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Video Services for Businesses & Organizations Video to DVD Transfer and Duplication Biography/Tribute/ Photo Transfers A/V/Projection Rentals & Set Up How to Find Us & Business Hours
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1. What's the difference between 8mm, Super8, Hi8, and Digital 8? There has been some confusion with 8mm formats. 8mm and Super8 (see picture below) are two names for the home movie films most people used between the 1930s and the early 1980s. These are the two formats, along with 16mm, that we have been discussing on this page. For the past 15 years or so, Sony has been selling video cameras that use 8mm videotapes (see photo below). The original models were referred to as 8mm camcorders. Later models introduced were capable of recording at a higher resolution and were called Hi8 camcorders. Several years ago, Sony introduced a new digital version they call Digital 8. All three of these formats use the same size camcorder videotape. Sunray can transfer these to DVD, but that's not what this page of our website is for. For more information on this type of transfer, go to our video transfer page. As mentioned above, we can put your 8mm films onto a Digital 8 master if you happen to own a Digital 8 camcorder.
2. How much film is on a reel? To find out how much film footage you have, measure the diameter of your film reels (straight across the middle of the reel from one edge to the other.
3. How much film will a DVD or VHS tape hold? DVD's and VHS videotapes will hold between 1700 and 1900 feet of film depending on whether it's 8mm or Super8. A DVD can hold almost twice as much 16mm film as 8mm film.
5. What if I don't know what's on the films or what order I want them to be in? We offer two options to help you: 1) We have 8mm and Super 8mm projectors available for rent so you can view your films prior to transferring them. The cost is $ 40.00/day. 2) After the film is transferred to the digital master videotape, Sunray can make a "time-coded" VHS or DVD copy with a counter that will appear on your television screen. You can then go through the video writing down the numbers corresponding with the beginning and end of each segment that you want to have deleted or moved to another part of the video. Using these "time-code" numbers, we can remove portions or "re-arrange" (edit) the order of the film while putting them onto a new digital master without losing any quality. The new master will be used to produce your final DVD. Note: An additional fee of $ 65/hour will be charged to cover the cost of the editing time required to rearrange or delete the clips.
6. What is a digital master? Every film transfer we do includes a digital videotape master. Even though a DVD will provide a digital version of your films with better quality than VHS videotapes, they require the video information to be compressed in order to be able to put up to 2 hours of video onto one DVD. This compression process removes some of the video information and, therefore, diminishes the picture quality somewhat. Our process involves mastering onto an uncompressed digital videotape format to maintain the best picture quality before making DVD copies. In addition to providing a great source for making copies of your movies for you, the digital master is also a great way to have an archival copy of your films that can be stored in a safe place where they can't be lost or destroyed should something happen to your home. A safe-deposit box is one possible location. Normally we master your films on DVCAM, but we can put them on MiniDV or Digital 8 tapes if you prefer.
7. What if I want to edit my own movies on my computer, can I retrieve the files from the DVD? Probably not. Although we do not "copy-protect" the discs, most computer editing programs will not recognize the .VOB files that are put onto a DVD to make them playable on most DVD players. If you already have a MiniDV or Digital 8 camcorder AND you have the ability to capture video (via firewire) from your camera into your computer, we can record your films onto MiniDV or Digital 8 tape/s for you to capture on your own. We can also convert your movies to uncompressed computer files that we can store on an external hard drive that you provide. We can convert them to .AVI, QuickTime, or MPEG2 files for an additional charge. Keep in mind that uncompressed files of video will require approximately 1GB of memory for every 4 minutes of video. So if you want an AVI file for example, a hard drive might be a better method for containing these files since a DVD would only hold about 18-20 minutes of video. Only in MPEG2 can you have up to 2 hours of video on one DVD. This is due to the compression of the video information.
8. Can I add titles to the video or chapters to the DVD? Yes. The first title (appearing at the beginning of the video) is FREE. This is the title you will see when you push play on your DVD player. Additional titles may be added to the video for $5.00 each. Once you have put the DVD in your DVD player, you can press the menu button and you will see a generic menu with one chapter on it. Selecting this chapter is another way to start playing your video. You may add additional chapters to the menu that will allow you to go directly to designated parts within the video. The first chapter title is FREE, each additional chapter title is $5.00 each.
9. How do I know if my film can be transferred? Sunray Video has successfully transferred over 1.5 million feet of film so far. Of all of the film we've received over the years, we've only had a few reels that were so badly warped and damaged that they could not be transferred. Warning signs to look for are: 1) when you open the film canister do you smell a vinegar-like smell and 2) the film is bowed from edge to edge and/or severely warped and starts to break apart easily when you handle it. If you're not sure about the transferability of your film, we'd be happy to evaluate it at no charge.
10. Is there any part of my film that won't be transferred or will be edited out? We don't arbitrarily delete portions of your film transfer. If there is any portion longer than 45 seconds that is totally black (meaning it was never recorded on), we may leave that out. Everything else will remain in the transfer.
11. How soon can I get it done? Our normal turn-around time is 6-10 business days for 8mm film and 12-16 business days for 16mm film. Our turn-around time increases between the 2nd week of November and Christmas. For an additional fee, we can expedite your order. Give us a call for more information about our rush service.
12. How do I place my order? If you're in the San Diego area, you may drop by our office. If you're outside of the San Diego area and you'd prefer to ship them, we strongly encourage using a courier service like UPS or FedEx that has the ability to track the whereabouts of your package. For more instructions proceed to our ordering page.
13. What's the best way to preserve home movies? Since film does decay and deteriorate over time we recommend transferring them to digital video right away. Sunray video was one of the first companies in the country to offer digital tape masters for home movies. Not only does the digital master make a great archival copy but it's perfect for making additional copies of your films or transferring them to whatever new formats may come out in the future without losing any quality. If you're interested in storing and preserving the actual film, here's a great website with information on the best ways to preserve film.
Pricing info & order form | Main Film Transfer page
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