Film Transfer Service FAQs
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions.- Why is your service different to others?
- How can you make my films look better than they were originally?
- How can I save money?
- Do you transfer one frame at a time?
- Can you transfer widescreen?
- What is the difference between the Bosch and Flashscan telecine machines
- Can you transfer in HD
- Is it easy to transfer videotape?
- Will I be able to edit on my computer?
- My old film has not been seen for years can you restore it?
- Can you transfer sound?
Why is your service different to others?
Diamonds are forever, but that is certainly not the case with film. The passing years have not been kind to our film history, with over 50% of all professional film made before 1960 being lost forever.
Most of you looking at this website will have film that is over 40 years old and unlike old wine; it would not have improved with age. Once film starts to deteriorate the process is irrevocable, so must be restored to a more durable format.
We use only professional telecine machines to transfer your film and not the projector type systems of yesterday. These older methods were last used to professionally transfer film in the 70's and the quality they produced, together with the risk of damage, made then unsuitable for the then modern media.
The difference today between any type of camera system and our professional facilities is very noticeable, which is why we can confidently offer a free transfer of your film to
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How can you make my films look better than they were originally?
Our telecine produces high resolution images that will capture your pictures far better than any camera system. As your film passes through the machine the light level, colour and stability are monitored and corrected.
Because the machine is not dependant on sprocket holes to drive film, they can safely transport film with extensive damage and In the same way as Photoshop can improve your old photo’s, we can correct, restore and enhance poor images in computer programmes.
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How can I save money?
Have as many reels of the same format joined together so that they are all transferred at the same time, if you need any help give us a call.If you have a lot of film and are on a tight budget consider hireing one of our Tobin telecine projectors. They are easy to use, have a built in camera and just plug into the phono sockets of your DVD recorder.
The Tobin a semi-professional single gauge machine and is available in the following formats:
Standard / regular 8mm and Super 8mm silent only
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Do you transfer one frame at a time?
This is probably the most frequent question we get asked and really refers to camera / projector systems.In the UK, our television speed is 25 frames per second (fps) and your home old movies would have been shot at either at 16 or 18 fps. If they were to be shown on your TV at 25 fps, everything would be moving much faster than it should be, rather like the old Charlie Chaplin films. Therefore, some form of slowing down the frames must be imposed without either degrading the image or creating flicker.
With a broadcast telecine machine the film is professionally scanned at the original speed and then sent to a digital frame store to produce perfect flicker free pictures. However, with a projector the film is pulled through the gate using a claw or sprocket one frame at a time. A rotating blade is then used to show the same frame more than once in order to reduce flicker. Howevfer, this system has not been used for broadcast telecine since the early 80's.
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Can you transfer widescreen?
Yes, but be warned. Almost 99% of all home movie footage was shot in the old academy format, which was 4 X 3 and some televisions still have that rectangular screen.
However, in recent times people have changed to the more modern plasma and LCD models, which use the 16 X 9 widescreen format. We can of course transfer 4 X 3 films in 16 X 9, but this will obviously lose or crop some of the frame area as a trade off. However, home movies can look really great in this format.
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What is the difference between the Bosch and Flashscan telecine machines
The Bosch was designed for broadcast production work and the Flashscan, the transfer of 8mm film formats to DVD. The high resolution images from our both these telecine machines would make it difficult, for you to see a difference in quality even with two identical television sets.The difference (which you would not see) would be in the capturing of the image. This is very important when all the material that has been shot is required for editing, as the broadcast machine can cope much better with film that may have shrunk, damaged or have bad joins. Also the method used by the Bosch to stabilize and count the frames is far more responsive.
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Can you transfer in HD
Yes, but be very careful as an HD transfer may not make any real difference to your images.
HD is a 16 X 9 widescreen format and your films are probably in the old academy 4 X 3 size.
HD is not a sign of quality, but a format like VHS, Betamax or
An example would your photo printer. If you were printing important photos, you could use a better quality printer with high quality paper, but it would not make your old out of focus snapshot of Grannie look any better as a result of those efforts. So using that example, if your material is home movie, it is quite very unlikely it will have the resolution required for HD, but if you are a producer, you may require an HD transfer to future proof your production or to ingest the material onto your time-line.
A great idea if you are using HDV with Final Cut-Pro.
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Is it easy to transfer videotape?
This depends on the condition and format of the tape. There are many electronic gadgets to help enhance and restore tape, but many problems cannot be rectified due to age, poor storage or inferior tape stock. In order to be able to make use of the technical restoration process we must transfer from the original tape and not a copy.We can still repair and transfer most vintage tapes to DVD, subject to evaluation, but time is running out on all magnetic tapes as the recommended shelf life is now estimated at less than 10 years.
Our advice is, if you have a valuable tape make a copy to DVD as soon as possible.
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Will I be able to edit on my computer?
Yes, providing you have editing software and you can input the media. We do not code or copy protect DVDs or any other format, as we feel it is wrong to prevent clients from editing or making copies. We can also supply your films on disc, hard-drive or any other digital formats for more advance editing.Back to FAQ Index
My old film has not been seen for years can you restore it?
We have restoration, repair and cleaning facilities for all gauges of vintage film. This facility is used by many museums and film archives. Have a look at the video on the restoration page.Back to FAQ Index
Can you transfer sound?
We have facilities for the transfer of all magnetic and optical tracks for any format of film. We can also transfer from reel-to-reel tape, cassette, gramophone record or CD.Back to FAQ Index
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