1) Unfair and unreasonable pricing:
I'm fed up with insanely high prices for everything that even gets near film/production/broadcast.
Especially, when similar (or sometimes even better) quality can be gained (if done correctly), by using already existing components from other domains, putting them together and only add/modify what's actually needed to make things work.
Digitizing moving images is getting more and more necessary to be done.
Video is its own case, but let's stick with film:
2) Entry barrier too high - even for larger institutions:
I've recently visited a national film archive of a european country, and they don't even own a scanner. At all. It's too costly for their budget. Some local film productions (=cultural heritage!) are unavailable for to anyone, because they simply can't afford the transfer.
Even other film-related institutions who do own film-to-digital transfer equipment also often accept compromises, or do questionable things - because of budget issues.
If that's the situation of national institutions, you can imagine what it looks like for the rest.
...and we're not even close to talking about independent artists and film-makers.
3) High price does not guarantee high quality:
Usually, only entities which are able to throw enough money at the problem are "allowed" to transfer their film stock in high quality.
That's a huge business for some out there. Especially, because the believing ist still:
"If it's affordable, it can't be high quality"
or the other way around:
"It was so darn expensive - and has this manufacturer's name on it: It's gotta be good!"
For example, there's a site which shows what video A/D converters do to your frames/fields - and the devices they've tested are from big brands (Harris, Leitch, Snell, ...) - and in the upper price segment
4) Long story short: This situation should be improved.
I really think it's possible, and only requires a handful of people willing to get active.
Ok. Enough ranting - eh, introduction.
