Video Conversion Experts

Yes, we can transfer Super 8 and 8mm film to DVD. There are many different ways to transfer film to DVD. We have a real-time, frame by frame and a professional film scanner to transfer your film to DVD.

In general, most film can last up to 70 to 80 years if stored properly. If you can play the film in a projector is can be transferred without any problem. If you can’t, you still might be able to run the film through our professional film scanner. It is roller based and does not touch the film to move it forward or during the scanning.

Most film to DVD companies today still use a real-time based transfer system. This is similar to using a project and camcorder to record the film. They normally charge around 10-12 cents/ft. With this type of film to DVD transfer, the film will look about 50% better than the video. Some companies now use a frame by frame film to DVD process. It still uses a projector and camcorder but it able to get a 20-30% better video. Frame by Frame film to DVD process usually costs around 20 to 30 cents/ft. The best film to DVD process uses a professional film scanner. A professional film scanner will create video as good as the film. There are only a few companies using a professional film scanner. They normally charge around 40 to 60 cents/ft.

This is a good question and one that comes up often. 8mm film can last up to 70 or 80 years if stored properly. It should be stored in a cool dry place. Today they recommend storing your 8mm film in vented cans to allow the gases that build up over time to escape. This can make your 8mm film last longer.

There are two tests you want to perform to see if you can transfer your 8mm film to DVD today. The first test is to take the first 3-4 feet off the 8mm film reel. Try to lay it flat on the table. If the 8mm film lays flat or relatively flat then you pass this test. If the 8mm film is warped and doesn’t want to lay flat, it may just be the first 20-25 feet of the reel. Unroll 20-25 feet and then perform the test again. If it passes the test, then at least some or the majority of 8mm film can be transferred.

The next 8mm film to DVD test is to see how fragile the 8mm film is. If you take about 6 inches of film and hold one end with your left hand and the right end with your right hand. Now, move you hands together pushing the film in the middle up into a loop. This will show how flexible the film is. When you do this, look for any cracking or breaking film and watch the sprocket holes to see if they crack or break as you do this as well. If none of this happens then you pass this test.

If your film passes both tests, then you can transfer your 8mm film to DVD and may proceed with a 8mm film to DVD order.

Today, there are about 3 different types of 8mm film to DVD film transfer machines. At the low-end we have the real-time 8mm film to DVD machine. It uses a 8mm film projector and a camcorder. As the film plays, the images are bounced off a mirror and recorded by the camcorder. As you can imagine, this is the best way to capture all the details from your film.

At the middle-end we have a frame by frame 8mm film to DVD process. In this type of process, the same projector and camcorder are used but the camcorder is pointed right at the film in the projector. As a new frame enters the gate, a sync signal is sent to the camcorder and computer to take a picture of the frame. In this type of 8mm film to DVD process, the results are about 20-30% better than a real-time process.

The best 8mm film to DVD film transfer process uses a professional 8mm film scanner. There are older professional scanners like Rank Cintel but these scanners use technology from the 1980s and can only scan at standard definition resolution. There are a handful of new high definition professional 8mm film scanners. These scanners typically cost over $100,000 each. These professional high definition film scanners provide the best possible 8mm film to DVD quality available.

So, the best 8mm film to DVD company will be using a professional high definition 8mm film scanner for you 8mm film transfer.

8mm film usually runs at 15 to 16 frames per second. 8mm film on DVD runs at 29.97 frames per second. In order for the 8mm film to DVD to play at the right rate of motion, new frames must be added. When those new frames are added they can added as duplicate frames to keep the video progressive or as blended frames for interlaced video. Most 8mm film to DVD transfer companies will add blended frames. This can cause a ghosting type affect because you have 2 film frames blended together. It looks like a double exposed 8mm film. We try to keep the video progressive at all times. So, when doing a 8mm film to DVD project, we only add duplicate frames to keep it progressive.

If you get editing files back in addition to the 8mm film to DVD, you’ll notice that you can step through the video frame by frame. You’ll see a new frame and then see a duplicate. Then a new frame and another duplicate. This keeps the rate of motion similar to the original 8mm film while converting it to a format that requires 29.97 frames per second.

In addition to speed that your 8mm film to DVD will run at, you should also look into 8mm film to DVD film transfer types and the capture resolution. These two aspects can dramatically change the output quality you get on DVD.

If stored properly, 8mm film can last 50 years or even longer. Most DVDs only last about 10 years. So, if you decide to transfer your 8mm film to DVD, make sure that you do the film transfer to DVDs that will last more than 10 years. Some film transfer companies use archival quality DVDs which can last 50 or 100 years. In addition, some film to DVD companies use archival DVDs that include a hard coating to protect it from scratches.

Even though most people want to convert their 8mm film to DVD, you should also consider transferring your 8mm film to HD. 8mm film does have about 900 lines of resolution. DVD has 480 lines. So, in order to really archive your 8mm film you should consider transferring your 8mm film to HD instead of transferring your 8mm film to DVD.

8mm film has about 800 to 1000 lines of resolution. DVD has 480 lines. A HD scan of your 8mm film will capture 100% of the details from the film. An 8mm film to DVD transfer will only capture about 60% of the details from your film.

But, there are different ways to perform an 8mm film HD transfer which can make a huge difference. There is a real-time HD process, a frame by frame HD process and a film scanner HD process. A real-time HD film transfer process uses a HD camcorder and records your film as it goes by in real-time (the same speed it would play on a projector). Because it uses a camcorder in a real-time fashion, this process will produce video that is about 40-50% worse than the film itself.

A frame by frame HD process still uses a HD camcorder but the equipment stops at each frame and the camcorder is used to take a picture of the frame. This produces slightly better quality than a real-time HD film transfer process.

The best process is a HD film scanning process. The film is scanned using a professional broadcast quality film scanner used by the movie studios. An HD film scanner will produce video is that about 30 to 50% better quality than a HD frame by frame process.

In general, if you’ve had a 8mm film to DVD transfer done, no, ,you can’t post it on the web or utube. A DVD can only really be viewed or copied. So, instead of doing a 8mm film to DVD transfer, transfer your 8mm film to a format like AVI files. Then you can edit the AVI files and generate a web friendly format like Mpeg4.

In addition, when you transfer your 8mm film to DVD, the DVD comes out at a resolution of 480×720. It is a fixed resolution that can’t be changed. Alternatively, when you transfer your 8mm film to AVI and edit it, you can resize the resolution when you encode it to a format like Mpeg4.

So, if you are interested in a portable or online video of your film, instead of doing a film transfer of your 8mm film to DVD, transfer your 8mm film to AVI so you can edit and produce your own web friendly video. For posting video tape material, we recommend 8mm to AVI or 8mm to DVD if you don’t plan on posting it.

8mm film has the equivalent of 800 to 1000 digital horizontal lines of resolution. The number of actual lines of resolution is dependant on the camera, lens, lighting and focus when it was recorded. On average, the 8mm film we see is around 700 to 900 lines.

Today, there are 480 (standard definition) and 1080 (high definition) line 8mm film to DVD transfer processes. Most companies use a 480 line video capture or frame by frame 8mm film to DVD system. This will get about 60% (480/800) of the details on the 8mm film.

The only way to get 100% of the details from a 8mm to DVD transfer is to capture or scan the film at 1080 lines. This is the only way to archive the 8mm film in a digital format.

So, if you are interested in truly archiving your 8mm film to DVD, choose a 8mm film transfer using a 1080 line 8mm film scanning process.

There are 3 basic types of 8mm film to DVD processes. Real-Time, Frame by Frame and Film Scanner. Both Real-Time and Frame by Frame use a old projector and video camcorder. They use them differently. A Frame by Frame process can get 20-30% better quality based on how it is acquiring the image relative to a Real-Time process. A film scanner will produce 50-80% better quality 8mm film to DVD compared to a real-time process and 30-50% better quality than a Frame By Frame process.

Among the different type of film scanners, there are certain attributes that help one film scanner produce better quality images than others. The most important aspect is the scan resolution. The scan resolution will affect the sharpness of the 8mm film to DVD film transfer. Increasing the resolution will always result in a better digital representation until you’ve reached the limit of the 8mm film. 8mm film has a horizontal limit of around 900 to 1000 lines. So, a 1080 lines scan is as high as you would want to go for 8mm or Super 8 film.

Because old film has degraded over time (color shifted, is darker, grainy and scratched) it really requires some sort of restoration as well in order to make the 8mm film to DVD transfer turn out as good as possible.

Our Platinum process includes a 1080 line scan and correction of color shifting, darkening of the film, and reduces the amount of grain and scratches you see from the film. This is the best possible process available today for your 8mm film to DVD project.

Transferring 8mm film from the 1920s to 1950s requires special attention. There are several issues to examine before we can determine if we can convert your 8mm film to DVD. There are other articles on transferring 8mm to DVD that you may want to explore also.

8mm film has been around since the late 1920s. Converting 8mm film to DVD requires that the 8mm film be flat (instead of warped) and is pliable (not fragile) to enable it to move through the scanner. To test this, unroll some of the 8mm film and see if it will lay flat on a table. Also, as you unroll it, see if it breaks at all. If the film passes these two tests then we can convert your 8mm film to DVD.

One other thing you might want to look at is the images on the 8mm film. You can use a magnifying glass with a light source (or window) behind the film. 8mm film from the 1920s to the 1940s will be black and white. So, don’t expect to see any color on 8mm films from this period.

Lastly, 8mm film this old can have mold on the outside edge. When you lay the film reel down flat, you might see some white looking powder on the 8mm film. This is mold. We automatically clean all 8mm film when it comes in. In most cases, the mold gets removed and presents no problem is converting your 8mm film to DVD.