
Choosing the right format depends on your goal. If you simply want to
archive the film and be able to easily play it, then DVD (or Blu-Ray) is the best
format. Video on DVD will not degrade over time. We use Professional
Archival DVDs. These Archival DVDs will last 100 years under
normal conditions. We do include easy
listening music on our DVD and Blu-Ray products. If you would prefer not
to have music, please let us know when you order.
Example DVD Menu:
- 5 minute chapters
- Thumbnail picture per chapter
- Start on any chapter
|
 |
Editing Formats
We offer the following formats for editing purposes:
Platinum HD Process: 1080 HDV, HD-AVI (MJPG), ProRes 422 or DPX HD Files
Silver & Gold Process: AVI, MiniDV
Platinum HD
Process:
HD-AVI master files. HD-AVI (Motion-JPEG or MJPG
codec) files are considered a very good master quality format. AVI has been the industry standard for
decades and HD-AVI follows in those footsteps. Our HD-AVI files are
compatible with all Mac (iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express) and PC
editing tools. If you need help calculating the disk space you'll need for the
transfer, click here.
Download a small (1 second, 12MB) example of typical 8mm film
here. Download a larger (15
second, 170MB) example of typical 8mm film here.
Apple ProRes 422 master files. Apple ProRes 422 files are considered a very good master quality format
very similar to our HD-AVI files. These files are intended to be used with
Final Cut Pro only. If you only plan to edit in Final Cut Express or iMovie it is
recommended that you order HD-AVI files instead. These can be imported
without issue into Final Cut Express or iMovie. However, you can edit ProRes
in Final Cut Express or iMovie with the right codec pack and Quicktime
components. Please contact Apple technical support for details. If you need help calculating the disk space you'll need for the
transfer, click here.
Download a small (3 second, 39MB) example of typical 8mm film
here.
HDV. We offer HDV files also but they are not master
archival quality. HD-AVI is a better quality format (is compressed 4 times
less than HDV) and is supported in more video editors. In fact, many
standard definition editors can read our HD-AVI files and will allow you to
write out standard definition DVDs. You can't do this with HDV. In addition,
if you are editing on a Mac, HD-AVI files require no conversion like HDV
will. If you need help calculating the disk space you'll need for the
transfer, click here.
DPX Uncompressed 4:4:4 HD master files. Working with DPX fully uncompressed HD files requires access
to professional post production tools (Diamant, Film Fix, Moving Image
Retoucher or Autodesk tools). DPX is an intermediate file format
intended for further work (dust busting, color correction, etc.) at an
editing studio. If you choose DPX, be aware that we do not perform any
restoration (dust busting, color correction, etc.) for this format. These
files are raw files right from the scanner. DPX produces 1 file per
frame. It is not something that can be played or viewed on a PC or Mac
computer. The Disk space required for DPX is
1TB per hour of film. You
must ship us an external hard drive or purchase one on the order form if you
choose DPX uncompressed HD
files. If you need help calculating the disk space you'll need for the
transfer, click here.
Writing DVDs. You will be able to write regular DVDs or Blu-Ray
DVDs with either the HDV, HD-AVI or ProRes but not from the DPX files.
Silver & Gold
Process:
MiniDV Tape, (Requires you to have a MiniDV Camcorder) and
AVI files on an external Hard Drive. You must
ship us an external hard drive or purchase one on the order form if you choose AVI
files. Our AVI files are compatible with all Mac and PC editing tools. If you need help calculating the disk space you'll need for the
transfer, click here.
DVD and an Editing Format
You may
want to consider getting a copy on a playable DVD in addition to the
format you choose to edit from. This
way you archive the film and have a format you can edit. If you want to do
this, choose the format for editing as the master format and the DVD as
the copy format on the order form. Our copies are master quality.
We go back to the master file and completely render the video to the copy
format. We never make one format using another (making the DVD from MiniDV
tape) like many other companies do. So, we charge a little more but the
quality will be better.
25fps Example
|