Transfer Your Home
Movies or Video to DVD or Blu-Ray High Definition DVD
Home Samples FAQ Standard and High Definition Audio Transfers Rates Order Contact Us Recommended Links
Frequently Asked Questions / Film Basics
Ferin
Films can transfer your home movies to standard definition or high definition
DVD and Blu-ray video discs.
Film Cleaning
It is not
required to have your films cleaned prior to transfer, but we do offer it as an
additional charge. Film cleaning will
remove dirt and build-up. While it
cannot fix film scratches, it will condition the film to give it a longer life
and help prevent breaks. Cleaning may
loosen tape splices. If that occurs, we
will replace the film splice. We use
Film Renew for all film cleaning. It is
considered one of the safest ways to clean your film.
What Kind of Film Do I Have?
Regular
8mm and Super 8mm films are both the same width. The big difference is that the sprocket holes
are much smaller on Super 8 film. The
reduced size allows for a larger picture area on Super 8 films. 16mm films are twice the width of 8mm
films. 16mm films can have sprockets on
one side or both sides of the film.
Another
difference is in the reel itself. The
hub of a super 8 film reel is larger than the regular 8 film reel.
How Much Film Is On My Reel?
The
picture above shows a 50 reel of film.
The most common size of home movie reels are 50, 200 and 400. Other sizes are available, but they are much
less common.
|
Reel Size |
Feet |
Approximate Time 18fps |
|
3 |
50 |
3.5
minutes |
|
4 |
100 |
7
minutes |
|
5 |
200 |
14
minutes |
|
7 |
400 |
28
minutes |
|
8 |
600 |
35
minutes |
|
10 |
800 |
55
minutes |
|
12 |
1200 |
70
minutes |
Is My Film Sound or Silent?
Your film
has sound if it has magnetic stripes on it.
There will be 2 stripes. Most
films will be mono even if there are two stripes. In the 80s, a movement started to use both
stripes for stereo sound. Note that
there are also super 8 films that have optical sound, but those are far less
common.
I Have Little Video Tapes, What Are They?
Ferin
Films can transfer your films from VHS, Mini-DV, Hi-8 and Digital 8 tapes. VHS are the large, common tape size. We can transfer VHS tapes from the USA, which
use the NTSC standard. We also can
transfer VHS tapes that are recorded in the European PAL format and convert
them to the NTSC format.
This is a
mini-DV tape. It can hold standard
definition or high definition video.
This is a
hi8 tape. It can hold a high quality
analog hi-8 signal or a digital 8 signal.
Can the Color of My Films Change?
Unfortunately,
yes
. BUT, how much it changes depends on the kind of film. Some film stock will retain its color for a
long time, other film stock will fade over time. If your film is Kodak Kodachrome, then your
color should last a very long time. You may
have heard of LLP. LLP means Low Fade
Positive Print and it was made by Kodak.
Other film stocks such as Eastmancolor or Fiji Color made pre-80s will fade. The blues may fade away completely over time, making the film go pink, and then red.
Kodak film
was very popular for home movies. Take a
look at the SAMPLES page. There you will see film from the 50s and 60s
that was shot with Kodak film and still has a strong color palate. Then look at the sound Elmo Stereo sample. This was circa early 1980s and printed with
inferior stock. You can see the blues
are going away in this film. If you
purchased any commercial color films in the 70s or 80s at K-mart or Sears, films like Star Wars,
The French Connection, Jaws, or other such films, they are probably all pink by
now because they routinely used inferior quality film in the commercial releases. It is unfortunate. The good news is that those films are all
available on DVD and there is a very good chance your home movies look good!
There
hasnt been a better time to get home movies transferred. Dont wait!
Time can continue to reduce the life of your films. Let us help you get your films put onto DVD
for you and your kids to enjoy!
Thank you for visiting our site!
Ferin Films Your Source for Film to
DVD Transfers
www.ferinfilms.com
This page
is copyright Ferin Films.