iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Just found out our driving plates were used on Novocaine! We don’t always know because companies can buy them off Pond5. But way cool! drivingfootage.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Out of the 3 models of Hi8 that support 4 channels of audio (used heavily in education, military and industrial settings), the EVO-9720 is incredibly handy, with 2 fully independent decks in one! Only challenge is monitoring the audio — why I need an inline dual monitor.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I’ve taken so many U-Matic videotapes apart for repair that our daughter uses them for crafts! She removes the spools and replaces them with LED lights. Makes a great holiday gift for any editors around in the 80’s-90’s!

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

One of my biggest passions is preserving historical archives before they pass into oblivion! Currently transferring some 60+ year old audio reels with my trusty Otari MX5050. archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Just my S-Video modded U-Matic decks cranking on a job for AFI. They’re so happy with us that they made us their preferred vendor! September promo: Refer us to an archive of 40 or more U-Matic tapes they save 10% and you keep 20%! archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Just me with long hair playing on CityTV’s Breakfast Television in Toronto, 1992.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Another million view month on Threads! I guess lots must love old music, movies, behind the scenes content, vintage machines and dancing in musicals as much as I do!

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Killer prices on ultra low hours professionally serviced decks! Sony J-30SDI Digital Betacam NTSC/PAL with only *3* drum hours, $1,399. Sony DSR-2000 DVCAM NTSC with *53* drum hours - only deck ever made that can play DV LP (long play) tapes, $899. Free delivery in LA, or can ship anywhere.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

That’s a wrap on my 16th multicam shoot day, last on this job! 85 instructional videos averaging 30 mins edited with titles, music and review passes. Now on to the next big thing!

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Cameras set for multicam shoot day 16 of the summer! Will likely be my last one for a while as this is a wrap for my 2 summer clients, and fall/winter is busier for my post-production related businesses.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The AB2319 post-production tax credit and federal tax credit are MASSIVE. Can’t possibly understate this. All my businesses directly or indirectly depend on domestic production, and reports say this will DOUBLE with the new incentives. 2027 here we come! www.instagram.com/reel/Ddg3iBX...

instagram.com

Instagram

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Always amazed how much gear I can fit on a single dolly load! 15th multicam shoot for this summer… 16th and final is tomorrow.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

On U-Matic archives of 2,000+ tapes, we’ll beat any competing quote by 5%, and do FREE hand delivery anywhere in the continental US! U-Matic is our specialty, not just a side format like it is at many other transfer shops. archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

September only! Refer a U-Matic archive of 40 tapes or more, and we’ll give them 10% off and you a 20% finder’s fee. archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Jason Fisher at @stagerunner.bsky.social has some compelling arguments on why Paramount’s never going to move, despite Ellison’s loud bluffs: www.instagram.com/reel/Ddbtlln...

instagram.com

Instagram

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Fun fact: in 2021 we captured 14,000 videotapes in 10 weeks flat from our home office! We took delivery of 3 tons of tapes every 2 weeks. We captured from 19 machines at once, 100+ hours/week to get it done. archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The Magnetic Media Crisis is very real! We are just a few years away from the extinction of magnetic media. That’s why I published a book on it! captureifyoucan.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Federal tax credit is a MASSIVE deal. MPA estimates it will literally double production. DOUBLE. Our industry needs this yesterday. www.instagram.com/reel/DdWeZNp...

instagram.com

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The 77-pound Sony DVW-A500 Digital Betacam / DigiBeta is a beast to ship! But we ship dozens of decks per year (sometimes over 100) so we know how to ship them right. avgearguy.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Tired of the doom and gloom? Here’s a super positive outlook on LA’s prospects in the coming years! www.instagram.com/reel/DdPY0MV...

instagram.com

Instagram

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Fun fact: it’s not uncommon for a client to want 2 or even 3 versions of the same videotape transfer! We can do them at the same time. 1) ProRes 1080p up-convert using Teranex 2) ProRes native protection master 3) H264 shareable version archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

What makes our transfer company different is that we scale to meet the needs of large archives. A nonprofit came to us with 8,000 DVCPro tapes and 6,000 BetaSP tapes. Most transfer shops would have taken 12-18 months. We bought enough machines to do it in 10 weeks flat! archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Throwback to cool music video of our son we did in the living room about 15 years ago! youtu.be/b7uexmM9p_Y?...

youtu.be

Are You Wasted - 'Bleed On Me' Music Video

YouTube video by GrayJones

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

How to get a zero net cost rental! Works for anything that appreciates over time, like videotape decks or many guitars. Buy it at a fair used price. Use it. Then do really great pictures & description & sell it for the original price or higher! Why pay to rent, when you could get it free?

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Fun fact! This SRW-5500 HDCAM SR deck used to be sold for around $100,000. HDCAM SR was an amazing but short-lived format, because the only factory that made the tapes was wiped out by the 2011 tsunami in Japan. This greatly accelerated the move to tapeless & prompted many to switch to DVCProHD.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Our September U-Matic promo pays big with larger archives! Roughly $10 per tape as a finder’s fee. Beverly Hills High School had 2,000 U-Matic tapes. If you had referred that school to us you would’ve gotten a $20,000 finder’s fee! Worth asking around? archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

If anyone has a working Sony EVO-9850, EVO-9720 or TEAC V-800G-F hi8 deck that you could sell or rent to me, please let me know! Have a 4-channel Hi8 job I need to deliver, and all of mine are in the shop waiting for elusive parts.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I specialize in U-Matic! I have one of the best transfer systems in the US, trusted by everyone from the Roddenberry Archive to AFI. This month only, if you refer someone with at least 40 U-Matic tapes, we’ll give them 10% off and you 20% as a finder’s fee! archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

If anyone has a working Sony EVO-9850, EVO-9720 or TEAC V-800G-F hi deck that you could sell or rent to me, please let me know! Have a job I need to deliver, and all of mine are in the shop.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Our Winnipeg, Canada driving plates in action on 'Rich Kid,' now streaming on AppleTV and Prime! drivingfootage.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Because of publishing a book on tape transfers, I often do consulting for smaller shops. Many can't tell the difference between: - Hi8 & Digital8 - NTSC or PAL - DV, DV LP & HDV - analog BNC & digital SDI - Betacam & Betamax Cheat code: read my book! captureifyoucan.com

captureifyoucan.com

Capture If You Can – Buy now an Amazon!

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Fun fact! 11 years ago, for an animated kids YouTube channel my wife & I were doing, I modeled London’s Tower Bridge completely from scratch in Strata 3D.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Roosevelt’s amazing CCC program (Civilian Conservation Corps) to put men to work, feed & educate them, and put money back into the depression economy: www.instagram.com/reel/Dc4Oc0k...

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Why should you care about the Magnetic Media Crisis? Cost. Main effect as it worsens is that it will get progressively more and more expensive to transfer audio & video tapes to digital. Capture your tapes today— it will never be this affordable again: archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Magnetic Media Crisis: The complete extinction of tape formats is coming! - dwindling supply of decks & parts (including parts decks) - repair people retiring & not being replaced - accelerating degradation of the tapes. Betamax, DVCPro, Hi8, D1, D2 and D3 are endangered, and others will follow.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Want to feel old? The Digital Betacam format turned 33 this year! Degradation affects digital formats too, and there are nowhere near enough decks to transfer the amount of tapes that are out there… the clock is ticking! Make a plan today to ingest them: archive2digital.com

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

One casualty of current skyrocketing storage prices: backups. A client of mine isn’t backing up his materials because of the high cost of drives. It will cost thousands to recapture if his drive goes down! It may be more expensive now, but you MUST have a backup strategy.

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Reposted by Gray Jones

Nerdist @nerdist.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Over 40 years ago, Marvel nearly acquired DC Comics' stable of characters, merging the two universes.

nerdist.com

Video Recounts How Marvel and DC Nearly Merged in the '80s

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

People often ask why we offer our driving plates on Pond5, when they take such a large cut. Simple: Advanced search. We have the most robust searching of any driving plate company! Want a cemetery in Austin at night? Car accident in LA? Tunnel on an ocean road? Find it fast.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Fun fact: because I went to French immersion school until 6th grade, I often mixed up English expressions, saying things like “you’re twisting my leg” or “you’re pulling my arm.” Though my French is incredibly rusty now, I still sometimes find myself mixing these up.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Fun fact: when you see rainy driving plates in car driving scenes, they are virtually always faked! Reasons: 1) rain fries the electronics, and 2) even if you cover the cameras (impossible for top camera), droplets get onto the lenses almost immediately.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I talk a lot about the magnetic media crisis, but film is also not safe. Pro: new machines are being made, to greatly improve scanning vs 10-20 years ago. Con: age. Film can be much older than videotape, and it does degrade over time, due to vinegar syndrome, mold, etc.

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Gray Jones @grayjones.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Ouch! AI isn’t just ballooning prices of SSD’s and other tech, it’s also killing AVAILABILITY. Apple Mac Mini and Mac Studio have had such demand from AI that people are waiting 6 months or longer for them: www.cultofmac.com/news/blame-a...

cultofmac.com

Blame AI companies for Mac mini and Mac Studio shortage

OpenAI and Anthropic are snapping up Mac minis and Mac Studios for agentic workloads, creating a hardware boom Apple never saw coming.

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