Like analog audio formats, analog video formats are all but obsolete and magnetic tape is prone to physical deterioration over time. More contemporary digital video media has proven to be fragile, and the formats will inevitably become obsolete as well. By transferring video recordings to digital video files, it is possible to preserve the recorded content and enhance access to media-rich collections.

Also, as time goes by, older or more professional-aimed formats are getting harder to reproduce since its playback equipment is getting obsolete and its manufacturers are stopping support or exiting business entirely.

In Realiscape Typorama, the equipment and archival methodologies we use, differ entirely from the simple "any-player-to-a-video-card" practice that most of the consumer service shops follow.

We own and use broadcast quality equipment by world leading manufactures such as Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Snell & Wilcox, Audio Kinetics, Dolby Laboratories, Siemens, BlackMagic and we cooperate with specialized electronic technicians and engineers to keep all this equipment to as-new state so it can reproduce the best picture and sound quality in full glory.

Adhering to the "garbage in - garbage out" principle, we pay extreme caution in keeping the analog signal as close to the original recording as possible, before digitization. We resynchronize the frames using a variety of Time Base Correctors (depending on the source's nature) and, if needed, we apply basic color grading in the analog path. We can transcode between PAL and Secam formats, apply time codes, transcode from and to several frame rates, and we can also decode Dolby A recordings ―all of the above using specialized hardware. We even build all the cabling required for signal distribution from scratch, following international specifications. 

Realiscape Typorama has the capability to reformat the following video media and digitize them using its own equipment:

• Betacam SP
• Video 2000
• VHS & sVHS
• Video 8 (8mm)
• DVCAM, DV, miniDV & HDV
• DVD
• Digital Betacam
• 1inch type c open video reel
• U-matic (lowband  - highband and SP)
• MII

By the time being, all other formats are reformatted by outside vendors.

Export digital video formats are varying, depending on the end-use context or delivery system.