Dirty little secrets about transferring 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm to digital video.

The very integrity of CD-R and DVD-R technology -- which are chemically very similar --is now being challenged by media experts worldwide.  Some experts -- like Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland GmbH -- are now reporting that the life of some optical media (CD-R and DVD-R) to be only 2 to 5 years.

These statements are clearly backed by longevity tests on "dye based" platter technology -- CD-R, DVD-R and DVD+R --  conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  Results showed that failure rates for dye based DVDs with silver backing (originally thought to have a long life) were far worse than anyone had realized.

The fall-out from this study is that Computer Industry and the Federal Government -- are ditching DVD-R, DVD+R, and CD-R for "archiving" any type of digital data or digital imagery.

Do not confuse "backups"  with "archives".  A client of ours who is a government employee provided us with the links above; He says that some government agencies -- including the Library of Congress -- are now giving caution to their employees on the use of silver backed dye based optical technology for "archives".

An "archive" is a long term concept versus the short-term idea of "backups".  In the ComputerWorld warning on the use of CD-R, DVD-R and DVD+R for "backups", corporate wisdom is to  "back up" your "backups" every 2 years. As for "archiving", the word of wisdom is: use nothing but metal particle magnetic digital tape.

Do you still want you films "archived" -- to DVDs?

What do we do?

We capture your film, in a "virgin capture", to MiniDV digital tape, a metal particle digital tape.

Right now, your original film is your master. In fact, there is no copy, of any kind, your original film.

What is worse, you have almost "used it up". Your original film is "going bye bye" - otherwise, you would not be reading my website.

You need the digital equivalent of your film - in every way - to preserve what is left of your film, that is to say, preserve the earliest record "moving images" of your family roots - which will forever be priceless to your progeny - unless you screw up now.

FACT: Your film is "high resolution" - your "digital master" should be as well.

FACT: Your film is made up of "full frame pictures" - thousands of complete pictures - so should your "digital master".

Worse yet, just to give you the proper perspective on DVDs made by the transfer mills, the DVDs (single layer DVDs) made on a computer are about half the resolution of DVDs (double layered DVDs) that come from the "video store", because they have a smaller capacity.

Does that mean that a DVD, made by most transfer mills, might rival only the home-made quality of a VHS video tape? Does that mean you can forget about ever seeing the quality of your original film?

Yep!

Pseudo-technocrat Note: Did you ever wonder why it takes 2 DVD-Rs, made on a computer, to copy (steal) 1 DVD VIDEO from the video store? (Not that YOU have ever tried to steal a DVD - but that you have just wondered about such technological things that your golf buddy mentioned to you?)

Details about MPEG2 compression and DVDs can be found in the tutorial.

So, the first frame of your film - of your grandmother - is whole but compressed like a web JPEG image. Good quality if properly done.

Now, let's talk about the second, third, etc., frames (of your grandmother).  All subsequent frames (of your grandmother) are only "partial frames" (of your grandmother's eye blinking and teeth and gums smiling).

This Dirty Little Secret becomes more shady, because what they, the transfer mills, don't tell you is ALL duplicate frames (of your grandmother) are effectively thrown away.

Not much left of your "original film resolution"?
Not much left of your "original film frames"?
Not much left of your "original film" period!

Why do you think they call MPEG2 compression "lossy"?
Still want your film archived to DVD?

Details about MPEG2 compression and DVDs can be found in the tutorial.

In the previous Dirty Little Secret, you learned that DVD MPEG2 format throws out "every other 'little line'" of EVERY picture of your original film (of your grandmother); and DVD MPEG2 format throws out EVERY duplicate frame (of your grandmother); and DVD MPEG2 throws out every thing but the essentials of all partial frames (of your grandmother).

Transfer mills would like you to believe that a video CODEC (Coder/Decoder) will magically re-create everything -- that was thrown away -- into something that rivals your original film? Dream on!

If you try to convert (not just copy) your DVD to a HD DVD (the new high density DVDs of the near future), what will actually happen is the video CODEC will manufacture 'filler" for EVERYTHING that is 'missing". This "filler" is called a digital artifact.

If you ever sat too close to the screen at the movie theater, then you "get the picture" -- that is to say, you do NOT get the picture.

If you have ever tried to enlarge a newspaper picture on a copy machine, then you "get the picture" -- or NOT!

If you have ever tried to digitally enlarge a still photograph -- beyond the size of its actual pixels -- then you "get the picture" -- little square digital blocks, all over every thing.

If you have ever tired to "zoom in" into a picture on your computer "too much", then you "get the picture" - the same kind of picture you will get from trying to "enlarge", "zoom", or otherwise "convert" a DVD MPEG2 into a "high resolution" digital video format.

Still want your 8mm and Super 8 film transferred directly to DVDs?

You can "edit" using the MPEG2 format. There are a few little problems however...

1. The video and audio sometimes do not synchronize so the final picture (of Grandmother) is not in "lip synch" with what she was saying, because of timing issues with re-compression.
   But, "You can edit MPEG2".
2. The video colors (of Grandmother's skin and dress) tend to smear due to "transcoder" technology - changing from one MPEG2 stream to the new MPEG2 stream - replacing missing key frames and adding new delta frames as "best guesses" on the part of the encoder.
   But, "You can edit MPEG2".
3. The video image itself (of Grandmother) tends to have digital blocks from re-compression or transcoding.
   But, "You can edit MPEG2".
4. The original MPEG2 images (of Grandmother) are not the same as the edited version (of Grandmother) becasue of the nature of the MPEG2 compression.
   But "You can edit MPEG2".

In summary, edited MPEG2 files (DVDs) have introduced both old analogue 'generation loss" and a new kind of digital "generation loss" into video (of your grandmother);
BUT, "You can edit MPEG2".
What is more, all the old generation loss and new generation loss will be introduce to ALL future generations of both your video (of Grandmother) and all generations of your family - to remember you by;
BUT, "You can edit MPEG2";
and get "digital artifacts" and "audio to video" disjunction...
and you can't convert your newly edited MPEG2 files to higher resolution video formats without major digital artifacts reinforced and new ones added to your previous low-resolution digital artifacts.
But, "You can edit MPEG2".
No one will want to watch it a second time.
But, "You can edit MPEG2".

Your film is high resolution now. There's no reason to step back from that and accept a lower resolution digital "copy".

The purpose of a digital transfer is to preserve those images and to expand your ability to view and make use of them. Any transfer worth your money will:

• Deliver resolution enough to see your film as it is now, grain and emulsion artifacts clearly visible.
• Be transportable, both from media to media as well as physically on its original media
• Be flexible enough to be easily used, edited and re-stored on new media with no "generational loss".
• Prevent catastrophic loss of your family memories by being easily duplicated and stored as an archive away from your viewing copies.

For example, a small gauge, home movie transfer using a "telecine projector" - a movie projector with a built-in camera - uses old analogue, composite video signals. We, the public and the video industry, now regard "composite video" as a "low grade". There never was a small format film "telecine projector" made that had anything but "composite video out" (VHS quality). Yet the internet is filled with "transfer mills", that "hype or hide" their use of these old telecine projectors. 

What transfer mills "hide" is the dirty little secret that any resulting film to tape transfer from an old, small gauge telecine projector would be the near-equivalent quality of an old VHS tape. Yet that's what they use to make their single Layer DVDs. It does not matter that they dup that same video signal onto a high resolution MiniDV tape after the fact -- or during the fact (as a synchronous product). Their video quality is still only VHS quality - which is to say, only single Layer DVD-R quality; Ok, not exactly, but close enough. "Garbage in; garbage out." Adding insult to injury, if a transfer mill "dup" (duplicate) a VHS or DVD quality video to a MiniDV, then they "dupe" you as well - making you think, in error, that you have a "digital master". They call it, "a MiniDV copy" and usually offer it as an "add-on".

When you want to transfer 8mm film to DVD, the dirty little secrets you don't know, really will hurt you -- and all generations of your family, and your film.

Transfer mills want you to think that you can NOT get a "telecine transfer" without using a "telecine projector". The truth is, there are many ways to get a "telecine transfer" without using a "telecine projector".  We ditched "telecine projectors" years ago.

Confused? You should be. You have not read my tutorial yet. Read on!

Concerned? You really should be. If you make a decision right now, without reading my tutorial, then your odds of making the wrong decision are very good. At this moment, you would be taking a "wild shot in the dark" - with a lot of money - say nothing of risking the future longevity and integrity of your home movies.