1 - How much does it cost?
2 - How long does it take?
3 - Is it safe, will you return my originals?
4 - Do you guarantee your work, what if I’m not satisfied?
5 - How many DVDs, miniDVs, or hard drives will I get?
6 - How many feet of film will fit on one DVD, miniDV, or hard drive?
7 - How do I order more copies?
8 - Do you have any restrictions regarding the content of the 8mm, Super8, or 16mm film reels?
9 - Will I be able to edit my movies?
10 - Will my new DVD play on my DVD player?
11 - I have very specific needs for my menu, chapters, editing, etc. Can you help?
12 - Can I edit my new DVD on my home computer?
13 - How do you transfer film (the process)?
14 - What tapes or films do you convert?
15 - How many minutes of footage are on each film reel?
16 - What is the difference between your two transfer methods?
17 - My film box says I have 25ft reels. What do I do?
18 - What is the best way to preserve my home movies?

1. How much does it cost?

Pricing varies depending on the amount of film and the services you order. Our price sheet can be found here

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2. How long does it take?

Most orders take between 2-3 weeks to to the entire transfer process.
This includes cleaning the film, lubercation, and transfer of your films. Rush service is always available.

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3. Is it safe?

We work regularly with precious family memories just like your. Our transfer process ensures your movies are not destroyed or damaged in the process and you’ll be able to view or even transfer the movies again! We return everything that you give to us- film, boxes, reels, cans. You can read about some of our efforts to ensure the safety of your movies. Visit our 8mm film history and preservation pages for more information on film and how to properly store it after the home movie transfer.

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4. Do you guarantee your work, what if I’m not satisfied?

Customer satisfaction is very important to us. We are committed to fixing any problem that is not inherit to the original film in a timely manner. We guarantee our work. If there is anything you are not happy with, tell us and we will fix it right away.

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5. How many DVDs, miniDVs, or hard drives will I get? How many DVDs will it take to complete my order?

As many as it takes! You do not have to calculate how many DVDs, miniDVs, or hard drives will be needed to complete your order. We only need to know how many complete copies of your movies you’d like to receive. If your order takes 10 DVDs to create a complete copy, that is what we deliver. The cost of your media is calculated when you place an order - so the number of DVDs needed will not further affect your price.

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6. How many feet of film will fit on one DVD, miniDV, or hard drive?

We can put roughly 1500 feet of film on one DVD. This can vary due to the sizes of your reels and other factors.

As a rule of the thumb we can get 24-27 three inch reels on one DVD. We can typically get 3 seven inch reels on one DVD.

MiniDV hold slightly less than a DVD. The tapes hold one hour of footage or approximately 1000 feet of film.

Hard drives will hold anywhere from 1300-2000 feet of film. Larger drives may be ordered on a case-by-case basis.

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7. How do I order more copies?

To order more copies after the transfer process has already been completed, simply return your DVD to us and we will duplicate as many copies as you wish.

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8. Do you have any restrictions regarding the content of the 8mm, Super8, or 16mm film reels?

There are several instances where your film reel will be unable to be converted to DVD. If we do not transfer the home movie for any of the following reasons, the associated transfer costs will be refunded to you:

1. Blank or undeveloped film
2. Non-supported Format (such as 35mm Film)
3. Objectionable Material
4. Copy Protection
5. Copyright*
6. Film with too much physical damage

*If you do have items under copyright protection, and you are, or have permission from, the original copyright holder, please include this copyright waiver and we will be happy to transfer your images.

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9. Will I be able to edit my movies?

For clients looking to do editing we reccomend putting your films to an External Hard Drive, which contains the video files you may edit at home using your personal computer, or if you like you can edit with us at an hourly charge.

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10. Will my new DVD play on my DVD player?

We use brand name DVD-R which has been shown to be the most compatible general use media. We also print your title directly on to the disc rather than using stickers. Our discs have been found to be compatible with over 99% of home DVD players made in the past three years.



11. I have very specific needs for my menu, chapters, editing, etc. Can you help?

For special editing needs, we can edit at an hourly basis. This editing charge is in addition to any transfer fees.

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12. I want to edit my new DVD on my home computer. Can I simply drag and drop my DVD files onto my computer?

Not easily. Like a commercial DVD, it requires a good deal more than just dragging and dropping the files to your hard drive. Although our DVDs are not encrypted, editing your new DVD would require DVD authoring software which we do not provide and cannot support.

If you want to edit your films on your computer, we highly recommend putting your films to a hard drive.

Hard Drives are available for all transfer types. They are the best media for home editing because the files can quickly be dumped onto your home hard drive, edited, and turned into your own DVD!

What you’ll get:
- External, 2.0 USB Hard Drive, NTFS formatted
- Editable Files
- Still Image Capture Software through VLC Player

What you’ll need:
- Computer with USB port
- Linear Editing Software such as Pinnacle Studio 11Â or other software capable of capturing data from your camera and editing.
- DVD Burner and Compatible Media

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13. How do you transfer film. What is the process for transferring film?

We feel you should know what you are paying for and give a How it Works in a Nutshell as well as a detailed technical description.

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14. What types of films do you convert?

We specialize in 8mm film, Super8 film, and 16mm film. Optical and magnetic sound will transfer with the footage.

***All Super 8 Sound Film will be transferred with High Definition. Reels will be automatically upgraded where appropriate.
***All 16 mm Film will be transferred with Standard Definition. Reels will automatically be downgraded where appropriate.

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15. How many minutes of footage are on my film reels?

The running time for 8mm film, Super8 film are approximately:
3″ reel (50 feet) 2-3 minutes
4″ reel (100 feet) 5-6 minutes
5″ reel (200 feet) 12-14 minutes
6″ reel (300 feet) 19-22 minutes
7″ reel (400 feet) 26-29 minutes

16mm film running time will be approximately half of 8mm film or super8 film.

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16. What is the difference between your two transfer methods?

Memories3 Smart Transfer technology provides you with two wonderful methods for preserving your memories- Standard Definition and High Definition.

Standard Transfer is available for 8mm film, silent Super8 film, and all 16mm film. The process is an real time telecine transfer- where the images shoots directly from the projector onto the chip in the camera. Frame by Frame works well for viewing purposes on DVD, and is wonderful for editing- especially if you would like to pull still images from the footage. All of our hard drives come with free still image capture software!

Premium Transfer is available for 8 mm film and sound Super8 film. This transfer method is done with a high definition camera- resulting in the sharpest picture and clearest color. The process looks wonderful on DVD and is ideal if you want to do any editing on your home computer. To take full advantage of this service, you will want to order a hard drive with your film transfer. You will only receive the HD files on the hard drive.

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17. My film box says I have 25 foot reels. What do I do?

If you look again at your film’s boxes, you will see that it says you have “Double 8mm” film. What this means is: Your film is of a certain type that was actually twice as wide and had exposure on both sides of its cartridge. You shot one side of the film, then flipped the cartridge around and shot on the other side of the film. So, during developing the 25 foot double 8mm reels were split down the middle and spliced end to end. The result being a 50 foot reel of 8mm film. When placing your order, simply input the actual length of developed film- 50 feet per reel.

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18. What is the best way to preserve my home movies?

We recommend that you transfer your film to a DVD plus a digital tape, such as a MiniDV or Digital8, or a hard drive. These media formats allow you to easily make duplicate copies of your transfer. The best way to preserve your home movies it to make multiple copies and give them to as many people as possible!

We strongly recommend visiting The Association of Moving Image Archivists for expert advice on how to preserve the actual film.

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