DVS - New Media and Technologies

DSI President - Working to Improve Business Climate in West Michigan

Late last year the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference was held from which came several key directives.  Over 600 business and community leaders from throughout the region came together and overwhelmingly voted the elimination of the MBT as the No. 1 priority.  As the President of DSI, I have become involved in the task force that has been formed to focus on that directive.

Quoting the governance document for the task force:  “Michigan needs a business tax climate that levels the playing field with the states we are competing with for jobs and investment.  The MBT, with its crippling impact on credit, broad interpretive Treasury powers and punishing surcharge (“tax on a tax”) not only misses the mark but also stacks the deck against Michigan business.”

I encourage you, also, to be involved in the initiatives that are under way to improve our business climate here in Western Michigan.  You can find more information on this important issue at the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce or feel free to contact me, Don Schaafsma, at don@digitalservicesinc.com

Check out the DVS Ad in Dove Foundation's new Making Movies in Michigan publication

If you have not seen it yet, be sure to see the new publication from the Dove Foundation, titled Making Movies in Michigan.  This publication showcases the many financial and cultural advantages of making movies in Michigan.

AV Asset Management - Part I: Physical Container Formats

Professional audio-visual asset management was simpler - in the analog age. 

In the analog age, which I define as pre-2005, the number of physical audio-visual Container formats was easily manageable for two primary reasons.  First, there were not so many of them.  Second, each physical Container only held one (1) type of content.

For now let's focus on my first point, the rapidly increasing number of physical professional audio-visual Container formats.  Ever find yourself saying, "It used to be easy" all you had to do was say "Give it to me on Betacam!"  Think about it, before the switch to digital formats most worldwide professional video production was done on this one format.  How easy was that!

To illustrate, let's list the typical professional container formats, from the analog age:

   1. Celluloid Film
         1. 16mm
         2. 35mm
   2. Magnetic Tape
         1. Audio cassettes
         2. 2" Audio / Videotape
         3. 1" Audio / Videotape
         4. 3/4" Audio / Videotape
         5. 1/2" Audio / Videotape
         6. 1/4" Audiotape

Now compare the list when we add today's digital container formats:

   1. Celluloid Film
         1. 16mm
         2. 35mm
   2. Magnetic Tape
         1. Audio cassettes
         2. 2" Audio / Videotape
         3. 1" Audio / Videotape
         4. 3/4" Audio / Videotape
         5. 1/2" Audio / Videotape
         6. 1/4" Audio / Videotape
   3. Magnetic Disk
         1. Minidisc
         2. SyQuest Disk
         3. Magnetic Hard Drives
   4. Optical Disc
         1. Laser Disc
         2. Magneto-optical
         3. CD
         4. DVD
         5. Blu-ray / HD DVD
         6. Holographic
   5. Solid State Devices
         1. USB Flash Drive
         2. PCMCIA
         3. CompactFlash
         4. SmartMedia Card
         5. Memory Stick Card
         6. MultiMedia Card / Secure Digital Card
         7. SxS Cards
         8. P2 Cards

This list does not delve into the myriad of variables that each format offers, but I trust my main point is understood.  There are substantially more physical container formats to deal with in today's professional audio-visual library. 

In my next post I will explain my second point: "...each physical Container typically only held one (1) type of content."

DVS Gives Away an iPOD at SummerFest 2009

And the winner is... Lindsey Riley of Corporate Funding, Inc., in the SummerFest '09 iPod drawing. 

Congratulations Lindsey!

DVS Creative Division Launched

DVS is proud to announce the launch of DVS Creative.  DVS Creative is the newest division of Digital Services, Inc. and a sister company to DVS, the duplication service bureau that started it all in 1993. Over the years the creative side of DVS grew so much that we decided to let it borrow the car keys and go for a spin. See how fast it can go at: www.dvscreative.com

 

SummerFest '09 Party at DVS

Thursday, May 28th was a great day to be at DVS as we kicked off summer with the 2nd annual SummerFest celebration.  From 11am to 7pm (ok, actually didn't get everyone out till much later...) the joint was packed with clients enjoying GR Coney Girl coney dogs, Maggie Moo's ice cream, and Oberon beer.  Tours were taken, new gear shown, and the words "I didn't realize you also did that..." were heard frequently.

Last years party featured DVS' new HD Edit Suite and 4 Color Direct to Disc Digital Printing System.  This year the party was the stage for exposing our sister division Pelco Solutions, and announcing the launch of DVS Creative, the newest division. 

Learn more about Pelco Solutions web application and website development abilities by visiting its website:  www.pelcosolutions.com

Learn more about DVS Creative's media production abilities by visiting its website: www.dvscreative.com

Now on to the pictures!

 

Maybe we will see you here next year!