ScanCafe announced that it is launching a new movie scanning service for 8mm, Super 8, 16mm and Super 16 films with output to DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD).
For more information visit: www.scancafe.com
Unedited press release follows:
Photo and Video Scanning Leader Now Scans 8mm and 16mm Movie Film
Full-frame, HD Scans with Industry-Leading Dust & Scratch Reduction Mean Consumers Can Get Top Quality Digitization for 66% Less
BURLINGAME, Calif., Nov. 10, 2011 — ScanCafe, the most trusted scanning service with over 60 million images scanned, launched today its movie film scanning service for 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, and Super 16 movie film.
Uniquely Fragile Memories
Home movie film, as a way to capture memories, dates all the way to 1932, and ScanCafe’s internal research indicates that home movie film is widely held by consumers.
But home movie film was not meant to last forever. Like other kinds of photographic color film, it suffers from fading and changes in color over time, as the organic dyes used to make the colors in the film decay at different rates over time. What’s even more potentially destructive is that the film itself physically degrades, turning inevitably (unless stored in special low-temperature conditions) into acetic acid, in a process referred to by preservationists as “Vinegar Syndrome.” Finally, old movie film is difficult to examine by eye, and working projectors are rare. So it’s hard for consumers to know the true conditions of their old movie film – that is, until it’s too late.
“The stakes have never been higher,” said Laurent Martin, CTO of ScanCafe. “Home movie film represents some of the most truly magical memories any family can have. And yet to date, getting those memories beautifully preserved has been expensive and difficult.”
Scanned by Hand
Movie film “transfer” services have been in existence for some time, but to date these are services where a reel is placed in a machine, played (or projected against a wall), and the resulting image is transferred straight to DVD. ScanCafe takes a different tack:
• Full frame capture. Movie film is first captured at full-frame native HD resolution, which means nothing important in the frame gets cropped out.
• Dust & scratch reduction. Then a ScanCafe technician, using Hollywood-quality tools, goes through the film to digitally reduce the dust & scratches that are common to even the best-kept movie film.
• Color correction. The ScanCafe technician addresses each of the scenes to correct faded or shifted colors.
• Manual retiming. Last, the technician manually retimes the old film so that any DVD made from it will play properly on today’s televisions. Since old film was recorded at many different original speeds, this is best done by hand.
A Hollywood Experience
Once the movie film is digitized and corrected, it is assembled and authored onto an advanced, Hollywood-quality DVD, complete with:
• Special effects to make watching old home videos more like watching a Hollywood movie. Customized graphics, menus, and other effects make old memories new.
• Manual scene selection. Automated services create a new “scene” every time a camera is turned off. But humans know when scenes start and end, not software.
• Manual trimming. This removes unwanted empty footage and preserves fade-ins and fade-outs that automated solutions might cut off.
Amazing Value
The price for 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, and Super 16 film is just $0.20 per foot, with DVD (and Blu-ray Disc™ available). That also includes dust & scratch reduction and scene-by-scene color correction, two features that are rarely available at all—and when they are, cost up to 3 times what ScanCafe charges. On a typical order with 1 hour of movie film, a consumer can save over $400 by using ScanCafe, and still get the best quality available. See http://www.scancafe.com/pricing/filmpricecomparison
About ScanCafe
Founded in 2006, ScanCafe is an award-winning scanning service, serving pro photographers and amateur enthusiasts alike, that is dedicated to preserving consumer memories. ScanCafe scans and digitally repairs old photos, slides, negatives, movie film, and video tapes by hand, creating digital files that can be safely stored and shared forever. ScanCafe has successfully scanned and repaired over 60 million images to date, was named best scanning service by Money magazine, and cited for highest quality by Popular Photography and MacWorld. ScanCafe is based in Burlingame, Calif., and serves customers in the United States and Canada. For more information on ScanCafe, please visit http://www.scancafe.com, or follow conversations at http://www.twitter.com/scancafe.