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Help on converting film to dvd

post #1 of 14
2/12/07 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
I have some old super 8mm film I want to re-convert to DVD. There's no sound, which may be an advantage, this allows me to record at one speed, then adjust the speed using Adobe Premeire Pro.

I have an old supper 8mm projector, but may end up renting or buying a new one. The main thing is my old one has variable speed, but there's no way to tell the exact speed it's going, so I may obtain a new (or used one).

What I have now is a Sony HC1 HDV camcorder and a Sony TRV50 Hi-8 camcorder, but I assume the HC1 would be better to use. Both camcorders have 1394 interfaces, and I have Adobe Premeire Pro 2.0, and fast enough system for recording and editting videos on.

What I did last time was to project the film onto a screen with a camcorder recording the image off the screen. The main issue is some pulsing of the light, but I'm hoping with a slower shutter speed, this can be reduced. I'm not sure if there's some feature in Adobe Premier Pro that would help here.

I've seen some setups that appear to reflect an image from the projector onto the equivalent of a small rear projector screen, but I wonder if this fuzzes up the picture.

What I'm looking for is some advice on what type of setup would be best for converting film to video (and then to DVD), assuming I don't have the budget for some high end equipment that does one frame at a time.
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post #2 of 14
2/12/07 at 8:30pm
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003WXX

You can use color/brightness correction in premiere pro to assist with some of the pulsing as well.
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post #3 of 14
2/13/07 at 6:04am
Do not spend the time, you will still get a middle of the road product at best.

use a transfer service like www.MyMovieTransfer.com

BTW - DVD is the worst media for archival, this look at teh web page you will get a better idea of what works well.
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post #4 of 14
2/13/07 at 8:15am
Here's a way to do it: http://www.moviestuff.tv/wp_xp.html I am in the process of setting up a business to do just what you are looking to do. I just bought one of these, looking for the best results possible without totally blowing the budget, along with a Canon GL-2, 3 chip, to use as the camcorder. Using this system, the signal goes directly to a RAID drive and then to the DVD using the camcorder only as a capture device. I am going to, hopefully, do my first transfer today. http://www.moviestuff.tv/workprinter8mm_function.html
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post #5 of 14
2/13/07 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottatl View Post

Do not spend the time, you will still get a middle of the road product at best.

BTW - DVD is the worst media for archival, this look at teh web page you will get a better idea of what works well.

I'm intrigued by your last comment. Over the last few years, I have edited my mini dv and vhs tapes and made dvd's out of them which I assumed was the best method of archiving. I have kept my mini dv tapes just in case but would be interested in your thoughts regarding a better method of archiving. My knowledge is quite limited, so any advice would be appreciated.
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post #6 of 14
2/13/07 at 2:38pm
Here is an informative link regarding 8mm film to DVD archiving. It explains how DVD is not the route to go.

http://www.film-to-video.com/index.html
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post #7 of 14
2/13/07 at 2:46pm
yep, that link will help teach you what you need to know


http://www.film-to-video.com/index.html
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post #8 of 14
2/14/07 at 11:01am
Wow, very enlightening and frightening, thanks for sharing.

Over the last few years I've been 'archiving' my homemovies to dvd with great fancy menus etc!! My earlier ones were captured on hi8 then transferred to vhs for convenience (I know, I know) and then transferred to dvd. The original hi8's were retaped on many times so those masters have been lost.

For the last 5 years I have been using mini dv and then 'archiving' to dvd however, I have kept the once recorded on masters and will definitely keep them. I'm even tempted to maintain copies on the computer in an external hard drive as a further back up but I guess even transferring from camcorder to computer may result in some loss?

Its a shame really as I have put a lot of time and effort in creating these family memories in nice little dvd packages thinking that they will last 'forever' however long that is.
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post #9 of 14
2/15/07 at 3:18am
I too have been editing my DV footage to DVD for the past 4 years. Unfortunately, I had not exported my finished projects back to a DV tape before burning to a MPEG 2 DVDs. (Since switching to HDV, I have done so as not to have to start over my editing when Blu-ray/HD-DVD burners become common). Until then,since the physical lifespan of the DVD is somewhat unknown, I have started to image copy the eldest ones on my computer to new DVDs after 2-3 years of burning the original.I am also copying all my old tapes to new DV tapes. I'm just biting time as I know that I too will have to re-edit the tapes to a better support (without further compression) and hoping that they will hold up in time.
I also have old 8mm film I shot in the 50s and 60s that I have to transfer. They still looked good on the projector some years back. It is with great apprehension that I look forward to transfer them on HDV as the footage is irreplaceable.
We are many facing the same problems.
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post #10 of 14
2/15/07 at 4:46am
purchase good archival quality DVD, make at least 2 back up copies of your disks and then store them properly at different locations. Or Purchase server space through Yahoo briefcase or something like that and rip them to that space. But you need to be carefull to always pay your upgrade bill, I am sure there are better services but I never researched any of them.

BTW if you want to learn about what DVD media to purchase, follow this link. I used to purchase the super cheap stuff to save 10 buck, but no longer.

http://forums.afterdawn.com/forum_view.cfm/47
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post #11 of 14
2/15/07 at 10:15am
Some good advice there concerning the image archiving from the disks, I think I'll do that. Also, whilst I have been saving two dvd copies they have been in the same case and I suppose if one goes, both will!!

I'm quite annoyed about this potential dvd reliability issue particularly as it involves precious family memories and my 'innocence' making me think that the media would last forever. I now use Verbatim single or Dual Layer disks which I believe are quite good but will also check the link provided. Thanks.
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post #12 of 14
2/15/07 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
My plan is to keep AVI files on a USB hard drive. One of the services will transfer the AVI files to a USB hard drive and ship the hard drive.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rking401 View Post

www.moviestuff.tv/wp_xp.htm

The movie studio xp setup looks ok, but I have two Sony camcorders with a max optical zoom of 10x, and the web site states 12x is needed. The virtual image size is about the size of a postage stamp I read. The higher resolution of the HC1 should make up for a slightly cropped image if the software can deal with the HC1.

The place that does the transfer to hard drive charges .12 or .18 per foot, and between all of my films and that of some others, a new setup might be nice.

I'm willing to spend about $1500 for a setup, but if my camcorders won't work, then I'm past my budget.

Regarding backup, USB hard drives are the way to go for a home system. I have one now and plan on getting another. I also have two systems, and will copy the video data from one system to the other. Each system has 5 hard drives (one just for booting), with a terabyte of storage, but I plan on boosting the main system to 2 terabytes soon (Intel 975 motherboard, 4 sata drives, two sata controllers built in, so it's setup as two pairs of raid0 (striped) drives).
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post #13 of 14
2/16/07 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffareid View Post

My plan is to keep AVI files on a USB hard drive. One of the services will transfer the AVI files to a USB hard drive and ship the hard drive.



The movie studio xp setup looks ok, but I have two Sony camcorders with a max optical zoom of 10x, and the web site states 12x is needed. The virtual image size is about the size of a postage stamp I read. The higher resolution of the HC1 should make up for a slightly cropped image if the software can deal with the HC1.

The place that does the transfer to hard drive charges .12 or .18 per foot, and between all of my films and that of some others, a new setup might be nice.

I'm willing to spend about $1500 for a setup, but if my camcorders won't work, then I'm past my budget.

Regarding backup, USB hard drives are the way to go for a home system. I have one now and plan on getting another. I also have two systems, and will copy the video data from one system to the other. Each system has 5 hard drives (one just for booting), with a terabyte of storage, but I plan on boosting the main system to 2 terabytes soon (Intel 975 motherboard, 4 sata drives, two sata controllers built in, so it's setup as two pairs of raid0 (striped) drives).

The device mentioned above (that I will be using) actually requires a RAID drive (NON SATA fro some reason) to capture the frames from the film. I just finished getting my RAID set up yesterday, 2 250Gig drives that appear as a single 500G to the computer. I also invested in a 3 chip Canon GL-2 which has a 20x zoom ratio as the camcorder. Check out the "How it Works" page to learn more. http://www.moviestuff.tv/workprinter8mm_function.html
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post #14 of 14
2/17/07 at 7:37am
I did my first experimental transfer yesterday. The device actually works very well, but, contrary to claims on the site, lighting in the room and behind the camera needs to be tightly controlled or you see windows, movement or computer screens, etc. on the image. I am going to have to rig up some kind of curtain arrangement around the camera/projector to keep outside light in control. The potential is quite good.
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