger and
Lake up more space on a hard drlve.
!($ '&=$%
8lL depLh" refers Lo Lhe number of blLs of lnformaLlon recorded ln each sample. 8oLh Cus and uvus
have audlo Lracks wlLh 16-blL depLh, and you should use Lhls as your sLandard blL depLh when creaLlng
your own audlo flles. lf you are lnLeresLed ln creaLlng very hlgh quallLy audlo flles, however, conslder
uslng a blL depLh of 24 or hlgher, lf your sofLware allows you Lo do so.
K0B=-&..(01 *1< 8($ -*$&
Compresslon reduces Lhe slze (and someLlmes quallLy) of audlo flles, and compresslon schemes are
ofLen referred Lo as codecs" (shorL-hand for Lhe 40mpresslon-<&4ompresslon algorlLhm LhaL encodes
Lhe daLa). 1here are Lwo klnds of codecs: lossy and lossless. Lossy codecs ellmlnaLe cerLaln segmenLs of
Lhe flle so LhaL Lhe resulLlng flle slze ls smaller, alLhough such lossy compresslon does provlde smaller
flles LhaL mlghL be easler Lo sLore, lL also removes daLa LhaL cannoL be recovered once losL. Lossless
compresslon, on Lhe oLher hand, creaLes larger flles buL malnLalns Lhe full quallLy of Lhe orlglnal
recordlng.
lf you're lnLeresLed ln hlgh quallLy flles and have Lhe hard drlve space Lo sLore Lhem, uslng a lossless
compresslon scheme llke lLAC (lree Lossless Audlo Codec, .flac) ls suggesLed, lf you do noL need such
hlgh resoluLlon flles, uslng a lossy codec llke M3 can also creaLe dlglLal audlo wlLh Lhe poLenLlal Lo be
preserved over Llme. lor flles ln M3 formaL, however, a hlgher blL raLe ls more deslrable Lhan a lower
one, blL raLe" ls a measuremenL of how many klloblLs of daLa are sLored per second. A blL raLe of aL
leasL 128 kbps ls Lhe absoluLe mlnlmum, Lhough flles wlLh blL raLes of aL leasL 192 kbps are preferred. 8lL
raLes up Lo 320 kbps produce Lhe hlghesL quallLy M3 flles.



- 3 -
L*-<;*-& *1< I03$;*-& 30- '()($(C(1) M><(0 6*$&-(*+.
8ecause hardware conflguraLlons for dlglLlzlng audlo can vary wldely dependlng on your speclflc needs
and maLerlals, hardware recommendaLlons wlll noL be dlscussed here. Powever, lf you are lnLeresLed ln
Lhls lnformaLlon, you can consulL any of Lhe sLep-by-sLep guldes llsLed ln Lhe ulglLlzlng Audlo" resources.
1here ls also a wlde varleLy of sofLware packages for audlo recordlng and edlLlng avallable LhaL can help
you dlglLlze your Ls, casseLLes, and Cus and edlL your dlglLal audlo flles. uependlng on your parLlcular
needs, dlfferenL sofLware wlll glve you Lhe ablllLy Lo conLrol dlfferenL speclflcaLlons for Lhe flles you
creaLe.
1he followlng ls a llsL of sample audlo edlLlng sofLware and ls meanL Lo serve noL as an endorsemenL of
any of Lhese sofLware packages by Lhe unlverslLy of Mlchlgan Llbrary buL as examples of whaL ls
avallable:
lree, Cpen-Source SofLware
o AudaclLy (hLLp://audaclLy.sourceforge.neL/) - deslgned Lo work across several dlfferenL
operaLlng sysLems, lncludlng Mac CS x, MlcrosofL Wlndows, and Llnux
o AvS Audlo LdlLor (hLLp://www.avs4you.com/AvS-Audlo-LdlLor.aspx) - a free audlo
edlLor for Wlndows
o ower Sound LdlLor lree (hLLp://www.free-sound-edlLor.com/feaLures.hLml) - a free
audlo edlLor for Wlndows
o Wavead Audlo LdlLlng SofLware (hLLp://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/lndex.hLml) -
works wlLh Wlndows and Mac CS
roprleLary SofLware
o Cakewalk's yro Audlo CreaLor 1.3 - $40
(hLLp://www.cakewalk.com/roducLs/AudloCreaLor/)
o 8las' SoundSaver - $40.93
(hLLp://www.blas-lnc.com/producLs/soundSaver/)
o 8las' SoundSoap 2 - $129
(hLLp://www.blas-lnc.com/producLs/soundSoap2/)
o locusrlLe's Safflre 6 - $200
(hLLp://www.focusrlLe.com/producLs/audlo_lnLerfaces/safflre_6_usb)
o resonus' Audlo8ox uS8 - $200
(hLLp://www.presonus.com/producLs/ueLall.aspx?roducLld=33)
o Avld's ro 1ools Mbox Mlnl - $330
(hLLp://www.avld.com/uS/producLs/ro-1ools-plus-Mbox-Mlnl)
o Adobe's AudlLlon 3 - $349
(hLLp://www.adobe.com/producLs/audlLlon/?promold=u!uvv)
o lZoLope's 8x 2 - $349
(hLLp://lzoLope.com/producLs/audlo/rx/)

- 6 -
Cverall, when creaLlng your own dlglLal audlo flles remember LhaL, whlle lL ls LempLlng Lo Lhlnk you need
Lhe absoluLe besL posslble dlglLal Lransfer ln Lerms of sampllng raLe and blL depLh, once you examlne
whaL sources you have and whaL your acLual needs are you may flnd LhaL sLandard, common formaLs
sulL your needs. ?ou should balance Lhe quallLy of your source audlo recordlngs, poLenLlal fuLure uses,
and ease of access. lor example, Lyplcal casseLLe recordlngs of spoken word wlll noL suffer from Lransfer
Lo a dlglLal form aL audlo Cu quallLy of 44.1 kPz/16 blLs. 1hls can be your masLer copy, and lL offers Lhe
added advanLage of allowlng Lhe dlrecL creaLlon of audlo Cus.


/010%23 B05("
?our dlglLal vldeo flles mlghL lnclude home movles, vacaLlons, lecLures, lnLervlews, or oLher lmporLanL
evenLs. As Lhey wlll have personal, flnanclal, educaLlonal, or oLher long-Lerm value, you wlll llkely wlsh Lo
keep Lhem for a long Llme.
ulglLal vldeo flles offer parLlcular problems compared Lo dlglLal phoLos or audlo flles. noL only are Lhey
frequenLly much larger Lhan lmages or audlo, Lhe encodlng formaLs for vldeo are far more compllcaLed
and change more qulckly Lhan lmages or audlo. !usL llke audlo flles, vldeo flles should be saved ln open"
and popular flle formaLs. uslng open or popular flle formaLs wlll ensure Lhe mosL flexlblllLy for fuLure use.
ln pracLlce, however, Lhls can be dlfflculL, as encodlng vldeo flles ln open formaLs ls noL always easy lf
your camera or vldeo edlLlng sofLware does noL allow for lL. ln general, open formaLs llke MLC-2
(.mpg, .mpeg) and MLC-4 (.mp4) are good cholces for your dlglLal vldeo flles.
./%0+)12 ;%&-& "0> %*/& <()($*+ /(<&0 3(+&.
?ou mlghL have dlglLal phoLographs on vldeo cameras, varlous compuLers, memory cards, uS8
sLlcks, and so on.
8e sure Lo lnclude vldeos you may have on Lhe Web.
3%&)/% ;%(4% /(<&0 -&40-<(1). %*/& +01)G$&-B /*+>& $0 "0>
SelecL Lhe vldeos you feel are lmporLanL.
lf you have dupllcaLes, you should save Lhe verslon LhaL ls Lhe hlghesL quallLy.
lf you edlL your own vldeos, you mlghL wlsh Lo save Lhe orlglnals, Lhe edlLed verslons, or boLh.
4,5#0)6% $%& .&+&4$&< /(<&0.
CollecL your vldeo flles LogeLher on one compuLer or exLernal hard drlve so you can work from a
slngle locaLlon
CreaLe a dlrecLory/folder sLrucLure on your hard drlve LhaL allows you Lo organlze your vldeos ln
a way LhaL makes sense Lo you. Some examples are:
o uaLe-based: 2003/10

- 7 -
o LvenL-based: vacaLlons/ulsney World 2003
o ComblnaLlon: 2003/10/ulsney World vacaLlon
Clve your flles descrlpLlve names
WrlLe a brlef descrlpLlon of Lhe dlrecLory sLrucLure and Lhe vldeo flles
o lf your flles are ln unpopular or older formaLs, you B()%$ conslder encodlng Lhem ln, or
converLlng Lhem Lo, a more open formaL such as M4 (suggesLed by Lhe Llbrary of
Congress), whlch has a wlde amounL of supporL. Some sofLware packages LhaL can help
you wlLh Lhls are:
! AvS vldeo ConverLer - free, open source
(hLLp://www.avs4you.com/AvS-vldeo-ConverLer.aspx)
! Any vldeo ConverLer ro - $30
(hLLp://www.any-vldeo-converLer.com/producLs/for_vldeo/)
! lm1CC vldeo ConverLer - $33
(hLLp://www.lmLoo.com/vldeo-converLer.hLml)
! AlmersofL vldeo ConverLer - $36
(hLLp://www.almersofL.com/vldeo-converLer.hLml)
! xlllsofL vldeo ConverLer - $40
(hLLp://www.xlllsofL.com/vldeo-converLer.hLml)
CreaLlng ulglLal vldeo llles
lf you declde Lo converL some of your analog vldeo maLerlals (vldeoLapes such as vPS or Pl8 or fllm reels)
lnLo dlglLal formaLs, you wlll cerLalnly wanL Lo follow Lhe Lhree-sLeps ouLllned above (ldenLlfy, ueclde,
and Crganlze) once Lhe flles are dlglLlzed on your compuLer Lo help you preserve Lhem lnLo Lhe fuLure.
Powever, when dlglLlzlng Lhese medla, you should keep a few exLra Lhlngs ln mlnd because, when
creaLlng vldeo flles yourself, you have more conLrol over Lhe Lechnlcal speclflcaLlons of recordlngs.
llrsL of all, lL's lmporLanL Lo recognlze LhaL dlglLal vldeo flles are, ln reallLy, separaLe audlo and vldeo blL
sLreams and have Lwo parLs, Lhe wrapper" LhaL conLalns Lhls audlo and vldeo daLa and Lhe codec," Lhe
40mpresslon-<&4ompresslon algorlLhm LhaL encodes Lhls daLa. 1here are slx prlmary characLerlsLlcs of
dlglLal vldeo flles, Lherefore, LhaL you should keep ln mlnd when creaLlng your own dlglLal vldeo: flle
formaL, sampllng raLe, blL depLh, frame raLe, frame slze, and aspecL raLlo.
1he followlng ls a brlef dlscusslon and summary of Lhese Lerms and how Lhey are relaLed Lo creaLlng
dlglLal vldeo. ?our own needs and lnLended use of your vldeo maLerlals lnfluence how much you wanL
Lo apply Lhese Lechnlcal speclflcaLlons, however, dolng so wlll help Lo ensure LhaL you wlll be able Lo use
and en[oy your dlglLal vldeos ln Lhe fuLure.
H(+& H0-B*$
As dlscussed prevlously, open formaLs are Lhe mosL deslrable cholce for preservlng all of your dlglLal flles,
vldeo maLerlals lncluded, alLhough popular proprleLary formaLs can also be reasonable opLlons lf you
have Lhe sofLware necessary Lo play Lhem.

- 8 -
8oLh MLC-2 and MLC-4 currenLly sLand as Lwo of Lhe besL opLlons for long-Lerm sLorage of dlglLal
vldeo flles because boLh are used for commerclal broadcasL and by governmenL lnsLlLuLlons llke Lhe
Llbrary of Congress, lncreaslng Lhe llkellhood LhaL Lhey wlll conLlnue Lo be preservable, vlable formaLs
long lnLo Lhe fuLure. CLher formaLs LhaL you mlghL wanL Lo conslder lnclude uv (ulglLal vldeo
Lncodlng, .dv), Avl (Audlo vldeo lnLerleaved, .avl), whlch ls Lhe defaulL Wlndows Medla wrapper, and
MCv (.mov), Lhe defaulL Culck1lme wrapper. AlLhough Lhe lasL Lwo of Lhese (Avl and MCv) are
proprleLary, boLh are accepLable cholces for dlglLal vldeo flles because Lhey are so wldely adopLed.
I*B=+(1) J*$&
AlLhough Lhe Lerm sampllng raLe" ls also used ln reference Lo dlglLal audlo flles, ln Lhe case of dlglLal
vldeo sampllng raLe, Lhe phrase means someLhlng a llLLle dlfferenL. ulglLal vldeo flles, ln LruLh, have Lwo
sampllng raLes:" a vldeo sample raLe and a color sample raLlo. ?our conLrol over Lhese sampllng raLes
wlll be qulLe llmlLed and usually dlcLaLed by your cholce of hardware, sofLware, or formaL.
undersLandlng Lhe deLalls of vldeo sample raLe and color sample raLlo, Lherefore, ls noL absoluLely
necessary when you are dlglLlzlng your own maLerlals, however, a brlef summary of whaL Lhese Lwo
Lerms mean follows ln order Lo clarlfy Lhe dlfference beLween Lhe Lwo.

1. vldeo Sample 8aLe
1hls Lerm refers Lo how ofLen Lhe llghL lnLenslLy of Lhe vldeo llnes ls sampled and ls measured ln
MPz. 1hese values can range from 6.73 MPz Lo 74.23 MPz, dependlng on a varleLy of facLors
such as Lhe dlglLal vldeo formaL lLself. ?ou won'L have Lo be Loo concerned wlLh Lhls sampllng
raLe," Lherefore, when dlglLlzlng your own vldeo maLerlals.
2. Color Sample 8aLlo
A dlglLal vldeo slgnal has Lhree componenLs: lumlnance or brlghLness (?') and Lwo chromlnance
or color values (C
8
and C
8
). uurlng dlglLlzaLlon Lhe encoder looks aL each group of four vldeo
plxels and Lakes samples for recordlng. 1he color sample raLlo" represenLs Lhe raLlo of Lhese
lumlnance plxels sampled Lo Lhe Lwo chromlnance plxels sampled, a raLlo of ?': C
8
: C
8
, ln oLher
words.

1hus, uslng 4:4:4 sampllng, may seem llke Lhe ldeal cholce for creaLlng hlgh quallLy dlglLal vldeo
flles. Powever, ln LruLh lL ls slmply noL a pracLlcal opLlon. uolng so wlll requlre expenslve
hardware and wlll creaLe huge flles. unless you know you need Lo have dlglLal flles LhaL surpass
currenL lndusLry sLandards, you are unllkely Lo see any beneflLs LhaL ouLwelgh Lhe paln of Lhe
process.

WlLh a 4:2:2 sampled vldeo slgnal, all four of Lhe lumlnance plxels are sampled, Lwo of Lhe C
8

plxels are sampled and Lwo C
8
plxels are sampled. A color sampllng raLlo of 4:2:2 ls common for
mosL professlonal formaLs, buL 4:1:1 sampllng ls a beLLer cholce for mosL needs. WlLh a 4:1:1
slgnal, all four of Lhe lumlnance plxels are sampled buL only one plxel ls sampled from each of C
8


- 9 -
and C
8
. 1hls lower sampllng raLe records less color lnformaLlon and affecLs Lhe accuracy and
lnLenslLy of Lhe color ln Lhe vldeo slgnal. 1he advanLage of 4:1:1 sampllng ls LhaL you can record
Lwlce as much as 4:2:2 uslng a glven amounL of sLorage, Lhough aL Lhe cosL of some loss of
quallLy. Some dlglLlzlng sysLems may noL offer Lhls as an opLlon, and your cholce of sampllng
raLlo may be llmlLed by Lhe formaL you use.

!($ '&=$% DK0+0- '&=$%E

1he number of blLs per sample deLermlnes how accuraLely lnformaLlon ls sLored wlLhln Lhe flle and ls
lndlcaLed by Lhe Lerm blL depLh" (or color depLh"). llles wlLh a blL depLh of 24-blLs (1ruecolor") are
recommended, alLhough a 16-blL color depLh (Plghcolor") ls Lhe mlnlmum sLandard you should use
when creaLlng your own dlglLal vldeo flles.

H-*B& J*$&
A dlglLal vldeo flle's frame raLe" refers Lo Lhe number of sLlll plcLures per unlL of Llme LhaL compose Lhe
vldeo sLream and ls measured ln frames per second (fps). Pumans can percelve abouL a maxlmum of 73
fps. eople vary ln Lhelr senslLlvlLy, buL sampllng done aL a hlgher raLe Lhan Lhls wlll noL be percepLlble
by mosL vlewers, and Lyplcally much lower values are flne. lor example, moLlon plcLures are recorded aL
24 fps, and vldeo ls recorded aL 23 fps (AL, Luropean sLandard) or 30 fps (n1SC, Amerlcan sLandard).
?our vldeo flles, Lherefore, should generally be aL a range of 23-30 fps.
ln mosL cases, you wlll wanL Lo keep Lhe frame raLe of your orlglnal vldeo. uslng a hlgher frame raLe wlll
noL geL you more lnformaLlon. uslng a lower frame raLe-whlch reduces your sLorage requlremenLs, buL
aL Lhe cosL of vldeo lnformaLlon-may be accepLable, dependlng on your conLenL and your needs.

H-*B& I(C& *1< M.=&4$ J*$(0

1. lrame Slze

1he frame slze" or resoluLlon" of a dlglLal vldeo measures Lhe slze of Lhe lmage ln plxels, and
when creaLlng a dlglLal vldeo flle, lL ls lmporLanL Lo keep Lhe resoluLlon of your orlglnal formaL ln
mlnd. use Lhe same frame slze as Lhe orlglnal whenever posslble/pracLlcal. ln general, larger
plcLure slzes are always preferred over smaller ones, alLhough Lhere wlll be no lmprovemenL ln
quallLy from uslng a frame slze larger Lhan Lhe orlglnal. When converLlng from one dlglLal formaL
Lo anoLher, malnLalnlng Lhe frame slze of Lhe orlglnal flle ls recommended, lf posslble.

When creaLlng a dlglLal vldeo flle from an analog source, be sure Lo keep Lhe resoluLlon of LhaL
formaL ln mlnd, because converLlng Lo a dlglLal verslon wlLh a much hlgher resoluLlon wlll noL
produce an equal lncrease ln quallLy. lor lnsLance, a Lyplcal vPS Lape has a sLandard resoluLlon
of 720 x 483. lf you converL Lhls Lo a dlglLal formaL and use an Pu" frame slze of 1920 x 1080,

- 10 -
Lhe resulLlng dlglLal vldeo won'L be hlgh deflnlLlon-quallLy. lL wlll slmply be a large flle wlLh
quallLy comparable Lo Lhe orlglnal analog formaL.

1herefore, when creaLlng a dlglLal vldeo flle, lL's lmporLanL Lo keep ln mlnd Lhe lnLended flle
formaL, Lype of conLenL ln Lhe flle, and lLs lnLended fuLure use. lor dlglLal vldeo flles, Lhe
followlng are sulLable recommendaLlons for resoluLlon.

lor Plgh ueflnlLlon
1920 x 1080
1280 x 720 (mlnlmum)

lor SLandard ueflnlLlon
720 x 480 plxels
640 x 480 plxels (mlnlmum)

1he followlng resoluLlons commonly ln use Loday mlghL beLLer lnform your declslons when
chooslng a frame slze for your own dlglLal vldeo flles and are provlded for reference:

1920 x 1080: 1080p." used for hlgh deflnlLlon broadcasLs and as Lhe resoluLlon for Lhe
'hlgh' proflle seLLlng ln MLC-2. ulffers from 1080l, whlch refers Lo Lwo 1920 x
340 flelds LhaL are lnLerlaced (comblned) Lo form a 1920 x 1080 lmage.

1280 x 720: 720p." used ln hlgh deflnlLlon broadcasLs.

720 x 483: SLandard componenL/composlLe. PlsLorlcally used for broadcasL
Lransmlsslons and for vPS Lapes, boLh n1SC and AL sLandards (Amerlcan and
Luropean, respecLlvely).

720 x 480: ulglLal SLandard ueflnlLlon. Commonly known as 480p or 480l lf lnLerlaced.
Also used as Lhe resoluLlon for Lhe 'maln' proflle seLLlng ln MLC-2.

332 x 240: used as Lhe 'low' level proflle seLLlng resoluLlon ln MLC-2.

2. AspecL 8aLlo

Also relaLed Lo a vldeo's resoluLlon/frame slze ls lLs aspecL raLlo. 1he aspecL raLlo" of a vldeo
refers Lo Lhe raLlo of Lhe wldLh Lo Lhe helghL. lor wldescreen" vldeo flles, an aspecL raLlo of
16:9 ls Lhe sLandard, whlle an aspecL raLlo of elLher 16:9 or 4:3 ls Lhe norm for SLandard
ueflnlLlon resoluLlons.

Cverall, when decldlng on a resoluLlon and aspecL raLlo for your own dlglLal vldeo flles, keep ln
mlnd Lhe resoluLlon and aspecL raLlo of your orlglnal source (wheLher lL's anoLher dlglLal flle or

- 11 -
an analog source llke a vPS Lape). uslng speclflcaLlons hlgher Lhan Lhose of your source won'L
creaLe hlgher quallLy flles, [usL larger ones LhaL wlll Lake up more sLorage space Lo keep.

I03$;*-& 30- '()($(C(1) N(<&0 6*$&-(*+.
1here ls a wlde varleLy of sofLware packages for vldeo recordlng and edlLlng avallable LhaL can help you
dlglLlze your vldeoLapes and fllm. uependlng on your parLlcular needs, dlfferenL sofLware wlll glve you
Lhe ablllLy Lo conLrol dlfferenL speclflcaLlons for Lhe flles you creaLe.
1he followlng ls a llsL of sample vldeo edlLlng sofLware and ls meanL Lo serve noL as an endorsemenL of
any of Lhese sofLware packages by Lhe unlverslLy of Mlchlgan Llbrary buL as examples of whaL ls
avallable:
lree, Cpen-Source SofLware
o Avldemux (hLLp://avldemux.sourceforge.neL/) - a free vldeo edlLor deslgned Lo funcLlon
on Mac CS x, MlcrosofL Wlndows, and Llnux operaLlng sysLems
o AvS vldeo LdlLor (hLLp://www.avs4you.com/AvS-vldeo-LdlLor.aspx) - a free vldeo
edlLor for Wlndows
o LlghLworks 8eLa (hLLp://www.llghLworksbeLa.com/) - a free, publlc verslon of Lhe
professlonal LlghLworks edlLlng sofLware, for Wlndows
o Cpen Movle LdlLor (hLLp://www.openmovleedlLor.org/) - a free vldeo edlLor for Llnux
roprleLary SofLware
o Sony's vegas Movle SLudlo Pu - $43
(hLLp://www.sonycreaLlvesofLware.com/movlesLudlohd)
o Cyberllnk's owerulrecLor 9 - $70
(hLLp://www.cyberllnk.com/producLs/powerdlrecLor/overvlew_en_uS.hLml)
o nero's MulLlmedla SulLe 10 - $70
(hLLp://www.nero.com/enu/nero10-overvlew.hLml)
o Adobe's remlere LlemenLs 9 - $100
(hLLp://www.adobe.com/producLs/premlereel/)
o Apple's llnal CuL Lxpress 4 - $100
(hLLp://www.apple.com/flnalcuLexpress/)
o 8oxlo's CreaLor 2011 - $100
(hLLp://www.roxlo.com/enu/producLs/creaLor/sulLe/overvlew.hLml)

Cverall, when creaLlng your own dlglLal vldeo flles remember LhaL, whlle lL ls LempLlng Lo Lhlnk you need
Lhe absoluLe besL posslble dlglLal Lransfer ln Lerms of sampllng raLe and blL depLh, once you examlne
whaL sources you have and whaL your acLual needs are you may flnd LhaL a sLandard, common formaL
sulLs your needs. ?ou should balance Lhe quallLy of your source recordlngs, poLenLlal fuLure uses, and
ease of access. lor example, Lyplcal vPS Lapes wlll noL suffer from Lransfer Lo a dlglLal form aL uvu
quallLy of 4:1:1/24 blLs. 1hls can be your masLer copy, and lL offers Lhe added advanLage of allowlng Lhe
dlrecL creaLlon of uvus.

- 12 -
&(')".23 C3(9%'".09 4203
!usL llke paper leLLers, your e-mall messages documenL evenLs, LransacLlons, and relaLlonshlps. Savlng an
e-mall lnvolves archlvlng lL ouLslde of your e-mall program or onllne e-mall provlder. 1hey are noL meanL
Lo keep lnformaLlon for a long Llme - Lhey can change or sLop provldlng supporL aL any Llme!
./%0+)12 *++ "0>- &B*(+ .0>-4&.
ldenLlfy each of your personal e-mall accounLs.
WlLhln each accounL, locaLe each folder, lncludlng archlved" messages LhaL mlghL be separaLe
from your lnbox.
3%&)/% ;%(4% B&..*)&. %*/& +01)G$&-B /*+>&
SelecL Lhe messages you feel are especlally lmporLanL.
8emember Lo lnclude Lhe aLLachmenLs LhaL are parL of your selecLlons.
78(',+ $%& .&+&4$&< B&..*)&.
Cnllne emall provlders do noL provlde Lhe same exporLlng funcLlonallLy as a sLandalone sofLware
on your personal compuLer. ?ou may need Lo lnvesLlgaLe addlng your onllne emall provlder Lo a
sLandalone sofLware llke MlcrosofL CuLlook, so LhaL lL downloads your onllne emall, whlch wlll
allow you Lo exporL Lhe messages.
use Lhe Save As" or LxporL" command ln your emall sofLware Lo exporL lndlvldual emalls as
LexL flles.
Save messages ln an open formaL, such as plaln LexL.
Save Lhe lnformaLlon abouL Lhe messages, such as Lhe header," whlch lncludes Lhe sub[ecL,
sender, reclplenL, and Lhe Llme and daLe of Lhe message.
4,5#0)6% $%& .*/&< B&..*)&.
Clve groups of messages, lndlvldual messages, and aLLachmenLs meanlngful names.
CreaLe a dlrecLory/folder sLrucLure on your hard drlve LhaL allows you Lo organlze your messages
ln a way LhaL makes sense Lo you.
WrlLe a brlef descrlpLlon of Lhe dlrecLory sLrucLure and Lhe message flles
CD2E=3( 50'(9%"'7 ."%()
1hls ls an example of a dlrecLory noLes flle for phoLographs, buL Lhe model can be applled Lo whaLever
you would llke. keeplng noLes abouL whaL ls ln each folder wlll allow you Lo more qulckly flnd whaL you
are looklng for ln Lhe fuLure:
\2009
\10: New York City vacation; Karens 12
th
birthday party; washing the dog
\11: Cats doing funny things; people downtown; first snowfall
\12: Christmas; Charlie with Santa

- 13 -
\2010
\01: New Years Party; dog outside in snow
\02: Kids playing with toys; HUGE snowfall
\03: Dinner with grandma and grandpa; portraits of friends
\04: First flowers blooming; ice cream with kids
-.30.( F93",5G ;29<,= )"3,%0".)
9:%")0/%,; 3' 2'<, ,%*%#,&- =%1',% 2'< &-''*% ', <*% #0 '0>)0% =#&$<( *'><+)'0?@
K0BB&-4(*+
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uropbox 8aslc (hLLp://www.dropbox.com)
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lurlve 8aslc (hLLp://www.ldrlve.com/)
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