In a quiet studio on Bridge Street, the Grand Rapids Community Media Center’s GRTV is making it easier for the community to save its stories — one tape, photo, or film reel at a time.
A year after launching its Media Preservation Suite, GRTV has expanded the community digitization service with two major equipment upgrades: a high-resolution Epson Perfection V600 photo scanner and a new analog-to-digital setup featuring a time base corrector and a Blackmagic Design UltraStudio 4K Mini interface.
The new tools bring professional-level digitization within reach for individuals, nonprofits and local institutions. The photo scanner handles everything from negatives to posters at archival quality, while the upgraded video equipment stabilizes analog footage and captures it uncompressed — the gold standard for long-term preservation.
“The addition of the professional-grade scanner and the archive-quality video digitization tools is a game-changer,” GRTV Station Manager Ted Diedrich said. “Nonprofits and community members in Grand Rapids now have access to digitization tools that normally cost thousands of dollars or require sending fragile originals through the mail.
“Whether it’s capturing every detail in a historic photo or stabilizing and preserving analog footage in uncompressed formats, these tools make high-end preservation accessible.”
Since January, GRTV has helped users preserve more than 250 hours of footage, completed 100 reservations and trained nearly 30 new Grand Rapids Community Media Center members to use the digitization equipment.
The suite remains open to all GRCMC all-access members who complete a one-time certification class. The training — a focused, 30- to 60-minute session — covers equipment operation and best practices for digital preservation. Certification costs $40, plus a $40 annual membership fee.
Once certified, members can reserve the suite at no extra cost or request staff-led digitization services starting at $25. The Media Preservation Suite is open by appointment from noon to 8 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, at 711 Bridge St. NW.
Reservations and training signups are available at grcmc.org/media-preservation-services.
