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Transferring 8 mm Films – Important Things to
Consider
Several things determine
the quality of the video. We are not referring
to the creativity, but the technological
aspects. Among them, resolution or the number of
lines is the most important factor. Just watch a
standard video feed on a HDTV and then switch on
to a HD feed and you would notice the difference
immediately. The HD version invariably is much
detailed and sharper. The reason here is the
number of lines. While a standard picture has
480 lines, the HD feed has 1080.
If you apply the same
analogy to 8 mm films, they have their own set
of limitations. An 8 mm film’s resolution is
limited by the frame size and the grain size of
the film. Research indicates that an 8 mm film
has resolution of 700 horizontal lines. Thus, it
can be safely said that a standard 8 mm film can
offer a resolution of 700 by 480. If you wish to
transfer an 8 mm film into HD format that is
easily achievable.
Pitfalls
of Transferring
An 8 mm film can be
transferred into HD digital format through
multiple ways. The most common is real time
transferring. Real time transferring is nothing
but capturing the film as it is through various
means. Thus, if a 5 inch reel has play time of 6
minutes, the film capturing will also take 6
minutes. Real time transfer can be done in
several ways. The simplest method is to project
the film contents on a screen and capture it
with a HD camera and the work is done. Others
use a mirror and a camera for the same process.
Few others first transfer the contents of an 8
mm film on a VHS and the digitalize it. The 8 mm
film transferred in either of the above
mentioned methods usually has faded colors and
the images are blurry. The resultant image
quality is 30 to 40 percent lower than the
original film quality.
Latest
Mechanisms
The latest method of
transferring 8 mm films into HD format is called
frame-by-frame. In this method, a specialized
device captures each frame separately and then
collates the entire frame sequences as a
continuous film. These machines cost a minimum
of $50,000. As each frame is captured
separately, the resultant movie quality is 40
percent higher than the original.
As the equipment is
mightily expensive, not everybody can afford it.
Some companies claim that they provide
frame-by-frame 8mm film transfers, but in
reality, all they are doing is real-time
transfer. Be aware of such companies. Some
companies also offer restoration services, which
are genuinely based on frame-by-frame
technology. One way to identify genuine service
providers is the pay rate. A frame-by-frame
transfer will cost you anywhere between 30 to 60
cents a feet.
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