Looking for advice on 8mm film transfer options

[Gordon F]

Hello hoping for good advice, I'm in the process of sending off my family's films (almost 10,000 feet of 8mm & Super8) to be transferred professionally frame by frame but I'm torn by whether it's worth going for the HD given the $2000 difference in costs

Here are the quotes in Australian $:

Option Standard Definition

Approx. 9850 feet x $0.29 = $2856.50 Inc GST (without sound)

Option High Definition

Approx. 9850 feet x $0.49 = $4826.50 Inc GST (without sound)


This is their process:

http://www.diskbank.com.au/8mm-super8-16mm-film-to-dvd/film-transfer-process


and this is their claimed achievable graphic diff between resolutions:

http://www.diskbank.com.au/8mm-super8-16mm-film-to-dvd/hd-vs-sd/


What do people think? - I've read for and against to the point of confusion so I guess i'm looking for difinitive reassurance one way or the other before I commit.

Thanks for any help.

[DB83]

Have you seen a full sample of thier work ?

If not just send two reels and get one done SD and one HD. But my gut feeling is to go, eventually, at SD

[smrpix]

You're not going to get a definitive answer. I like DB83's advice to do SD/HD samples, but since you're ultimately spending $3-5k, it's probably worth the few extra bucks to do the SAME reel. (I bet they would do the SD version free if you tell them your overall plan.)

[Gordon F]

Good suggestions. We've already had a total of 4 reels converted at standard def. but using 2 separate businesses. The first 2 reels we had done we weren't happy with. So we sent the next 2 reels to the place we're dealing with now as they came back much, much better - now I wish we'd had him do one in HD - damn and blast!

All 4 reels have been uploaded to my YT account so I could show other members of the family.

Here's some excerpts I edited out for the sake of history if anyone wants to have a look - My parents worked and lived in the States in the 50's which is why an Australian has footage of 1954 Chicago lol.

Norge Ski Club - Soldier Field - Chicago, 1954

Chicago Auto Show 1954

Ice Follies of 1954

(All 4 full reels were uploaded to a playlist on my Youtube account if anyone is a sucker for 1950's Chicago but they're unedited - except for the funky music on the first 2 reels!)

It's a hell of a lot of money - has anyone had experience with his method of transfer and confirm his advertised extreme contrast in quality? If the quality is marginal I don't think I could justify it?

[manono]

You uploaded the VOBs or MPEGs directly without resizing them first so the aspect ratio is off. One I downloaded is 450x360 or 1.25:1, the same ratio as a 720x576 PAL DVD. It should have been resized for upload to YouTube to some 1.33:1 ratio, ones such as 640x480 or 480x360. Can't you tell everyone is slightly too tall and thin?

I guess you don't want to do any cleanup on them? If you're curious as to what kind of restoration can be done on 8mm film by home enthusiasts, have a look at this (not mine):

http://vimeo.com/11133342

[smrpix]

Unfortunately YouTube isn't the best way to judge quality (Vimeo at least allows folks to download the untouched original at the poster's option.)

In terms of flicker and color saturation this looks like a decent transfer -- can't judge sharpness. There are duplicated frames, but that's to be expected from an 18fps original. If you can send them a 50ft reel to test in HD it won't cost an arm and a leg.

[DB83]

The method that this company use is well known.

There was even a website where you could buy the equipment and software - so maybe that is where they got it. My memory fails me now of what it is called somethingPrinter. Came in various specs and prices.

Impossible to confirm his advertised extreme contrast in quality. You do need real samples of your own material. If you are happy with the DVD quality then go for it. The extra cost of the HD is, in my book, not worth it as if the dvd quality if fine you can simply invest in a good up-scaling dvd-player to get HD.

[smrpix]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with DB83 on this one point. Since your source is film there's more image information available than SD can handle. The question is whether it's enough more to justify the cost.

[DB83]

Recharged the brain's batteries. The word I was looking for is 'WorkPrinter'

Take a look here:

http://www.moviestuff.tv/8mm_telecine.html

[Gordon F]

Thanks everyone for responding. I may send a reel as suggested to get a proper comparison - have to talk it over with family first. Gee it'd be nice to be loaded and not have to deal with such dilemmas!

I'll keep checking back in case anyone adds anything and thanks for your help.

[Gordon F]

I'll see if I can find out what model they're using DB83

[Gordon F]

DB83, I'm going to assume it's one of the Snipers as they specifically state on their webpage that they don't bounce the image?

c Frame by frame capture

This conversion involves capturing each individual frame of the film with frame by frame transfer technology and is currently the best consumer conversion process available anywhere in the world, without moving to the very expensive Rank systems. Our frame by frame scanners are hand made in America by the same company that provides Hollywood archive agencies with their transfer scanners. A bit more expensive, but the extra quality is definitely worth the extra money. No flicker, no hot spots, no burnt out frames or fuzzy blackened edges. Another advantage is that the film cannot be damaged by overheated projector lamps or jammed projectors because our frame by frame capture process uses a 40 watt cool daylight balanced globe.

(Frame by frame transfer is available for 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm films, with HD transfer available for 8mm and super 8 film transfers.)