Retrieving animation files from DPS Perception (PVR) drives - Yes, yes we can

[Steve Switaj]

If, like me, you started working back in the olde days of standard-def, when
dinosaurs walked the Earth, you may have done work on DPS Perception systems
 - PVR's - which were the simple(ish), cheap(ish) way to do broadcast quality
back then.

I was cleaning up around the house and discovered a bunch of old work archived on 
disks in the PVR format. It's really tough to get files off those disks because the 
format relies on hardware compression - you need the actual DPS Perception board 
to read them at high resolution.

But, I actually *had* one of these boards, stashed deep in my Pile 'O Computer
Junk, and I was able to set up a system to download my files in the full 720x480
glory that was the late 90's.

Then I thought to myself “Self; there are probably other people who might have a 
similar orphan disk with shots from the way back, you should tell them about this”.

And so here we are. I have a DPS Perception system that can download your old
PVR files. Maybe the last one of its kind, who knows?  If you have some old
Perception projects stuck on a disk, I'm happy to move them to new media for
you. 

I have an NTSC board, but the conversion process only uses the compression 
hardware, so it may also work on PAL, who knows?

Also - and this is a bit of a reach - I have a Reality board (DPV format) that I
*might* be able to fire up if absolutely necessary - but no promises.

Feel free to pass the offer along if you know someone in a similar spot. 

Also, I'm not familiar with most of the VXF and animation forums out there, so if 
you know a place where people are interested in this kind of stuff please feel 
to forward this offer there, because it's still 2020 and we all gotta help each other 
any little way we can.

But act soon. At some point in the near future there will be the Great Computer 
Crap Cleanout of 2021, and this system too will be gone. Act now or forever hold 
your files.

You can contact me at steve-att-flywom-dott-com

[Phil Rhodes]

On a related note, if anyone has (even earlier!) Amiga stuff done with a VLab Motion board, I may be able to help!

[David Ridlen]

Nice to see the offer!  I still have two working Perception boards, and a Reality.  I still use the Perception to capture a lot of old VHS recordings to archive and upload.