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  1. here is a pic of another rudimentary mod i have done. The pitiful quality of the arms is so bad that they sag forward when the film is on , causing the film to feed into the reflecta on a less-than-ideal trajectory. Basically, i used some electrical tape to pull the arm back so the film at least rolls in straight.

    Helps to avoid the "Film Stuck!!" problem again...thanks to smoother uptake of the film.
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  2. i wanted to add...anyone having problems with the "Film Stuck!!" message needs to TRY PUTTING A POWERED USB HUB IN BETWEEN YOUR PC AND THE UNIT.

    make sure the USB leads are as high quality (thick) as possible, ideally with the magnet shielding "blob" on the lead somewhere (this filters out interference from AC and radio eg mobile phone) and the USB leads are as short as possible.

    I can second a previous assertion in this thread by a very astute contributor that inserting a powered USB hub between the PC and Reflecta fixes this problem. Indeed it solved this issue for me. Instantly...no more "Film Stuck!!" messages.

    It appears that the USB circuitry in the Reflecta is not particularly strong. My suspicion from looking at the board inside is that it is actually powered by the USB 5V lead voltage that is supplied from the PC, not from its own internal Reflecta power supply (yet another design shortcut/flaw). Laptop PCs are also more venerable to the "Film Stuck!!" problem as their USB ports are not particually strong in supplying the correct voltage at their ports.

    Use a powered hub for this unit to avoid problems.

    Hope this helps.
    Last edited by Blackout; 31st Jan 2020 at 11:33.
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  3. Ive been asked a few times what my process is from scanner to final file so here goes:

    1:/ Two passes with Reflecta scanner using Cyberview. Hitting "Calibrate" in between. Do not "make video" using Cyberview, just continue on so that jpgs are on the HD.
    2:/ combine the sub-folders together that Cyberview has made for the pass when the "Film Stuckk" message has popped up for absolutely no valid reason.
    3:/ Now with all the jpgs in one folder and numbered sequentially, load the first jpg into Virtualdub (32 bit version). Change frame rate to 18fps (in my case). Hit play and watch for stuck moments or particularly bad dirt on frames. Mark down on some paper the approximate frames
    4:/ Scroll to the frame jpgs numbers using Total Commander and double click, loading Windows Picture Viewer. Click thru the frames and delete any double frames, right-click and open in Photoshop any dirty frames and clean using the Healing tool. Save jpg as Baseline (not progressive!).
    5:/ using Total Commander. renumber the whole folder of files so they are sequential again (assuming ive deleted some frames).
    6:/ reload first frame into Virtualdub. Ensure 18fps is chosen. Save to uncompressed AVI. "Raw film".

    IF the film is scratched:
    7a) open my special .avs scratched file in VirtualdubMOD (after renaming Raw film file to scratched.avi first)
    7b) make changes to .avs scratched file settings in notepad
    7c) use "F5" (refresh) in Vdub once changes are made.
    7d) once scratches are removed and looks good, save as uncompressed avi. Append "Descratched" to filename.

    Deshaking frames:
    8:/ Load Virtualdub 32 bit with the deshaker plugin in the plugin set
    9:/ Open first jpg (change zoom to 66% by right clicking on screen)
    10:/ Set framerate to 18 fps.
    11:/ Add Deshaker plugin. (under video / filter)
    12:/ Use my saved template jpg to adjust my custom settings to deshaker
    13:/ Play thru all video with "Pass 1". Go have a coffee
    14:/ open plugin again, choose "Pass 2" and THEN rewind Vdub to start by sliding slider.
    15:/ Render to Uncompressed avi and append "Deshaker" to name.

    Adding Sound:
    16:/ Open Vegas 10 (not 11 or 12 or onwards!!)
    17:/ Load my template with the session of HD (1920x1080, and track of shutter noise running for 20 mins to use in case the film has no audio)
    18:/ Open Sound Forge. Record audio to 48k 24 bit file from Eumig projector in real time from DIN output plug (shutter removed/bypassed for smooth audio, lamp disconnected for less hum). Save.
    19:/ Denoise audio file. Filter out 50hz hum. EQ Save. Close SF
    19:/ Load audio file into Vegas, pitch change audio (Classic, Lock to Stretch setting, 0.57 ot 0.6386 or 0.5195 amount seems to be correct depending).
    20:/ Turn off all video plugins to ensure audio is in sync. Once syncked, turn back on video plugins
    21:/ Adjust Vegas 10's amazing "Sharpen" plugin (crap in SV11 onwards), Contrast, Saturation, Neatvideo plugin to remove image noise.
    22:/ Render to HD1080 18 fps AVI with appended "inc sound and Neatvideo".

    If frame smoothing wanted : Twixtor
    23a) Import video from above and choose my Twixtor Template.
    23b) Use my settings #3 setting (just trial and error to achieve)
    23c) Right click on video file and choose 2x playback speed
    23d) save.

    Finalizing to mp4
    24:/ Load TMPGENC
    25:/ Load avi file
    26:/ render as 50fps progressive HD1920x1080 15mb bitrate AAC LC 320k 48khz final mp4 file.

    Enjoy super8 file on TV and give to rest of family.

    Hope this helps.
    Cheers,
    Blackout
    Last edited by Blackout; 14th Feb 2020 at 09:56.
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  4. Member
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    Hi. brand new here. had my reflecta super 8 scanner sitting for a few years. now trying for the first time.
    it does good work.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/DUBRvoxCgR8sRt6F9
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  5. Hi every body.
    I have just received my new scanner and by chance I have soon discovered your thread.
    It's a gold mine and I admire your ingenuity.

    But I have a problem.
    I changed some files (add and delete pictures) in the folders ImageDataxxx created, changed the file plan.ini accordingley but now I can't build my film.
    I receive the message "failed combination".
    How could I fix that?

    Thank you for your help.
    Guy
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  6. Hello.
    Thanks to all the contributors trying to make the Reflecta Super8 function like it should. Especially Blackout! I've made the mods to my scanner.

    I'm using the Super8 (not Plus). I've had the duplicate frames problem (post #270), but I upgraded the software and I think the problem went away. Now I have the skipped frames problem. I think I may need updated firmware. But this is old and I can't find firmware downloads anywhere.

    What are the best (latest?) software and firmware versions? Does anybody know where they are archived for download?

    Thanks.
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    Some downloads links are here:
    https://www.scanace.com/sd.php?cid=2&pid=48&pcid=21
    https://www.scanexperte.de/download-links.html#Software für Super 8+ Scanner

    BTW according to firmware the sensor seems to be ON-Semi (former Aptina) 1/2.3″ MT9N001 color RAW sensor
    Pixel Size (Micron) Shutter Sensor Size Resolution
    MT9N001 1.75 Rolling 1/2.3" 3488 x 2616
    Last edited by Oto; 8th Jan 2021 at 09:23.
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  8. Dear all,

    I also have the Reflecta Normal and Super 8 scanner, haven’t used it for ages but wanted to see if I could get a better scan out it


    I've read through the whole forum but still have a couple of questions. Hope someone can help me out

    1) I noticed that there's quite some overexposure and the whites are pretty washed out sometimes when I disable the auto brightness + auto contrast option. Looks like I get the best results when I set contrast to auto and leave brightness to 0. What are your experience with these settings? I read in an earlier post that the auto option isn't very good and should be left alone.

    2) My CyberView S8 version is 1.1.2.14i and firmware is 2.011. Would you recommend to update? I've bought the machine years a few years ago and there's no warranty anymore so I'm a bit scared that things won't work after update. In case you recommend to upgrade would you know where to get the files from? Reflecta doesn't show them on their website anymore.

    3) I'm doing a scanning for which I need short clips from a couple of 120 meter reels. Since it takes 24hrs to scan I don't want to scan the full reel. Unfortunately it looks like I can't use the fast forward and reverse buttons, so looks like my only option is to scan the whole reel?

    I've bought a few old Disney films online to experiment with without risking to damage my family films

    Thanks for your help! Love this forum, great to see so many people are trying to save all this valuable super 8 footage
    Last edited by Remco00; 19th Nov 2021 at 14:37. Reason: Removed photo for privacy
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  9. heya...sorry to hear you have scratched/damaged some of your precious baby film. Its bloody criminal eh. Best thing to do once you have dug yourself into a hole tho, is to STOP DIGGING. Dont do any more damage. Do the mods. I did exactly the same thing, experimented with a cartoon film for weeks until i was ready to put in my precious baby film.

    1:/ Disable auto brightness and disable auto contrast, and THEN, ONLY THEN, AFTER THEY ARE OFF, RUN THE CALIBRATION button ...but also first wait until after about 10 minutes of turning the unit on. The white LED warms up and it changes its brightness and white balance as it warms up. I see the problem you have about whites. I had it several times. After calibration function and then adjusting the brightness slider manually in Cyberview software, all that detail came back. Then in your software program (i use Sony Vegas) you can bring back up the whites to have good brightness and it also will have the white detail, not just blown out solid white.

    2:/ its on several other sites not just Reflecta site keep doing searches.

    3:/ a) Reflecta runs faster with a PC that is faster...also mine takes a pic and the pause between the next frame is shorter when i use a powered USB Hub. Who knows why. Go figure.

    b) always....use smaller reels. Do not use reels larger than 7 inch. The crappy, rubbish takeup motor spindle cant handle the heavier weight of a larger reel with more film onboard, it doesnt pull hard enough on the film to keep it stable once the mods are correctly done and it either eventually leaves you with film all over the floor or it jams. And you cant pull the film out when it starts jamming and skipping frames due to some shredded film teeth, or something else. Always break big reels up into several smaller ones, a 7 inch reel takes me around 8-10 hours. Thats more than enough. I do 2-3 passes of every 7 inch reel and find that it often skips in different scenes, and then i put together the perfect "no skips" footage
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  10. Thank you so much for your help, Blackout. Really appreciated.


    I have one additional question, hope you can help me: How did you attach the fabric? If I zoom in it looks like you used some double-sided tape?
    Last edited by Remco00; 19th Nov 2021 at 14:39. Reason: Privacy, removed personal photos
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  11. hi Blackout, in a reply a few years ago you wrote that you removed the transparant plastic part which attempts to keep the film in place (see photo which was posted at that time). I think it's one of the sources of potential scratches when reversing the film so I might want to remove this part. I was wondering you removed it without damaging the machine? Did you just gently break it? And did you first remove the black plastic part to which it's glued to?
    Last edited by Remco00; 19th Nov 2021 at 14:40. Reason: Privacy, removed personal photos
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  12. Member
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    Hi, there.

    I removed the transparent plastic flap to avoid any scratches, it was glued, and just by pulling it, it came off very easily. The machine works perfectly without it, I don't think it's necessary at all.

    HOWEVER, I must say that this doesn't avoid the scratching. Whenever I scan a new roll of film for the second time, a vertical line appears on the left side of the frame, done by the machine during the first scanning. I don't know where the scratcher is or how to fix the problem. I wish I knew...
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    I think that I went too fast when I said that the removal of the transparent plastic piece doesn't affect the scanning. I'd say that maybe it makes the image less stable, it looks as if the frame was constantly moving closer and further from the sensor. I must add a pad or something that doesn't hurt the film and replaces the plastic piece.
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    Hi to all - from Britany in France!

    I just got hold of a pre-owned Reflecta Super 8 unit, and experimented a little.

    As most of you, I will be working on the "film stuck" issue. By miracle, I got to scan a 15 m reel in one go. But then the dreaded "film is stuck" message entered the scene. But this forum gives plenty of advice on this, so I am confident that I will succeed (will I?).

    One thing that astonished me is the colour temperature at which the scan is rendered. I measured it. The rendering is as if the film was illuminated by a 100W tungsten lamp (not halogen). Such a lamp gives a colour temperature of 2850K. Bright, but quite yellow. The RGB content after calibration is circa 250.240.185 It should really be 255.255.255 So, clearly, not enough blue.

    A halogen lamp used in projectors is circa 3200K: much whiter, less yellow.

    This means that nobody can be satisfied by the yellowish rendering of the scanner. You have to do some post processing colour balancing (essentially by forcing up the blue content and lowering the red).

    I have tried another way. That is to add a small blue filter just in front of the illuminator when scanning. I cut a 1.5 cmx 1.5 cm square in a piece of blue transparent wrapping paper that was lying in my paper bin. The procedure is to calibrate the illuminator WITHOUT the filter, then to insert the filter against the light box window (between the white plastic window and the metal slider) before scanning. This reduces the red and green content. Then add some brightness manually on the brightness scale of the software to get a good image. The result all depends on the blue filter: too light and the effect is not enough. Too dark and the whole image becomes very blueish. If the filter is well chosen, this could eliminate the need of post-processing for some films. The scan is more pleasant (although post processing will be needed to further enhance the scan (colour balance, contrast, sharpness, etc.).

    I have thought of another way. That is to add some blue light by inserting a small blue LED inside the light box (and only switch it on AFTER calibration). It would enable to adjust the added blue content easily. I don't yet know if that is physically possible (I have not opened the light box yet). I will come back about this idea shortly.

    Edit: In fact, the latest version of CyberView S8 software (version 2.2) addresses this problem : it offers a choice between "Cold White" or "Warm white". Choose "Cold White" and in many cases, the colour balance is OK.

    Also, for some difficult to understand reason, this 2.2 version of CyberView handles the film much better, resulting if fewer (if any at all) "The film is stuck" messages...
    Last edited by Transatlantic; 10th Feb 2022 at 09:13.
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  15. Member
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    Originally Posted by Blackout View Post
    Ive been asked a few times what my process is from scanner to final file so here goes:


    IF the film is scratched:
    7a) open my special .avs scratched file in VirtualdubMOD (after renaming Raw film file to scratched.avi first)
    7b) make changes to .avs scratched file settings in notepad
    7c) use "F5" (refresh) in Vdub once changes are made.
    7d) once scratches are removed and looks good, save as uncompressed avi. Append "Descratched" to filename.
    Hi Blackout. Where do I find this "special .avs scratched file" that you mention?
    Best regards, Patrick
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  16. Member
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    Originally Posted by Sveti View Post

    The most practical and simple fix that we eventually came up with was to super glue .5mm small pieces of copper wire on the exciting pressure plate so as to eliminate any film misalignment as the film moves through the frame scanning process.
    Hum... I tried this trick, using thin steel pins from my wife's sewing box (diameter .57 mm), but I didn't see any improvement...

    So I will now try to put rollers above and below, as suggested by Sveti...

    Edit: My problem has been solved by updating CyberView S8 software to version 2.2 : Much better film handling. No halts during scanning. And, cherry on the cake: a "Cold White" option that eliminates the yellow/orange bias.
    Last edited by Transatlantic; 10th Feb 2022 at 09:13.
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  17. Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    A motion interpolation filter (SmoothFPS) was used generate in-between frames. I think I sped the original video to 20 fps then tripled the frame rate -- 60 fps plays very smoothly on a computer monitor running at 60 fps.
    Looks jarring. Smooth panning, yet people move unnaturally with only 11% speed increase. The woman in white jacket clearly walks too fast. The people on the back also move faster than normal. Their speed of movement plus the choppiness caused by low frame rate is not converted to normal. This is why I don't care for all the AI restored 60 fps early 20th century movies - the movement still does not look real and the footage does not look like native 60 fps.

    I suppose, 4% speed increase with 3:3:2 pulldown (Blackout is in 50 Hz region) should look better. Here "better" means closer to how actual projected film would look. Reading the "Finalizing to mp4" part above, I wonder whether TMPGENC is smart enough to do it automatically.
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  18. Member
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    Hi,
    Does anyone have software/firmware/driver for this device (reflecta Super8+)? Cause manufacturer pulled all the files down and unable to use this device
    Couldnt find on web.archive.org.

    Found installer for: CyberViewX 5.18.12, but it gives "Unable to communicate with the Film Scanner."
    Pic below:
    Image
    [Attachment 68631 - Click to enlarge]


    Found installer for: CyberView S8 v1.1.2.14, but it gives "CyberView S8 can not connect with the digitizer!", its visible that windows automatically installed driver "SUPER8+" in device manager.
    Pic below:
    Image
    [Attachment 68632 - Click to enlarge]


    Im starting to think if device is defective or some-kind of special driver needed.

    To verify if device is working, tried program "WebcamViewer" and result below (working):
    Image
    [Attachment 68633 - Click to enlarge]


    Tried clean windows 7 install, same behavior
    Last edited by PiuksPauks; 11th Jan 2023 at 08:41.
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    Turned out that needed right software to get Super8+ working, asked reflecta support and they provided the software. Uploading here incase someone needs in future. Thumbs up for reflecta support.
    Image Attached Files
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  20. Originally Posted by ddearmont View Post
    I have this film scanner. Has anyone else had problems with the Capture button not enabling? I have threaded the film through the converter, and see the first image on the screen, but the capture button doesn't enable, so I can't capture anything.
    Lots of ppl asking this question....

    manually adjust the film in the scanning area...and suddenly the "Capture" button will become enabled magically. Reflecta just doesnt like where the film is sitting right now, so move it a little. I usually just apply some gentle tension on the take-up reel, it pulls enough on the film to budge the frame thats being scanned slightly from its position and WHAM the Capture button becomes active.

    Another reason why you need to bypass the lower sprocket. So you can control this tension. Otherwise when you touch the takeup reel you are just pulling against the teeth of the lower sprocket in vain.

    Im betting all the ppl seeing this Capture button not working are denying the necessary mods and still using the lower sprocket...your fault!

    Cheers,
    Blackout
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  21. Today i did the focus adjust ment for the Reflecta. Heres some more pics i took as i went....

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    Use your fingers to squeeze the front button panel off.
    I used long-nosed pliers after scraping away the glue from the lens. It then turned quite easily...only needed to apply a light amount of plier squeeze to get it turning.
    I turned it 3 swings of access allowing turn per focus check...the pliers can only swing so far before hitting the top or bottom of the access area.
    I turned it one way until it looked really out of focus, took about 6 lots of 3 turns. Then i went back to original, and started swinging it the other way.
    Got a good feel for where the "middle ground - best focus" was and it turned out to be about 10-15 deg away from its original spot. So well worth doing.

    Cheers,
    Blackout
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  22. Hi i got a message that tells me the softwar has stoped working and that is that. Have anyone experience that?
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  23. Member
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    Hi, is anybody have a latest firmware 2.0.12 or newer?
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