Professional Media and Film Digitization Services for Archives
From a single reel to a million feet.
For universities, libraries, museums, municipalities, studios, and nonprofits with film, tape, photo, or audio collections. Start with a call or a short note about your archive, and we survey it and send a custom, itemized quote. Every item is handled in-house in Orange, California, and never sent overseas.
A dedicated department for institutions since 2001. One team, one facility, one chain of custody.
Media digitization services for archives, at a glance.
Legacy Digital Productions provides professional film, video, photo, and audio digitization services for institutional archives: universities, libraries, museums, municipalities, studios, and nonprofits. To start, tell us about your collection; we survey it, send a custom itemized quote, and handle every item in-house in Orange, California, with one chain of custody and delivery as server-based files, drives, DVD, or Blu-ray.
- Who we serve
- Universities, libraries, museums, municipalities, studios, teams, and nonprofits
- Formats
- Film, video tape, photos, slides, negatives, audio, and documents
- How to start
- Call or write about your collection; we survey it and quote
- Pricing
- Custom, itemized quote after a survey of the collection
- Chain of custody
- Every item logged, tracked, and returned
- Delivery
- Server-based files, drives, DVD, or Blu-ray
Digitization Services for Universities, Libraries and Museums
Our institutional department serves collections that run from thousands to millions of feet of film, tape, and paper. Find the one that fits you.
Why Digital Archive Conversion Matters
An archive that cannot be searched cannot be used. Analog collections keep decaying whether or not anyone opens them. Digitizing turns a shelf of aging reels and boxes into files that are preserved, retrievable in seconds, and ready to share.
Preservation
Film shrinks and grows brittle, tape sheds, paper yellows. A preservation-grade digital master stops the clock.
Access and search
Server-based files can be catalogued, searched, and pulled up in seconds instead of hunted for in a storage room.
Sharing
A game, a lecture, or a founding-era photo set can be shared with students, members, media, or the public.
Insurance against loss
A fire or flood can erase a physical archive. Digital masters kept in more than one place cannot be lost the same way.
Film, Video, Photo and Audio Digitization for Archives
Every format under one roof. Mixed archives are our specialty. One vendor, one chain of custody, one combined delivery.
Why Institutions Choose Legacy Digital
A transfer is only worth doing once, so it has to be done at the quality the material deserves, by people who are accountable for every item.
- Film captured frame by frame in true HD 1080p or 2K on industrial equipment developed for the Motion Picture Academy
- Scene-by-scene color correction and grain reduction on our premium levels
- Cold LED light, no projector, and no toothed sprockets touching your film
- Low-compression video capture, monitored in real time rather than run unattended in racks
- MP4 for everyday viewing, or MOV, ProRes, image sequences, and uncompressed masters for preservation
Everything stays in-house
Your collection is digitized by our own team in Orange, California. We never subcontract and never send an archive out of the United States.
A chain of custody you can audit
Items are logged in, tracked through the lab, and returned. Across more than a million reels, we have never lost one.
A single point of contact
Scott is personally involved in the work, and local institutions often meet him directly. You deal with people, not a ticket queue.
Delivered for access
DVD, Blu-ray, or server-based files, named and grouped to match your collection, so your team can actually use the archive.
How Film Archive Digitization Works
Survey and inventory
Tell us roughly what you have. We assess formats and volume, then provide a clear, itemized quote and timeline.
Pilot batch
For large archives we can start with a pilot so your team approves quality and workflow first.
Digitize with custody tracking
Items are logged, digitized in-house at preservation quality, and tracked through every step.
Deliver, catalogued
Files on server media, drives, DVD, or Blu-ray, organized so the archive is searchable and usable.
Every shipment is logged the day it arrives at our Orange, California office.
Originals and digital files go back with tracking, so custody never breaks.
Institutions That Trust Legacy Digital
Trusted with irreplaceable collections. A sample of the institutions and productions that have chosen Legacy Digital.
We also converted media used in the Spielberg documentary and in Lucy and Desi.
Our Satisfaction Guarantee
We stand behind every transfer we perform. If you're unhappy with the quality of our work, we'll make every reasonable effort to make it right, at no additional charge. And if another professional service can produce a visibly better transfer from the same originals, we'll match their quality or refund what you paid us for the affected transfer.
See Our Full Satisfaction Guarantee →Media Digitization Services Questions
What do your media digitization services include?
Film, every video tape format, photographs, slides, negatives, documents, x-rays, and audio, converted in-house with one chain of custody, organized to match your catalog, and delivered as server-based files, drives, DVD, or Blu-ray.
How does pricing work for a large archive digitization project?
Large and mixed-format collections get a custom, itemized quote after we survey them. Our standard per-item media rates are the starting point, so budgeting is clear. We do not offer bulk-rate discounts, and every line is itemized.
Where is our film archive digitized?
Entirely in-house at our Orange, California facility. We never subcontract, and an institution's archive is never sent out of the United States.
Can you handle a mixed archive of film, tape, photos, and paper?
Yes. We handle film, every video tape format, photographs, slides, negatives, documents, x-rays, and audio, with one chain of custody and one organized delivery.
Can we start with a pilot before committing the whole collection?
Yes. For large archives we can run a pilot batch so your team approves quality and workflow before the full project begins.
What file formats do digital archive conversions deliver?
DVD, Blu-ray, or server-based media files. For film, that includes MP4, MOV, ProRes, image sequences, or uncompressed masters, organized so your collection is searchable and retrievable.
Can you match our file naming and catalog structure?
Yes. We name and group the delivered files to mirror your collection's existing structure, so the digital archive stays organized the way your team expects.
How do you keep chain of custody for an archive?
Every item is logged at intake and tracked through the lab, and the work is done only by our own team. Across more than a million reels handled, we have never lost an item.
How long does film archive digitization take?
It depends on the size and mix of the collection. After the survey we give you a scoped timeline, and a pilot batch can come first.
Do we get a dedicated point of contact?
Yes. You work with people, not a ticket queue. Scott is personally involved in institutional projects, and local institutions often meet him directly.
Do you digitize archives for institutions outside Southern California?
Yes. Organizations anywhere in the country can ship their collections to us. Call us and we will talk through the logistics for your archive.
Other questions? Call us at (888) 405-2685. A real person answers, 7AM to 7PM, 7 days a week.
Analog media does not pause for a budget cycle.
Tell us what you have, even roughly. We will survey the collection, give you a clear, itemized quote, and you decide from there.
202 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite A, Orange, CA 92865
Walk-ins Mon to Fri, 8AM to 4PM
Evenings and weekends by appointment
Phones answered 7AM to 7PM, 7 days a week
