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Common Questions about Transferring Your Film, Video, and Slides to Disc.

Ok, you’ve decided that you’d like to enjoy all your family’s memories that are on tapes, slides & film. After all, they’re not doing anybody any good collecting dust in the basement or over at Grandmother’s house somewhere. Now you wonder, ok, how do I go about this? I have no idea what’s on the tapes or on my Dad’s old film reels. What can I expect as far as quality? Will they look better when I get them put on DVD?

Q: If I transfer my film/video to DVD, does it make the video look better?
A: The standard transfer process itself won’t change the appearance/quality of your video, though editing may be able to enhance some video. The lifespan of video is 10-15 yrs. To put it simply, if you choose to postpone the transfer process, you can be guaranteed that your video won’t look any better than it is today but will continue to degrade more each year until faces are no longer recognizable.

Q: How much video can be transferred to a DVD?
A: Industry standard is a maximum of 2 hours for best quality.

Q: If I transfer my own video to DVD, will it play on my DVD player?
A: It all depends on your skill set, choice of DVD & equipment. There are several steps in creating DVDs & it’s not uncommon for DVDs not to play in other players once you’re done making them. Most store bought DVD brands are not as reliable in many players as commercial grade DVDs. You may also want to be aware that using labels on your disks is not recommended. They can warp disks over time & get stuck in equipment.

Q: I have a box full of old movies on film reels and I’m not sure what’s on them. What is the best way to view them?
A: Most people don’t know what’s on their film since most reels aren’t always labeled. If you have an old movie projector at home, you can use that to view your films but most experts don’t recommend it. Because old film is fragile & can break, get fried with the hot bulbs & tear fragile sprockets, you’re probably better off not messing with a projector. Film transferring can be tedious & if not done with the right equipment, it can flicker throughout the process, making it annoying (& not pleasant) to watch. Your choices are to do a straight transfer/ archiving of your film & call it done, or transfer it to a format that will allow for editing. Options in editing include clipping out bad spots, color adjustment, addition of narration or text, changing the order of your film sequences, or adding your favorite music just to name a few.

Q: How should I prepare my slides for transfer to disk?
A: Before you start the process, it’s important to decide what you want to do with
your slides once they’re transferred. Do you plan to simply archive them, keeping
the images from further deterioration? Perhaps you want to create photo prints
for your scrapbook or make a Photo slideshow to play on your TV. There are
different kinds of transfer equipment & steps to each process. Some equipment
has ‘Digital Ice’ technology which means that you don’t have to worry about
removing dust from each slide. You definitely don’t want to rub them with a brush
or you will remove emulsion/color within the slide. Also avoid touching the image
on the slides w/your hands. Some transfer equipment also includes color
adjustment filters, which will improve the images. Editing of your pictures by
cropping & individual color correction/repair of each image will further enhance
your slides for any of the purposes described above.

* Please note that if you want your tapes put on DVD for Christmas, now is the time to call – before the Christmas rush. We’re here to answer any of your questions about old or new technology including the ability to take your digital images off your camera & put them on your I-phone, your website or on disk. Just give us a call @  816-436-9691.