March 30th
Film To DVD CompanyBenefits
- Professional Film Scanning: If you are looking for the best film to DVD, BluRay and Digital services, you found it. We’ve scanned film for NASA, USGS, Space X, Vince Lombardi Estate, Muhammad Ali and many many others. Of course, we scan amateur 8mm and Super 8 film as well for those looking for better quality than Walmart, Walgreens or your local camera shop. We offer the words highest quality film scanning (up to 4K) for all types of film including 8mm, Super 8, 16m and 35mm. In addition, we offer film restoration you don’t generally find anywhere like our grain elimination and stabilization technology. So, if you are looking for the best 8mm film to DVD, super 8 film to BluRay or film to digital files, you found the right place. We also don’t charge you a penny until the job is complete!
- Highest Grade Equipment: Our professional broadcasting equipment like the Motion Picture film scanner and the DataCine film scanner are used to revive your old film to bring out the clarity like never before. The reason is that our machines are professional quality used for not only independent movies and government archives but for amateur film as well. Whether you want to convert Super 8 to DVD, or 8mm, 16mm or 35mm to a digital format, we can do it for you at the quality level of a professional movie studio without the price of a professional movie studio. We offer the best digital formats to transfer your film to including DVD, Blu-Ray, MP4, AVI, MOV, ProRes, and DPX.
- Ultra High Quality Resolution: Most of our customers want the highest quality resolution when converting 8mm film to DVD, BluRay or other digital files. This is why we carry film conversion machines that are the most expensive in the industry like the Motion Picture and the DataCine film scanners. These scanners allow us to convert the film into the highest possible resolution such as 4K for 8mm, Super 8, 16mm and 35mm film.
- Premium Customer Support: Most importantly, our customers have many questions when transferring film to DVD and other digital formats which is only normal to be cautious since these are your important memories on film. We make sure to always be here for you via phone & email when you have film transfer questions. With our 100% satisfaction guarantee backed up with our A+ customer reviews and testimonials, you will be encouraged to use Film To DVD Company on your next film transfer project!
RecentlyClient says
Patrick K. We were absolutely pleased with the conversion of our old 8 mm movies to DVD. The color, image quality and brightness was better than watching the movies on the old 8mm projector. Really thank Film To DVD Company for a job well done!
Art D. Excellent service. They know what they're doing and use their experience to help you. They answered all my questions. I have absolutely no complaints. Well worth the price to get a keepsake converted to digital.
Thomas O. These guys were able to take 40 years old "Super 8" video, of college football games, which I assumed had already deteriorated beyond repair and recover it so well that I was able to put it "on-line". This was an outstanding effort, a remarkable effort and exceeded all my expectations. I would recommend them without hesitations.
Carol B. I recently had Film To DVD Company transfer almost 5,000 ft of 8mm film taken from 1943 - 1957 to DVD. After a lengthy phone conversation with Brad (who patiently explained the process and answered my questions), I chose the Pro HD scan. The end result far exceeded my expectations. Even though the film had not always been stored in ideal conditions, they did a wonderful job with the transfer and restoration. The color portions are amazing! The service was very prompt (less than 2 week turn around) and highly professional. They took extreme care with our precious family memories and I highly recommend them to others.
BEFORE | AFTER
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Before 8mm Film Restoration After
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Before Super 8 Film Restoration After
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Before 16mm Film Restoration After
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Before 35mm Film Restoration After
FAQs
Yes, in almost all cases it can still be scanned and transferred to DVD or BluRay. Our professional film scanners are roller based. They never use the sprocket hole to move the film through like a projector or other film transfer machines would. In addition, there is no closed gate like a projector or other film transfer machines. So, there is no way for warped or brittle film to get stuck or tear on our gate. Our professional scanners are specifically made for scanning old 8mm and Super 8 film and will give you the best quality possible.
A better way to phrase the question is, “what resolution should I scan my film in order to get 100% of the details?” Most 8mm and Super 8 film has around 800 to 1000 lines maximum. 16mm film can have 1500 to 2000 lines and 35mm film has up to 4000 lines. The general rule of thumb (which Hollywood follows as well) is to scan at the resolution of the film and then go out to what ever format you are targeting. So, they scan 35mm film at 4K or 6K and then go out to DVD and BluRay. 16mm film should be scanned at 2K or higher. 8mm and Super 8 film should be scanned at 2K if possible or HD if there is no 2K scanning capability where you get your film scanned. We’ve done about 100 HD to 2K comparisons for 8mm and Super 8 film. There is no doubt that we see a noticeable difference between them usually in the 30-35% range. So, if you want the best quality digital file/DVD/BluRay from your 8mm or Super 8 film we do recommend the Pro 2K scan.
Yes. All Film is returned cleaned and repaired. We do splice small 3″ diameter and 5″ diameter reels together. We provide new 7″ or 8″ reels/cases for better storage.
Yes. We keep backups for 30 days. This ensure you have time to get your film conversion project back to review it before our copy is purged. It also protects you from any shipping issue on the return shipment.
There isn’t an easy answer. Originally everyone thought that DVDs would last 100 years or longer. We then started to find out that not all dye and materials were the same in burnable DVDs. We now know that DVDs generally fall into 3 classes. Retail DVDs are purchased in a retail store. Studies seem to indicate that Retail DVDs for burning will last about 2 to 10 years on average. Professional DVDs are made with better dyes and materials. They will last around 25 years or longer. Lastly, there are Archival grade DVDs that are intended to last around 100 years. These archival grade disks have been ISO/IEC29121 certified. We don’t offer any retail grade DVDs. We only use 25-year professional grade DVDs and 100-year Archival grade DVDs.
Our normal turnaround is 8 to 10 days. If you need it sooner we have a 1-2 business day RUSH service. You can choose RUSH service on the order form if you need to.
Film Grain is an issue today on ALL film and we do recommend the grain elimination. We see stabilization as a nice to have if it fits within your budget.
Grain shows up as tiny dots on ALL film. It visually gets in the way of the content you really want to see. You’ll definitely see these dots all over your film on an HDTV. Our grain elimination technology not only
removes over 95% of these dots but it fills in the detail that the grain covered up by looking at frames before and after. So, it not only cleans up the image by removing these dots but also will get a sharper image as well by filling in the lost detail covered up by the dots.
Most amateur film has stabilization issues and most people are used to seeing shaking and bouncing films of their families. So, we don’t see this as a must have but it would be nice if you can afford to do it.
We offer an extremely wide range of formats. They include 480 line formats like DVD, AVI/MOV editing files, 1080 lines formats like BluRay, HD-AVI and Apply ProRes and professional 2K/4K formats like DPX. If we don’t offer the format you need most likely we can make it. Just ask.
No. We only charge you for actual content. Blank film is scanned and then digitally deleted by the editor so that you are not charged for it.
Not easily. Between the film getting fragile and warped and the projector not being maintained, you run a high risk of damage viewing your film in a projector. It is better to get your 8mm or Super 8 film scanned to an editing file for your computer. You can then make any changes you want (delete content, re-arrange the order, add music etc.) using a video editor.
In most cases, yes. Restoration is the action of returning something to a former condition. 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm movie film color shifts and darkens over time. Our Pro HD, Pro 2K and Pro 4K process include color and exposure correction. In most cases we can restore the color to it’s original condition. In addition, we can also remove film grain and stabilize the footage. This goes beyond restoration because we are actually able to make the film conversion look better than the original film in most cases.
Absolutely, if you do our Pro HD or Pro 2K process. It will actually turn about about 50-80% better. There are several reasons for this. First, the film transfer equipment 10 years ago was poor compared to our professional film scanners today. Second, VHS can only hold about 1/3 of the resolution of your film. Third, VHS degrades much faster than your film. For these reasons, our Pro HD or Pro 2K will create video that is about 50-80% better than your VHS copy.
We can convert just about any type of motion picture movie film like 8mm, Super 8, 16mm and 35mm film. We can transfer 8mm or Super 8 with magnetic sound, 16mm and 35mm with optical or magnetic sound.
Yes. In fact your film is not only professionally cleaned, it is repaired as well. We will repair bad splices, fix film that is broken, etc. In addition, your film will roll over 2 particle rollers right before the scan. These particle rollers remove any remaining dust or dirt that might be sitting loose on the film. The combination of a wet clean and the particle rollers ensures that your film is clean during the film to DVD transfer.
No, as long as your film has been developed. All film that is on a round reel has been processed so there is no chance of damage to processed film.
No. Most of the older film transfer and film to DVD machines use modified projectors which have a claw to move your film forward and they also have a closed gate. Both of these things can and will damage old film. Our professional film scanners do not use the sprocket holes to move the film and there is no closed gate. So, our film transfer machines cannot damage film in that way.
Yes. In fact, if the film was shot professional (under controlled light and color) we normally scan it as a one light transfer. We then color correct after the scan as needed. This ensures that the original exposure and color is generally saved during the scan and not altered. We then try to correct any color shifting or darkening from the aging process. But, if you request us to not do any color correction we won’t. We would just do a one-light transfer and then give you the scanner files from that transfer.
Yes. It wasn’t manufactured this way by Kodak but you could attach a magnetic strip to 8mm film after the Kodak processing. We can also capture any sound on 8mm/Regular 8 film as well.