8mm Film to DVD, Super 8 Film to DVD and 16mm Movie Film to DVD: Buyer's Guide

Bruce Mayfield MBA, MSPsy, BSCS doing business as (d.b.a.) Film-to-DVD.com & Film-to-Video.com Film-to-Blu-ray.com

Film-to-Video Buyers Guide™ helps you choose an
8mm movie film transfer to DVD and Blu-ray,
Super 8 Movie film transfer to DVD and Blu-ray, or
16mm movie film transfer to DVD and Blu-ray service.

The purpose of this tutorial is to ALARM YOU and then ARM YOU  -- with Dirty Little Trade Secrets™ of film transfer industry.  Here you will learn  about 8mm film, Super 8 Film, and 16mm Film. You will learn truths about  DVD and Blu-ray discs and formats, master digital video formats, and the future of digital media. For example...

Dirty Little Trade Secret™:  IBM and the Library of Congress  announced -- many years ago -- that DVD disc are NOT archive worthy. Bottom line, DVD discs are only good -- 2 years for data -- 5 years for digital images -- before they begin to fail.  We can now verify this fact with our own data -- and DVD discs.

"Film transfer mills™", as I call them, do NOT tell you this Dirty Little Trade Secret™ -- as their main product line are DVDs.  They will not tell you, like I am now, Blu-ray discs may NOT be much better than DVDs for archiving your Regular 8mm, Super 8 film, or 16mm film.

The safety of your Regular 8mm, Super 8, and 16mm film transfer -- and the memory of your family -- can be lost or saved -- forever!

How to Identify, Date, and Speed-rate Your Movie Film:: Above are examples of "small format" movie films -- 16mm movie film, Regular 8mm (also called Standard 8mm) movie film, and Super 8 movie film. Rough Dating of Movie Film: 16mm film - silent -- 1923 to Early 1960's. 16mm film - sound - 1935 to present. Regular 8mm film -- Late 1932 thru 1965. Super 8 film -- Introduced in 1965 to present. Silent 16mm movie film 15 fps or 16 fps (with exceptions) Regular 8mm movie film 15 fps or 16 fps. Super 8 was "shot " from 18 fps to 24 fps.. Super 8 Movie cameras and projectors had "variable speeds". Accepted "run" speed for Super 8 film "silent", 18 fps to 20 fps. Accepted "run" speed for Super 8 film "sound", 18 fps or 24 fps. Commercial movie films, usually sound films,  both 16mm movie film and Super 8 movie film, were "shot and run" at 24 fps only.   Holes Along the Edge of the Film (see above): The size of the holes are the same for both 16mm movie film and 8mm movie  film. Some 16mm has only one set of holes -- like Regular 8 film.  Spacing of the holes in 16mm movie film is different than Regular 8mm film -- also called  Standard 8 film. Super 8 movie film has smaller holes - less than half the size of Regular 8mm movie film. Spacing is different. Hole in Center of Reel or Spool: Early 16mm and Regular 8mm film: the hole in a spool was 1) the size of a number 2 pencil  -- on one side of the spool -- and 2) square and roughly the same size -- on the other side of the spool. Later, 16mm spools standardized with a square hole. Later, Regular 8mm spools standardized with a round hole. Super 8 spool: The hole in the spool was the size of your "pinky finger" and round on both sides of the spool. Reels or Spools: Standard 8mm movie film, 95 percent of the time, is on a grey plastic, 3 inch spool and came in a Yellow cardboard box -- for mailing. Double 8 came in a yellow box roughly 1 inch thick. Single 8 also called Standard 8 came in a yellow box roughly 1/2 inch thick. Both types of  films -- collectively -- are called Regular 8mm film or 8mm film and, before 1965, usually fond on little grey plastic reels -- with excepts around 1942  (see history below), and 1965 (more follows).. Super 8 movie film (introduced in 1965) was sold and processed on 50 foot spools -- which were usually a blue cover with a white plastic spool.. Rarely covers were also red, yellow, green, black, and white. About that same  time (1965), Regular 8mm film began to appear spooled onto white plastic reels with blue covers, too.. The hole in those spools was the size of a number 2 pencil or standard pen. Most easily confused with Super 8 film. ATTENTION:: It is very common for Regular 8mm film to be on a Super 8 spool and Super 8, on a Regular 8mm spool -- by mistake of family members. When in doubt, look at the film itself and the size of the holes in the film -- not the spool. HISTORICAL NOTE - TO HELP DATE AND IDENTIFY: Earliest Regular 8mm or Standard 8  film was called Double 8, because it was sold as 25 feet of 16mm film. It was called a "25 foot Double 8". The "tell-tell" oversized, yellow box contained a tiny back metal canister -- sealed with black cotton tape -- to protect the brown, unexposed 16mm film inside.  The 16mm film was "double exposed" -- in 2 passes. Each pass -- exposing the entire length of the 16mm wide film -- but only exposed an 8mm wide strip along the length of the16mm film. The cameraman would shoot one pass and then flip the 16mm film in the camera -- to shoot the second pass. This accounts for the "flashes of yellow light" half-way through early Regular 8mm films. At the time of film processing, the 16mm film was developed and then split down the center -- thus creating 2 strips of 8mm film.. The two ends of the (now 8mm) film was glued together in the center and spooled onto 1) a black metal reel (pre-WWII), or  2) a cardboard reel (WWII), or 3) a grey plastic reel (post-WWII) as a 50 foot spool of 8mm film. This is nice to know if you need to date reels of film. The "Double 8: Standard 8mm reel of film was shipped back to owner in the same oversize yellow box -- now twice the width of the Standard 8mm reel of film inside. NOTE: Many times the cameraman would forget that the film had already been exposed and flipped -- and would expose the same edge twice.  Thus "double exposures" were created on "Double 8 film".

Dirty Little Trade Secret™: "Film transfer mills" do NOT want you to know Regular 8mm film and Super 8mm are USUALLY captured at the same speed -- on the same "telecine machine": It saves "film transfer mills" time and money.  What they do NOT tell you, is you can NEVER view your Regular 8mm film transfer at the "normal speed" -- even with digital speed  adjustments (more on this later).  This "speed distortion" is almost 25% faster than the Regular 8mm film was originally designed to be viewed. Like a fast 1920's Laurel and Hardy movie, the memory of you and your family will be a "film transfer joke". A Super 8 film transfer and a Regular 8mm film transfer are two very different film transfers -- you need to know about.

Dirty Little Trade Secret™: Antique16mm film and 8mm film should NEVER be film transferred with irregular "pull-down patterns", yet many "film transfer mills" sell "pull-down patterns" as part of their premium film transfer service. The result is an obvious "judder" motion in the video image -- that is obvious,  can never be removed, and gives some people head-aches and eye strain.

Dirty Little Trade Secret™: DVD disc and Blu-ray disc are going "bye-bye" -- like VHS tape! Yet, "film transfer mills" are still selling DVD disc as "archives" for Regular 8mm, Super 8 film, and 16mm film -- as a primary product.

Dirty Little Trade Secret™: Some "film transfer mills" promote "master file" products which are "over-sized" file formats -- miss-matched to "tiny" Regular 8mm and Super 8 film. They do NOT tell you "over-sized" formats create unnecessary artifacts, unnecessary hardware expense, and unnecessary technical challenges -- for all future generations. Matching Regular 8mm film and Super 8 film to a digital video format is very important in a professional  film transfer.

We are experts in digital re-mastering film to video -- having film transfered some of the great films of last century.. Our  main "master file" product -- called "Digital-Film™" -- is frame-for-frame -- the digital equivalent of your Regular 8mm film, Super 8 film, and 16mm film. Not only do we make your DVDs and Blu-rays from digital equivalent of your movie film, but we empower you -- to do the same -- with our "cutting edge" products -- called Virtual-DVD™ and Virtual-Blu-ray™ discs -- and most recently --  the state-of-the-art Home Movie Card™ -- used to play DVDs without the need of a DVD player OR even a physical DVD disc!

A large amount of our commercial, subcontractor work is 16mm film -- which has appeared on PBS and other networks -- which brings you to the next page in this tutorial -- finding out who we are. This is important as it  -- as an introduction to our official tutorial -- with many more  Dirty Little Trade Secrets™ you need to know.

You may also read the (VERY BORING) tech note below  on semantics on 16mm, Regular 8mm, and Super 8mm film, or read the more interesting cameo on 16mm, Regular 8mm, and Super 8mm film -- which will help you both  identify, date, and evaluate the movie films that you have.

TECHNICAL (VERY BORING) NOTE ON MOVIE FILM SEMANTICS:

Most people reading this website have some favor of Regular 8mm film or Super 8 film. So, even though I do not specifically state the words "16mm film" when talking about film transfers to DVD -- talking instead about  Regular 8, and Super 8 film to video film transfers -- all the principles -- illustrated as 8mm film or Super 8 film -- apply to 16mm film, too. A 16mm film transfer can be much more complex than a 8mm or Super 8 film transfer. After you get a quote, you are advised to call me about your 16mm film for a free 16mm film transfer evaluation and consult.

I use 8mm or Super 8 terms generically -- for example:

Super 8mm to video,
Super 8mm film transfer,
8mm film to video,
Super 8mm film transfer,
Single 8mm movie film to video,
Standard 8mm movie film to video,
Double 8mm movie film to video,
8mm to video,
8mm movie to video,
8mm telecine,
movie 8mm film transfer,
8mm film transfer,
Ektasound 8mm to DVD,
Ektachrome 8mm to DVD,
Kotachrome 8mm to DVD.
Film to video,
Film to Flash Drive,
Film to Hard Drive,
Film to Blu-ray, etc

ALL these phrases refer generically to some "film to video film transfer process" of converting film to digital video unless otherwise stated specifically.

Even though my terminology may be specific to a stated gauge of film -- Regular 8mm film, Super 8 film, or 16mm film -- you may expand any reference to any gauge of film into a generalized concept that can be applied to all small film formats.

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