Archive for March, 2011

« Older Entries

Netflix Competes For Rights To First-Run Show

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Netflix Looks To Nab Streaming Rights Rights For ‘House Of Cards’

The DVD-Rental And Content-Streaming Giant May Begin To Offer Original Content

Netflix, the largest provider of DVD rentals and live-streaming movies and TV shows in the United States, is reportedly vying to purchase the streaming rights to an original television series called “House of Cards.” According to Deadline.com, the cable networks HBO and AMC have also placed bids for the show, but Netflix is muscling out the competition with its deep pockets, reportedly offering $100 million for exclusive rights to stream the 26-episode drama series starring Kevin Spacey and directed by The Social Network’s David Fincher. Such a deal would be a first for Netflix; the company has never been involved in first-run content, but instead has provided its millions of subscribers with on-demand access to digital video transfers titles already available on DVD and Blu-ray.

This move would put Netflix in direct competition with cable television. It is no surprise that Netflix is pursing such an ambitious deal right now, as several of the company’s content providers are reportedly threatening to pull out of streaming deals because online streaming generates less revenue than disc sales and cable television syndication. Netflix appears to be following in the footsteps of premium cable networks like HBO and Showtime, which got their start airing only full-length movies produced by other studios. The first of these was HBO, which got its start in the late 1970s when the idea of “premium” TV content was new. Eventually, as competition in the pay-TV sector heated up, HBO made the move into original programming in order to make a name for itself as a provider of unique content. Obviously, that plan has worked, and other premium networks such as Showtime and Starz have also produced (or at least acquired exclusive rights for) their own content.

Netflix now finds itself in a similar position to the one HBO faced decades ago. Once the only game in town, Netflix now faces serious competition from other streaming services such as Hulu and Amazon Instant Video, which offer variations on Netflix’s theme of digital video transfer streaming. According to Netflix, which only began streaming content to non-PC devices in 2008, streaming now makes up the majority of the company’s once-DVD-dominated service. Most of the 20,000 titles in Netflix’s streaming library are older movies and TV shows, and the fight for fresh content will certainly have an affect on the future of Netflix and its competition. Will Netflix be the next HBO? With 20 million subscribers and counting, it seems possible.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Photo Scanning | 3 Comments »

Customer Testimonials: “I had a wonderful experience with ScanDigital!”

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

To assure we’re doing our job right, we follow up with every customer after their order is complete. If there’s ever any issue, we address it immediately. Most of the time however, we receive rave reports. On behalf of the ScanDigital team, I’d like to say “Thank You” to our amazing customers. We’re truly flattered to know you are happy and honored to have been trusted with your family’s precious memories. Please find a sampling of the testimonials below that we’ve recently received.

If you’d like to hear more from our customers, you are welcome to visit our Testimonial page. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, you can always find us here on Twitter and Facebook, by email at info@scandigital.com or by phone at 888.333.2808 if you have any questions or just want to chat!

“I had a wonderful experience with ScanDigital!  I entrusted my most precious memories, some of my aunt’s old 8 mm movies from the 1930’s and 40’s, and you did a beautiful job putting them on CD’s. I am extremely likely to use your services again.  I have more DVDs to convert as well as many pictures I’d like to do. I most heartily recommend your services to my friends and family members.  My daughter was the one who was instrumental in convincing me to try your services and she was very impressed and stated she will also use your services in the future. Thank you.” Alexis – VA

“Thank you for the opportunity to express my thanks to the person who worked with me. It was a wonderful experience for me. Yes indeed I would be glad to recommend you. Thank you once again – I love looking at the DVDS.” Janet – FL

“HAVE ALREADY RECOMMENDED YOUR SERVICE.  I AM COLLECTING MORE PICTURES TO SEND.  THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT WORK.” Rose – TX

“Great service – I have used ScanDigital 3 times and was pleased with each order.” Lizabeth – CA

“I am extremely happy with my scanned pictures! Thanks.” Erica – MA

“I have appreciated your service, and have recommended to my father– who has volumes and volumes of archived slides and films.” George – TN

“We loved the services. My father received the certificates from me as a gift. Thanks again.” William – FL

“I was very pleased with both of the videos I had converted by ScanDigital. I would definitely use the service again and have already recommended it to other people.  I really like your order tracking system and liked that I could see at every point exactly where my video was.  I must admit that I wasn’t quite clear at the outset on how much video conversion was going to cost, but I felt that the final price was reasonable.” Mark – CA

“I was very happy with my ScanDigital order. I sent you three carousels of slides and got back this lovely DVD. I will definitely recommend you to friends and have already done so.I loved the ability to track the progress of my job. I’m sure that I’ll send other photos to send. Thanks for asking.” Liz – MD

“The quality is great.  The communication process was easy and helpful (quickly answered my questions, helped me figure everything out).  It was great to be able to track the order on line.”  Julie – MA

“Looking through old photos on-line and knowing they are safe from fire/flood/etc.(gas line explosion!) is well worth the price. I would definitely use you again. Thanks!!!” Carrie – CA

Yes, I would recommend ScanDigital to my friends because it is a good way to preserve those precious memories formatted in tape and film.” Gwen – TX

I like how your website helped me to keep track of the order. I think your staff did a good job scanning the photos. I just sent a second batch of materials off last week. I will use the service again. I will recommend to others because the quality of the scans were good, and you took good care of my materials. The pricing options were easy to understand.” Alice – MD

I used your company for a Christmas present to my family. We all loved being able to reminisce with old video of our past. I will definitely use you again. Otherwise they just sit in a box in the basement never to be seen because we don’t have a player anymore to view them with. I have already given your name to a few friends. Thanks.” Kim – MD

“First I want to thank you for the opportunity.  I was very pleased with what I received from your company.  I sent out many negatives. Thanking you in advance.” Jill – MO

“Thank you for helping preserve our memories in digital form. Thank you!” Seema – CA

“CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INDIVIDUAL CARE. I MUST SAY THAT THE CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM DID A GREAT JOB IN EXPEDITING MY ORDER IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH!!” Teresa – NC

“I especially like the fact that this is a US company and I am not shipping my memories overseas.” Nicole – CA

“Thank you for inquiring about my customer satisfaction!  This is my second set of orders having been very pleased with the first round of results. I am very likely to use your service again  I would definitely recommend the service to friends and family members. I was pleased with the overall quality of care taken with our old, fragile memories. The pricing options were easy to understand. I have contacted customer service via email several times and always get a quick and courteous helpful response, which is great. Thank you!” Jennifer – MD

Tags: ,
Posted in Photo Scanning | 1 Comment »

Paramount’s ‘Rango’ Is A Hit With Viewers, Critics

Monday, March 28th, 2011

‘Rango’ Is Old West Fun For The Whole Family

Stellar Animation And Superb Voice Acting Set ‘Rango’ Apart

If you haven’t heard much about “Rango,” you will soon. It’s turning out to be one of this winter’s must-see movies for viewers of all ages. Just released last week, Rango has been a huge hit among critics, who can’t get enough of the film’s fun mash-up of contemporary family comedy and Old West culture. The story follows a domesticated chameleon who finds himself out of his element in the Old West town of Dirt. Check out the digital video transfer embedded below and the first thing you’ll notice is the absolutely stunning computer animation. These days, the animation gurus at Pixar and DreamWorks set the bar pretty high, and audiences are used to seeing levels of detail that were unimaginable just a few years ago. For “Rango,” Paramount outsourced the animation to the famed visual effects house Industrial Light & Magic, which was originally set up by George Lucas to handle special effects for the original Star Wars films. “Rango” is ILM’s first full-length animated feature, but it certainly won’t be the last – the visuals are simply breathtaking.

Of course, animation alone isn’t what makes “Rango” a winner. There is also the magnificently witty and imaginative screenplay by John Logan, known for his somewhat heavier subject matter in films like “Gladiator” and “The Last Samurai.” Add to that director Gore Verbinski from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and his “Pirates” cohorts James Ward Byrkit (conceptual artist) and Mark “Crash” McCreery (visual effects) and you have a veritable dream team behind the scenes. The cast is equally star-studded, as “Rango” features the voices of some of the best character actors in the business: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, and Stephen Root, to name a few.

Each of the above actors gives a vibrant performance that transports viewers in a way that many animated films fail to achieve. Most voice acting is done in the isolation of sound booths, but director Gore Verbinski decided to put his actors in costume and on sets, so that their performances could benefit from real connection, interaction, and improvisation. This turned out to be a very smart move, as the voice acting in “Rango” is full of life and sparkle, and totally transcends the disconnect that often plagues the genre.

We’re not fans of movie reviews that reveal too much of the story, but feel free to watch the digital video transfer of the trailer below, or check out http://www.rangomovie.com/ for more information. Better yet, go see the movie! You’ll be glad you did.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Photo Scanning | No Comments »

New Video Towers!

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

We all have old video tapes with special footage from past family vacations and birthday celebrations stored away somewhere. And our ScanDigital team works hard to transform those tapes into DVDs for preservation. ScanDigital’s Video Transfer service handles VHS, VHS-C, BetaMax, Hi8, MiniDV and Digital 8 and will put your memories on DVD for you to enjoy them anytime you’d like.

Once digital, there are endless ways to enjoy your video footage. You will be able to watch your home movies on the computer or through any DVD player, edit the film through computer software, post your videos online to share with loved ones, backup your DVD with an external hard drive and easily make copies to give as gifts to friends and family.

Our Video Transfer service is actually getting so popular, thanks to our amazing customers of course, that we had to add new video towers to our facility this week! Check out Richard, one of our Video Technicians installing one of the new towers here to the left.

As we always say, we wouldn’t be growing so fast if it weren’t for our amazing customers. Thank you all so much for trusting us with your memories and allowing us to help preserve and protect them.

If you’re interested in getting your videos transferred to DVD, learn more here. If you have any questions feel free to email us at info@scandigital.com.

You can also visit us on Twitter and Facebook anytime!

Tags:
Posted in Photo Scanning | 1 Comment »

March Organizing Tips

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Bringing order to any area of your home, work or life will involve changing habits and behaviors that have caused the chaos. Here are some practical steps you can take to help you when the prospect of making those changes feels overwhelming.

March Organizing Tips

1)  Accept that change can be a good thing, even if it feels uncomfortable. Resisting change that needs to happen will only make it harder to deal with in the long run.

2)     Maintain a positive outlook. Your attitude towards change will be major contributor to how you handle it. You don’t have to like change, but to make it happen anyway, you do need to be able to deal with it despite how you feel.

3)     Write down your fears and what might be holding you back from making changes. What’s the worst that could happen? Then write down what some of the best outcomes of the change might be.

4)     Be as prepared as you can be for upcoming change. Make plans, research options, and ask for help if you need it. Having someone you trust be your accountability partner can help you do what you say you will do.

5)     Know that change is a process. Accept upfront that there will aspects of change that you might not be able to control. You don’t have to know exactly how everything will work out in order to get started.

6)     Be patient with yourself. Practice just one or two new habits at a time. It’s too much to try and change everything all at once.  When you slip back into old habits, get back on track as soon as you can.

7)     Be willing to step out of your comfort zone. Be open to a new way of thinking or doing things. Keep in mind why you are making changes and keep putting one foot in front of the other towards those goals.

Contact Jodie Watson:

If you have any questions, would like to schedule a professional organizing telephone consultation, or would like Jodie Watson to speak at your next corporate function, group meeting, social event, or retreat, call at (818) 590-7800. You can also contact Jodie on Facebook and Twitter or visit her website at Supreme Organization.

Tags: ,
Posted in Photo Scanning | No Comments »

« Older Entries