8mm Film to DVD
Film Cleaning and Repair
Proper handling of old 8mm and Super8 film is very important first step, as old film becomes brittle and can easily break or burn in an old projector. The experienced technicians at Two Squares are trained to properly handle old film and can splice existing breaks or cracks in the film. All film is first inspected, repaired, and then cleaned with a special solution that also lubricates the film in preparation for the transfer process.
Get more for less!
At Two Squares our focus is on the quality of our conversions. We go above and beyond our competition while still maintaining a lower price. See the difference for yourself in this video.
Frame-by-Frame Scanning
By far, the best method for capturing 16mm, super8 and 8mm film to DVD is a frame by frame scan of your film. By using a system that will capture each individual frame of the film to a computer, this will ensure the best possible quality and avoid the frame blur that you will get with the aforementioned method. After the frames are captured, a frame repetition and pattern is used to duplicate and reinsert frames to convert the film from 18 frames (or other lesser common frame rates) to the 30 frames per second required for standard NTSC DVDs. You will notice the quality difference in particular when you pause your movie and look at a the paused frame. It will be much cleaner and clearer when the film is captured with a frame by frame capture system.
Professional Grade Media Conversion Equipment
Two Squares has professional grade conversion equipment that does this frame-by-frame scan of the film in a controlled environment and reproduces the video with the highest possible quality. The picture above is one of our high definition 8mm / Super 8 scanning machines. The HD system uses an industrial grade camera mounted directly to the machine and one single very high quality lens to focus onto the film frame surface. This system provides exceptional quality as compared to other capture systems which use 3 to 5 lenses and mirrored surfaces between the film and the digitizer. These additional lenses can add minor distortions and make it more difficult to focus the image and reduce the sharpness of the video. Here is an example of a “frame by frame” scan from one of our 8mm capture systems. As you can see, the difference is dramatic. This is the Two Square media conversion difference!
Post Processing and Color Correction
Another issue that happens with old movie film is that the colors will fade or potentially shift to green or red. Even black-and-white films will appear green or sometime red. This is where a professional-grade post processing software package comes into play. Black and white films are made a true black and white (gray scale). Color films are white balanced and colors are more natural. Contrast and lighting levels are also corrected, but can often be limited by the film quality itself.
Additional 8mm Film Transfer Formats
Maybe you want to transfer your 16mm, 8mm or Super 8 film into a format different from DVD. Two Squares can copy 16mm and 8mm film to AVI or MPEG files. This format can be put on your iPod or iPhone, in addition to being viewable on the computer.
Pricing
Pricing for Super 8 and 8mm Film to DVD Conversion Services
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$0.30 per foot of Regular or Super 8mm film $0.45 per foot of Super 8mm film with sound
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$30 mastering charge – One $30 mastering charge per order. Your first DVD or DVD set is included. $10 per disc for additional DVD/sets – Hold up to 2 hours of video or $30 to convert all your captured reels to High Def 1280×960 AVI/MPEG/etc and copy to a hard drive or flash drive (You supply the drive). or Call for Bluray conversion
Frame by frame scanning | Premium HD capture, down-converted to the highest DVD quality | No setup charge | Cleaning and splice repair included | Scenes menu on DVD included