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Choose Process
Our goal is and always has been to achieve the quality of the
original film. This is no easy task for several reasons. First, movie
film has a very high level of detail & resolution. In fact, 8mm and
Super 8 film have around 800 lines of resolution (more than today's DVDs), 16mm
film has 1600 lines of resolution (more than HD video). Second, since the
film was originally recorded, it has degraded - color shifted, is
darker, has scratches on it and is grainy.
Throughout the years, attempts have been made to reach the goal of
getting a digital copy as good as the film was originally. Our company
has by far done more work in this area than any other film transfer
company in the world. The proof is in the processes and quality that we
offer.
One of the best ways to describe our film transfer processes is to
imagine that you can compare the film, as it looks today, to the video
produced from each of our processes side by side. Meaning, pretend that you
had the same film go through our Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum process.
When you get it back, you setup your projector and compare them side by
side.
If you are interested in additional details and the basic types of film
transfer technologies being used by the industry today, see
Our Film Transfer Processes
- Additional Details and
Film Transfer Basics.
Our Film Transfer Processes
- Additional Details Our goal is and always has been to achieve the quality of the
original film. This is no easy task for several reasons. First, movie
film has a very high level of detail & resolution. In fact, 8mm and
Super 8 film have more resolution and detail than today's DVDs, 16mm
film has more resolution and detail than HD video. Second, since the
film was originally recorded, it has degraded - color shifted, is
darker, has scratches on it and is grainy.
Throughout the years, attempts have been made to reach the goal of
getting a digital copy as good as the film was originally. Our company
has by far done more work in this area than any other film transfer
company in the world. The proof is in the processes and quality that we
offer.
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Bronze
First Process (1970’s to Present):
The original film transfer process was
developed in the 1970's and 1980's. Most film companies call this a
real-time transfer. This is essentially what most film transfer companies
still use today and is what our Bronze transfer is. Essentially, the film
is being projected onto a surface and is video taped from that surface. A
real-time transfer like this only captures about 50% of the quality of the
film as it looks now (not as it was originally). |
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Silver
Frame by Frame (1990’s to Present):
We developed the Silver transfer process in the 1990's to improve upon
this. We stop and scan each frame one by one like you would scan
photographs into you computer. The scanning resolution of the process
allows it to capture about 70% of the details from the film. This is over
a 50% improvement over the Bronze. So, the Silver process will look
similar to the film if you were to get it out and play it on a projector
but will lack some details because it isn't being scanned at the original
film resolution. |
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Gold
Hollywood
Restoration (2001 to Present):
The Gold process was developed in 2001 and is the first process in the
United States that starts to recover the lost quality on the film since it
was recorded. Over 90% of the film we see today needs restoration work.
The film is scanned frame by frame just like the Silver process. After the
scan, we correct each frame by itself for color, exposure, grain and
scratches using our Hollywood Restoration equipment. The restoration
equipment was originally made to restore 35mm/70mm Hollywood films but has
been modified to work on 8mm, Super 8 & 16mm film. On average, the Gold
process produces video that is 40% better than the Silver because of the
restoration and is approaching the original quality of the film.
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Platinum HD
 High
Definition Scan (2005 to Present):
Even though the Gold process is very good, it is not scanning the film at
it's original resolution. This can only be done with a high definition
scan of the film. Our recently developed Platinum process scans each frame
of the film at high definition resolution. After the scan, we correct the
colors, exposure and remove the majority of grain and scratches using our
Hollywood restoration equipment in true high definition. This is the only
process that can capture the film's original color, exposure and detail.
The Platinum process will produce video that is about 40-50% better than
the Gold due to the high definition scan and high definition restoration.
The Platinum process faithfully produces digital video quality as good as
the original 8mm, Super 8 or 16mm film.
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Film Transfer Basics Video has several characteristics that determine
how good it is. One of the most important characteristics is the number
of lines of resolution. The resolution determines how detailed and
sharp the video is. If you’ve ever watched a standard definition video
channel on an HDTV and then switched to the high definition (HD)
version, you notice that the HD version is much sharper and detailed.
The reason is that standard definition video has 480 horizontal lines
while HD has 1080 lines. In a similar way, a film transfer can deliver
video in standard definition or high definition. Just like the TV
channels, a high definition film transfer will look much better than a
standard definition film transfer.
Equally important as resolution is the type of
film transfer. There are a few basic types of film transfer processes.
More than 95% of the companies out there today use a
Real-Time transfer. Any
type of real-time film transfer will result in video that is 30-50%
worse than the film’s current condition.
There is a hybrid of a real-time process called
Software Frame by Frame. The video is captured in real-time and
then the original film frames are extracted from the video. This
reduces the interlacing affects of a real-time capture.
Because the capture is real-time, the resulting video from a
software frame by frame process will be 30-50% worse than the film's
current condition but will have less interlace video artifacts than
a real-time transfer.
A second and much newer film transfer process is
called Hardware Frame By Frame.
A hardware frame by frame process means that each film frame is
captured like a separate digital picture. Reading each frame one at a
time maximizes the detail that is captured. The level of detail is only
limited by the process resolution (number of horizontal lines). A
hardware frame by frame process will result in video that is 30-50%
better than a similarly configured real-time or software frame by frame
process.
So, at this point you’ve learned that film
transfers can capture at standard definition (480 lines) or high
definition (1080 lines). You’ve also learned about the 3 different
types of film transfers being used today. In order from least to best quality we have:
1) Real-Time Standard
Definition (least quality)
2) Software Frame by Frame Standard Definition
3) Real-Time High Definition
4) Hardware Frame by Frame Standard Definition
5) Hardware Frame by Frame High Definition (best quality)
The film transfer processes above are the basics types and do not
include any restoration by themselves. Because over 90% of the old
movie film we see needs restoration work, we've developed our
Hollywood Restoration I
and
Hollywood Restoration II
technology which can increase the quality of the film transfer by 30-80%.
*Quality of restoration is dependent upon condition of existing film stock; severely deteriorated original materials may be beyond the reach of even the most sophisticated restoration methods.
Click
Here for more
information. Refunds are only given if a competitor can obtain better
quality (defined by clarity, color, graininess and scratches) for a
similar price (within 10% of ours). Under these fair terms, we've never
had to give a refund.
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If you are not completely satisfied with your
film transfer order, we will do it again for free or
refund your money* |
Right now, get up to 35% off until This is an excellent opportunity to pass your precious memories to your family's newest generation.
We are the only company in the USA
that can
restore
your 8MM, Super 8 or 16MM
film to their original clarity or better*.
We at The Video Conversion Experts take such pride in the quality of our work that numerous companies in the film transfer industry use us for their transfers.
If you'd like information about outsourcing your transfer work, please
contact us to inquire.
Click here to see them all
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Toll Free
 800.575.6202 |
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Standard Definition 
