Hi

We have a collection of old family movies here (the ones on a reel) that I would love to convert to DVD to preserve them. Just wondering how I can do it and what hardware I need? Is there a way to do this at home or should I e prepared to pay for a professional to do it for me?

Thanks for any input.

Lou

Re: Convert old movie films to DVD

You can do this at home. You will need a decent video camera and tripod. Play the movie on screen and record it. The results aren't bad. I use a new hard drive digital video camera ($1,500) which I bought ahead of a family holiday. Brilliant machine. You can then transfer the digital files to PC and create your DVD's. You could use any digital camera. Otherwise there are pro outfits who can do the job.

Chris B

Re: Convert old movie films to DVD

A google search shows that there are companies that will do this for you. But the fact that they are reluctant to quote prices indicates its not cheap. The search showed up one company that intended selling a product that allowed you to do it yourself, but again no price, so you'd probably have to have a lot of movies to convert to justify the cost.

Re: Convert old movie films to DVD

Louise,

My wedding ceremony was filmed with several Super 8 video cameras in the days well before the arrival of the DVD. I took the reels to a camera shop and they put them on DVD for me and it wasn't expensive either. If the films are of sentimental value it's worth spending a few bob getting a pro to do it. To do it at home you'd need some expensive equipment which you'd only use probably once for the job in hand.

Re: Convert old movie films to DVD

I've tinkered with converting Super 8 (8mm) reel film to digital video which can then be converted to DVD (MPEG2) using a computer with a video capture card and a standard video camera.

Because the 8mm is generally filmed at 18 frames per second, a simple way to do it is to project the reel onto a reasonably close surface to the camera and then capture this using a frame rate close to 18 frames per second. The frame rate normally needs to be configured on the computer in the software which you are using the capture the video.

Depending on the camera you use, you may need to try various levels of lighting in the room aside from just pitch black, as average handy cams which feature auto exposure may get thrown out by the projected image and light changes, but having a dim light around it seems to aleviate this at time. If you can manually configure these settings on your camera, then all the better.

Using software on your computer you can then make use of a padding conversion method to fill the frames in your recorded clip so that your video can be played back at a standard 25 frames per second which we use for our PAL video and DVD players. Otherwise just filming with a normal video input set to PAL 25fps will result in an annoying flicker due to the frame difference.

This method of converting the reel film is regarded as amateurish by the professionals, but if you have a video capture card and some software on your computer, then it's a pretty cheap way of converting your movies if you're just happy with the quality as you see it.

You may have to use a variety of software to do it, as we ended up using VirtualDub to to the capture at 18 frames per second, and then other software such as Adobe Premiere Pro to further edit and adjust the colour and lighting qualities. If you're interested in it and have the time though, it's a good learning experience.

If you don't have any video gear for your computer already and just have a few reels of film, then you might be better off approaching a professional who uses a system such as frame by frame conversion. This is more reliable and can often offer better restoration of your old film.

I haven't had much to do with these companies, but the general impression I get is it seems to be a real dog eat dog industry in that a fair proportion of web sites for the companies just spend all their time bagging out what others do and don't even give you a rough price. It'd definately pay to shop around.

I found that just doing a search on Google within Australia for something like 'convert super 8 to dvd' returned a number of companies that did this type of process within Australia. Some listed prices, and the average costing seems to be based on a per foot length of your reel film, not the amount of time it takes them. Some had varying levels of pricing based on the amount of restoration work they performed as well.

Re: Convert old movie films to DVD

The way I do it is as follows. If you have A DV camcorder, DVD Burner for your PC. Software that you can import the movie to the PC (I use Pinnacle version 9) Software to convert the edited movie to make and burn the DVD I use Ulead Movie Factoy (your in business).

Assuming you still have your cine projector record all your cine film to the camcorder,( you dont need a large image projected, just experiment for a good size) then load onto the PC edit and convert to Mpeg using Pinnacle, then use Movie Factory to make the DVD. I first burn to a DVD+/-RW when I am happy with the result I copy to a DVD+/-R.

Check with the camcorder manual how it connects to the computer, it should have a DV outlet also USB the DV outlet is better it will need a Firewire card installed on the PC. If you prefer USB have a USB2 Card installed. I have seen results done by a lab and I cant tell the difference to doing it at home.

Hope this helps

Alan

If you want to enjoy high quality results that are free from annoying flicker, try a professional outfit like www.DuplicationStation.com.au in Brisbane..

They can add in music & titles, plus they use better quality equipment all the way through the process.. it's the sum of all the steps in the process that make a high quality transfer..

my 2c worth..

Chloe

I am sorry, that I interrupt you, would like to offer other decision.

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