October 25, 2021Film Transfer, Shop News, UncategorizedBy Scott Sargent

Koko the Gorilla MiniDV Tapes Converted to mp4 Files

Over 100 MiniDV Tapes Digitized to HD mp4 Files for a Gorilla Preservation Foundation

AV Workshop recently digitized a remarkable archive of MiniDV tapes for The Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, California. These tapes featured Koko – a gorilla who gained the attention of the world for her use of sign language, love of painting, and friendship with kittens. The Gorilla Foundation worked with Koko to conduct the longest running study on an animal’s capability to use and understand sign language. AV Workshop carefully captured each MiniDV tape and output them to High Definition (1280×720 60p) mp4 Files. Now, the tapes are preserved forever and can be edited for future projects!

Our MiniDV to Digital mp4 File Conversion Process:

1) Digital Capture (Lossless)
We capture MiniDV, DV, HDV, DVCAM and DVCPro directly into our Video Editing System through a lossless Firewire connection.

2) Quality Control

MiniDV tapes can be tricky since there are various types of tapes, recording speeds, etc… Therefore, we carefully analyze each tape when we start capturing to ensure the video is crisp and the audio is clean. When MiniDV tapes are recorded in certain modes (such as LP) we often find that they will suffer from dropout and warped audio in some camcorders. Thus, we check every tape and make adjustments to the playback source as needed.

3) Video Editing
After capture we trim out the beginning and end of every video to remove unwanted dead air. This way, you receive only the recorded portion of your tapes.

4) High Definition Upres 720 60p

MiniDV tapes are typically Standard Definition 720x480i (interlaced 30fps). Interlaced refers to video having two separate fields (even and odd) which blend together to create the entire frame. Have you ever noticed horizontal lines running through your old videos? This is because interlacing is often visible. One way we can help enhance the appearance of your old videos is to output them to High Definition mp4 files. When we upres video to 1280×720 60p we can make each separate field a frame. This helps to reduce the horizontal lines and smooth the edges of the images on the video. As an added bonus, 720 60p is a standard HD format that will play everywhere including MAC, Windows, Smart TVs, computers and can be uploaded and played at 720 60p on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, etc…