Help me with a project. Convert 8mm film to DVD.

[flyin-lowe]

I have taken on the task of converting a bunch of 8mm film to DVD. My family had a bunch of it so I decided to do it myself as it was going to be over 1000.00 to have them done. I have a Canon HD hard drive camera and a new laptop. I am just projecting the movies and recording the video and it is working out OK. I plan on starting to do some minor editing (just clipping the ends and puttng the scenes to disk.) I might do some generic captions also. My Canon camera came with Image Mixer 3. It only allows you to burn DVD-R. My father in law has Sutdio 14 ultimate. It can burn to +R.
My questions are.
Which disk format will be more likely to play in DVD' players? I plan on giving the disk's to different family members for Xmas. Is one more commonly accepted by DVD players then other's or will most newer players play both?

If I don't want to do any major editing will these programs do most of the work for me? Can I just import the video's and use the make dvd button. I tried a short one last night and it took a long time to render the DVD. I can live with this just curious if there is anything I should know before I get started.
The movies are a .mts format from my camera to my computer.
Thanks in advance.

[CobraPilot]

Some general overview comments that, hopefully, will generate some more technical information and useful suggestions from others.

Nowadays, most newer standalone DVD players have little or no trouble with either DVD-R or DVD+R, as long as they are burned to DVD standards. See "What Is DVD" in the upper left corner, which, among other information, gives compatibility rates (-R is higher), although I'd guess they might be a little out of date. Note, too, the file formats used to create a DVD-standard disc (.vob, .bup, .ifo, etc.)

So, if your camera uses DVD-R and you're using quality discs, you're probably on the right track.

I'm not familiar with Image Mixer 3, but I'm curious about your comment that it will only burn to -R. The type disc (-R, +R) that can be burned is usually a function of your computer's DVD burner, not the software. When your software (Image Mixer 3?) puts your video files into DVD-compatible format playable in most standalone players (will it?), you can then burn to whatever format your burner allows. Most can use either -R or +R, an industry decision to avoid the equivalent to the infamous "VHS vs. Betamax" fiasco, or, more recently, the BlueRay vs. HD DVD war.

There is almost universal agreement here that for burning purposes, the Gold Standard is Imgburn.

[redwudz]

flyin-lowe, in the future, please us a title that is representative of your topic, as per our rules. I've changed yours this time.

[lordsmurf]

DIY sounds nice and all, but it rarely works out to good quality. You'll have various geometry and flicker issues, among others. Some things are worth the money to have done professionally, such as archiving family memories to new media.

I have a feeling you're re-reencoding videos with your software setup. Your workflow is a mess.

[filmboss80]

DIY sounds nice and all, but it rarely works out to good quality. You'll have various geometry and flicker issues, among others. Some things are worth the money to have done professionally, such as archiving family memories to new media.

I have a feeling you're re-reencoding videos with your software setup. Your workflow is a mess.

I agree wholeheartedly. DIY shooting off the projected screen image loses detail and introduces flicker. I also agree that $1000 is steep for an outside service. Get alternate quotes. One of the more reputable services is http://www.wood-land.com.

There are others listed in this older thread: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/195751-Top-quality-professional-transfer-of-8mm-and...Super-8mm-film.

Get it done right the first time.

[flyin-lowe]

Thanks for the info. I know my computer will burn +R as I burnt a +R disk using media player. However when I try to burn a disk using the software that came with my camera I get an error message saying I need to insert the proper media (-R or -RW). I looked in book that came with the software and it only shows -R in the chart that shows what kind of disk's this software is compatable with. I don't have any -R disk so I wasn't able to try it.
I have researched a lot on this project. 15 cents per foot is about the going rate to have it done. There is a local private TV studio in my town that does this as well. I went to him first and he does it the same way that I am doing it (that is why I decided to do it this way) I am able to slow the frame rate of my camera to 24 fps so it takes most of the flicker out. From what I have read there are some companies that use a scanner to scan each individual frame and put them together in a movie but that is even more expensive. The $1000.00 quote that I got was from 2 different companies that just project the video and record it. Right now I am only going to have time invested in it so if the quality is really poor I might save up and have it done later but right now that's not an option. I might go out and buy some -R's and see what happens.
I have a bout 20 400 foot roles of film. So the $1000 was a guess from the companies just for a transfer rate of .12-.15 per foot. That didn't include set up fee's and any other charges.