Frequently Asked
Questions
(FAQ)
Digital Video - General
Video
Film
What video formats can you
transfer?
We can transfer VHS, Super VHS, VHS-Compact, MiniDV,
Digital 8mm, Video 8mm, or HI 8mm
videotape to DVD.
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How much video will fit on a
DVD?
For VHS and 8mm video tapes we record up to two hours on a DVD. This recording rate is
actually higher quality than the original tapes. This does not improve the
quality of the video but it does ensure a high quality transfer without losing
any of the original quality.
For movie films, Super VHS(SHVS), HI8, Mini-DV, and Digital 8 tapes we recommend recording one
hour per DVD for maximum quality.
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What DVD format is used?
We use quality name brand DVD-R. They are individual
packaged in quality video cases with printable blank disk face and labels.
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Will the DVD's play in my DVD player?
Nearly all DVD players are DVD-R compatible.
Particularly those sold in the last couple of years. You should check your
individual model for compatibility before ordering. If you have an older
DVD player that is not DVD-R compatible you might want to treat yourself a more
modern machine that will accept all formats. We do not give refunds due to incompatibility.
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How long do videotapes last?
Videotapes actually begin to degrade the moment they are
made. Environmental humidity causes the binder, which is the glue that
holds the magnetic information particles to the tape material, to weaken and
eventually fail. To make things worse, a videotape degrades faster as it gets
older. Playing a videotape always results in wear and a loss of magnetic
particles. Playing an older videotape results in significantly more wear.
You know a videotape is in an advanced stage of degradation when it clogs the
playback heads of the VCR when it is played. In just 5 years of storage, a
videotape can have an observable loss in picture crispness. If a tape experiences high humidity and elevated temperature conditions, it will
degrade faster. Most tapes will not be playable after 15 years.
Videotapes are also vulnerable
to sudden loss of data resulting from static shock or common electric fields due
to their magnetic makeup. Unfortunately, some of the strongest sources of
electric fields, created from VCRs, TVs, speakers, and stereo components, are
found around home entertainment centers where videotapes are commonly stored.
The vulnerability of videotapes, along with their unavoidable loss of quality
over a relatively short period of time, make videotapes unsuitable as long-term storage media.
Inevitably, even under ideal conditions, your
videotape's destiny is to be unplayable in less than 20 years, most likely 10 to
15 years.
Click here to view a 1995 report by the National Media Laboratory
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Why transfer to DVD?
Durability,
capacity and marketplace acceptance make Digital Video Disk (DVD) the most appropriate long term choice for preserving videos. Video
CDs, which are viewable on DVD players as well as computers with CD players, are
also an option, but provide lower resolution and crispness. The
DVD format solves the problems we have with videotape as a long-term
storage medium. With a minimum life expectancy of at least 100 years, DVDs are
the best surviving media available.
Where a videotape wears a bit each time it’s played, DVDs
can be played as often as desired without any wear at all. The information on a
videotape can be wiped-out in the blink of an eye by a magnetic field produced
by almost any component in the average stereo cabinet. In contrast, the data on
a DVD consists of an optical layer that’s protected by a polycarbonate
protective surface. Most normal scratches caused by a lifetime of handling are
compensated for by built-in error correction that recognizes read errors and
automatically corrects them. A 100-year-old DVD will play as well as a
2-day-old DVD. Copying a videotape to another videotape always
results in a generational loss of quality. But, when you copy a DVD you get a perfect copy. For a lasting video
album, select DVD as the storage medium to preserve your home videos.
The sooner they're transferred to DVD, the better the quality of the finished
video.
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Won't DVD's become obsolete?
Over time they certainly will. That time is still far in
the future. All hardware formats become obsolete over time. The
issues are: how well the media retains the data and can it be
transferred to future formats without loss. The data on a DVD will last
longer than there will be DVD players around to read them. But well before
that time comes there will be utilities to transfer DVD to the next media.
Future medias will surely be digital. Because the DVD data is digital it
can be copied to the next format with little or no loss of quality.
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Why should
I get a Digital Master?
The Digital Master video file provides the highest quality
archive since it has not been MPEG compressed for DVD. For the same reason
it is ideal for do-it-yourself video editing. With the proper equipment
and software you could edit the MPEG files from the finished DVD but then you
would have to MPEG re-encode them to put them back on a DVD and this could
result in a small loss of video quality.
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Can I edit my
transferred video on my PC?
With the proper equipment and software you can edit the MPEG
files from the finished DVD. Then you would have to MPEG re-encode them to
put them back on a DVD and this could result in a small loss of video quality.
This is why we recommend Digital Masters for do-it-yourself editing.
Please note that we do not support or recommend any do-it-yourself editing
solutions.
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How does
the basic video transfer to DVD work? What do
I get?
Tapes are sequentially transferred
in the order you specify. If a single tape exceeds the length of the DVD it will
be continued on a new disk. Multiple tapes are recorded to a single DVD,
space permitting. If an additional tape will not fit on the same disk it
will be started on a new disk and not split across disks. Optionally, you
can specify that each tape be started on it's own DVD.
Video
transfers to DVD include the following features:
-
2 hours of video per DVD unless you specify higher quality 1 hour
recording.
-
Title menu.
-
Chapter Points set every 5 minutes throughout the disk so you can navigate
through your videos using the <Prev & Next> buttons on your DVD player.
-
Name brand disk with inkjet printable white surface. You can write
the title of your disk on its surface with a soft point permanent marker.
-
Quality amaray video case with printable white jacket insert. The
insert is perfect for writing titles and notes about the content of your
DVD.
Give your new DVD a polished professional appearance!
You can select from a variety of options to
customize your new home movie DVDs including custom menus, chapters,
titles, printed disks, and printed jackets. See
DVD Authoring for more information.
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How do
I prepare my material for transfer to DVD?
See
Preparing Your
Materials.
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Can I customize my DVD?
Yes. We offer complete DVD authoring services including video editing,
custom chapters, menus, covers, and titles. See
DVD Authoring for more information.
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Can you repair my video
tapes? We can repair broken or damaged
VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, hi-8mm, digital 8mm and miniDV video tapes.
Videotapes can become damaged either by the tape itself becoming broken or
crinkled or by physical damage to the tape housing or internals. Most physical
damage can be repaired or recovered. Sorry, we cannot repair bad
recordings, or accidental erasures/over-recording.
Please see
Video Services for more information.
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Competition offers
lower per foot rates. How/Why?
Beware of low per foot rates. Here are some things to look for: 1.
Non Digital Frame Capture transfer. Over 90% of the competition uses
yesterdays analog technology with lower video resolution. Lower quality
variable speed/synchronous projection transfers with inferior image quality,
flickering, speed distortion, etc.. See Film
Transfer Demos page to see side by side comparisons! 2. "Hidden" charges.
Extra for DVD, etc.. 3. High additional copy charges.
Some of the competition charges as much as $50.00 per copy of your DVDs. 4.
Inferior, low quality DVDs. We use only high quality name brand DVDs and
include a quality amaray style video case with each one.
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What movie
film types can you transfer? We
transfer Regular 8mm & Super 8mm silent movie films.
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How
long do movie films last? Do they go bad?
While films generally last much longer than video tapes
they too are vulnerable to time and poor storage conditions.
Films were
designed to be lubricated periodically and few, if any, home movies ever were.
All films will chemically deteriorate over time and poor storage conditions
(high heat and humidity) hasten the process.
There are chemical differences
between black & white and color film. In black and white films the image is made
of silver metal particles. The silver image is very stable compared to other
film components such as color dyes, and not likely to fade unless it is exposed
to high humidity, contaminants or was improperly processed. The vast majority of color
films employ dyes produced during processing. Color film consists of three
layers of dyes, which render the yellow, cyan, and magenta portions of the color
spectrum. Of the three, the least stable in the dark is the yellow layer,
which is why faded color films frequently have a pinkish hue to them. Once color
has faded, there is no way to retrieve it.
Color
film manufactured in the 1970's is notoriously prone to fading and may not be a
sign of storage problems or deterioration.
Age is not necessarily a good indicator of film condition or vulnerability.
Fungus, mold, and mildew can also attack films and destroy their images.
If your film has a vinegar or chemical smell, sticks together, will not lie
flat, or has powder on it it needs immediate attention.
Super 8 film frame from the
1970s showing fungus/mold/mildew damage and color fading. Note the feathery
tendrils on the images. 
Super 8 film frame from the
1960s showing yellow layer color fading resulting in pinkish hue.
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Can you
repair my films? We can
repair:
We
cannot repair:
We
cannot repair or
transfer:
badly
decomposed films (badly curled or warped, soft, mushy, flaky, extremely powdery, or very brittle).
Badly damaged films requiring more extensive cleaning,
repair, or reconditioning may incur extra charges.
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How
do I tell what kind of movie
film I have?
8mm movie film is 8mm wide.
The easiest way to distinguish between Regular 8mm and
Super 8mm film is to look at the location of the perforations in relation to the
frames.
Regular
8mm film was produced from 1932 to the 1990's. It's popularity declined
1965 with the introduction
of Super 8mm. On Regular 8mm film the perforations are between the frames.
Regular 8mm
Super 8mm film was
introduced in 1965 and in 1973 became sound enabled with the addition of a
magnetic sound stripe. On Super 8mm films the perforations are in the
middle of the frames.
Super 8mm
16mm film is 16mm wide
and has perforations on both sides of the film.
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How can I
tell how much movie film I have?
The following chart will help you estimate how many feet
of film you have and the movie run time.
8mm
|
Reel Size
(diameter) |
Feet of Film |
Approximate
Regular 8 Run Time in Minutes |
Approximate
Super 8 Run Time in Minutes |
| 3 in. |
50 |
4.4 |
3.3 |
| 5 in. |
200 |
17.8 |
13.3 |
| 7 in. |
400 |
35.6 |
26.7 |
16mm
|
Reel Size
(diameter) |
Feet of Film |
Approximate
Run Time in Minutes |
| 3 in. |
50 |
1.37 |
| 5 in. |
200 |
5.56 |
| 7 in. |
400 |
11.11 |
| |
|
|
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What is
"Digital Frame Capture" and why is it superior?
Digital Video (DV) offers superior resolution and picture
quality over VHS. Most
transfer operations use out-dated variable speed projectors and/or revolving
prism units (Elmo or Goko machines) to project the movie into the capture
camera. These methods result in transfers that can flicker, have bright
spots, have blurring or ghosting, and distort subject motion speed. They
are usually not even capable of capturing the complete image from the film
frames (most projectors cut off the edges of the picture). Many are still
using old analog cameras and capture directly to VHS and thereby immediately
lose the quality of the original film image. Our
Digital Frame Capture process completely captures each and every
frame image on the film into a professional quality 3 CCD Digital Video camera.
These thousands of high quality images are digitally merged to create a
correctly timed, seamless, and flicker-free movie with stunning sharpness and
detail. The quality is only surpassed by the most expensive studio
transfers. Unless you have access to a theater with professional
projection equipment you have never seen your home movies look so good!
VHS transfer using variable speed projector.
Digital Video transfer using Frame Capture
The difference is clear! Your precious memories
deserve the best. Even if you don't use our service make sure the one you
chose uses Digital Video frame capture. Nothing else comes close to
matching the quality.
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Is your process gentle on films?
Yes! Our special telecine machine runs
films very slowly for the frame capture process so stress on the film is
dramatically reduced versus normal projection. Additionally, the machine
uses a LED light source that cannot burn your film.
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I
already had my movies transferred to VHS!
You really need to consider have the original films
transferred to Digital Video! Your VHS tapes never had the full quality of
the film images and over time they will lose what quality they had. The
images on the original film are most likely still in much better condition than
the VHS tape. See also:
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