Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is my original film harmed in any way during the transfer process?
2. Will you send back the original film with my DVD’s?
3. How long will a DVD last and is it the best way to store my transferred film.
4. I have 16mm film, can this be converted to DVD also?
5. How long will my original film last?
6. How do I know if my film has sound on it?
7. I’m hesitant about sending my films through the mail just in case they get lost. Can I drop them off and pick them up when they are finished.
8. I have a great deal of family film converted and stored on Betamax and VHS tapes. Is this a good way to archive my material.
9. I am a little confused. I have a reel of film that I have been told has 50ft of film on it, yet on the box it states that it is 25ft. Am I being charged for 50ft of film when it should only be 25ft.

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Answer 1: Is my original film harmed in any way during the transfer process?

No, your original film is first inspected for any damage prior to projection and any necessary repairs performed at that stage. We use a low power LED light source to project your film that will not cause heat damage normally associated with standard projection

Answer 2: Will you send back the original film with my DVD’s?

Your original film will be returned to you via registered mail for storage and safekeeping

Answer 3: How long will a DVD last and is it the best way to store my transferred film.

Manufacturing companies claim all sorts of life expectancy from their DVD media, ranging up to a 100 years. This may or may not be true however DVD as a format will be superseded very soon with other emerging formats now in production or in development. Within a few years it may be necessary to convert your DVD’s into another format when DVD goes the way of the VHS video and Betamax formats.

In 20 or so years your DVD player will be a relic similar to the old wind-up gramophone. It is important to make sure your films are stored in the digital format current at the time. Once you have your films in a digital format then successive transfers will not further degrade in quality.

It seems that every couple of years a new storage medium becomes available, so keeping up with technology will no doubt be on ongoing saga.

Many customers request that their raw film data be transferred to a portable USB hard drive for storage. These drives are quite inexpensive and will store your film in its raw format for later editing.

Again spinning hard drives are being replaced with solid state memory with no moving parts, so ensure that you keep up to date with the prevailing technology and backup important data in multiple locations.

Answer 4: I have 16mm film, can this be converted to DVD also?

Yes, we have transfer equipment for both 16mm, 8mm and 9.5mm film with and without sound.

Answer 5: How long will my original film last?

This is difficult to answer as there are many factors that determine the life of your film. We have converted 16mm film taken in 1925 which is over 80 years old, however this film was kept in a good storage location all of its life. Due to the humidity and heat in Australia, film can begin deteriorating within 20 to 30 years with the emulsion becoming brittle and starting to crack or will have mildew forming on the surface. Most film shot during the 1970’s will now be middle aged and will continue to lose image clarity and colour as time progresses if not kept in a controlled environment.

Answer 6: How do I know if my film has sound on it?

A magnetic strip was added to super 8mm film allowing the recording of sound. Not all super 8mm film had this feature with only a very small percentage of film being shot with sound. The film will display a magnetic strip down both edges if audio has been included. If your film has sound this will be transferred at the same time as the film is converted at no additional cost. Standard 8mm which was always sold as silent film often had a sound strip added after processing to allow audio to be included post production. The film could then include background music or narration when played back through a standard 8mm projector with recording/playback features. Some Super 8mm film has optical sound which is more common on 16mm film.

Answer 7: I’m hesitant about sending my films through the mail just in case they get lost. Can I drop them off and pick them up when they are finished.

We are located in Brisbane so drop-off and pick-up is quite welcomed. Alternatively, Registered Australia post is a very secure method of transport requiring a signature upon collection. This ensures that only the addressee can collect your film. Your film should also only be sent to our PO Box number where it is kept safe until collection.

Answer 8: I have a great deal of family film converted and stored on Betamax and VHS tapes. Is this a good way to archive my material.

Unfortunately the older analogue Betamax and VHS video tapes have a shorter life than the film they were replacing. We have been told that tapes have a life of around 15 to 20 years so this is not the ideal solution for your video. It is highly recommended that your original treasured family film be transferred again to digital format in order to keep up with the prevailing technology. There is no technology yet available that will not need to be upgraded every 20 to 30 years. Within a few years DVD will also become obsolete with further upgrades required. Any storage of film using an analogue medium will result in a drop in quality every time it is copied also. Once you have a digital file it can be copied many times without any loss in quality. If you still have the original film I would suggest having it transferred once again to a digital format rather than transferring the tape version to DVD. You will find the quality from the original film will be far better than the transfer from your tape version.

Answer 9: I am a little confused. I have a reel of film that I have been told has 50ft of film on it, yet on the box it states that it is 25ft. Am I being charged for 50ft of film when it should only be 25ft.

I agree, this seems to be a contradiction and I will try to explain. The original standard 8mm film was supplied in 25ft rolls of 16mm wide film which existed well before the 8mm format became popular. Kodak decided to modify their existing 16mm film stock to be used for the newly emerging 8mm market by created extra sprocket holes in the film to fit the 8mm cameras and then supplying it in 25ft rolls. The camera operator would expose one half of the 16mm film in the camera then take the film out, turn it over and expose the other half. When the film was sent away for developing it was split down the middle and joined together end to end forming one continuous 50ft length. If the film was turned over in strong sunlight the film would sometimes display bright orange flares on the edges where it was exposed to the light and is a common problem with film that was not handled correctly. This film was called double 8 film simply because it needed to have a double exposure in the camera.