Professional
Methods
If you have done any research
on transferring home movies, you may be confused by some of the contradictory
information that’s out there. I’m sure it’s the same in my business
as it is in many others and hopefully I can clear up any misleading
information that you may have found.
There are companies large
and small with dedicated people that take pride in their work ethic
and are devoted to doing an exemplary job. On the other hand, there
are also businesses that operate in a manner that ensures that they
are only a fly by night operation.
Many professional businesses
that convert 8mm film to DVD are well intentioned and either lacks the
right equipment or the expertise necessary to do a professional job.
The biggest issue here isn’t poor quality, washed out color or detail,
small-cropped images, out of focus scenes, or dark poorly lit transfers.
It is simply that they are not equipped with the latest technology to
get the job done right.
In those cases you may not
only be out the money you paid for inferior work, but also risk permanent
damage that can be done to your home movie film by inept or incompetent
businesses. I have heard too many horror stories about the heartache
of lost or missing film as well as an instance of one family’s film
being mixed in with the footage of another family. This can and does
happen.
If you choose to have your
8mm film conversion done by a professional, make sure that you deal
with a reputable company that has the resources and equipment available
to ensure the best results for your film transfer. Also make sure that
they are dedicated to prompt and professional customer service.
Some Questionable Practices
In doing research for this
report I discovered some questionable business practices as well as
some outright deception with some film transfer services. I would like
to share my findings with you. Don’t get me wrong, there are also many
dedicated truly professional transfer services out there. Hopefully
the information provided here will help you determine if you are dealing
with a truthful competent business or a fly-by-night.
Some transfer companies
neglect to publish their pricing on their websites. What’s even worse
they won’t quote a price on the phone or through email until they have
a chance to see your film. If you agree to do business with them they
get to name their price and you have to pay it if you want your film
back. Pretty underhanded if you ask me!
I was also surprised by
the individuals that claimed they used proprietary technology methods
to transfer film to video. When pressed, they start to get very vague
about it and try and skirt the issue or use double talk. You can’t get
a straight answer from them. The simple truth is that there really are
only a few variations of ways to transfer film other then the do it
yourself method mentioned above and believe me, none of them are proprietary.
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