Costco – Transfer 8mm Movie Film to DVD

I don’t know where you or your father are located but I know a great place in Orem, UT that does a good job. It’s called Allen’s Camera. I used to work there and I was in charge of transferring the 8mm and super 8 reels to DVD. I don’t know if it is any help but for the year that I worked there no one ever complained. The owner of the store does the 16mm reels personally.

SHARLEEN REYES, PLEASE EMAIL ME. I’M JOSHUA’S DAD! lsteimle@altrionet.com

Call me, Aaron, at 1-866-559-1163 or 416-479-0537 x621

I’m sales manager. We’ll get it done right for you for a very reasonable price and at a VERY good quality.

Best regards,

Aaron Mortson

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronmortson

TorontoHomeMovies.com

3893 Chesswood Dr.
Toronto, ON M3J 2R8

Tel: 416-479-0537 x621
T/F: 866-559-1163

Hours of operation:
Mon-Fri: 9AM-6PM
Sat: 10AM-5PM

http://www.TorontoHomeMovies.com — 416-479-0537
http://www.FloridaHomeMovies.com — 866-559-1163
http://www.MontrealHomeMovies.com — 514-868-2120
http://www.ExcellencePhoto.com — 905-326-9622

I used Allen’s in Orem last year. It was total crap. They only did half of my 75 3″ reels of super 8. I realized that when I watched the DVDs. And since it was so crappy, I got my money back. I’m only now getting around to finding someone competent to do it, which is how I ended up here (quite a coincidence, considering the number of hits in Google).

I tried costco 8mm to DVD and results were mixed off 17 rolls
So of the DVD was fine others it looked as if the top of the fram was on the bottom of the screen and the entire image was flickering and this goes on in some parts for several minutes.
In some parts you can see wheren the film stopped in the projector or the device they used and actullay burnt up, this was followed bad a few minutes of white on the dvd then it started up again. What typ of equipement does YesVideo use? it seems like a projected and video camera

My husband and I used Costco as well…sadly, I was very dissatisfied. We took the film in on Nov 27, it came back before Christmas as promised…my husbands film looked pretty good (we watched his first) and I was very excited to see mine…while I had indicated that mine was audio film, I was asked if the audio did not come through what music would I like. I chose inspirational…well, mine came back like a silent movie…I sent it back on Dec 28 and finally got it last week- Jan 28….no audio, but did have inspirational music with an odd mix of jazz? Anyway…I ordered an extra DVD but it was missing…I am promised that next week, stuck the DVD in the machine and gosh! It is SOOOO OUT OF FOCUS I felt like I had cataracts which I don’t, it was disturbing. I pulled the original film out and guess what…that was IN FOCUS…not only was my film in focus…there were an amazing number of scenes (important scenes of grandson and grandfather) which were COMPELETLY cut out…I swear to you..I went through all my original film and FOUND MANY MANY MANY perfectly in focus and amazing scenes that were blatantly cut out not included on my DVD…I have not taken it back as we just spent this past weekend looking at it all and discovering how HORRIBLE this workmanship…rather lack of it was…we were so shocked at the fact that much of my original film was not included on my DVD that we went back through my husbands original film an goodness gracious…he too is missing many amazing and sentimental scenes…I am very very very disappointed with Costco. I sstill want to change my film into a DVD…any suggestions? Raleigh NC…thanks

Hi there Pris,

I don’t want to leave a huge rant and rave like I did previously.

Give me a shout and we can help you out. We have an office in Miami, Florida, Toronto, Ontario and Montreal Quebec that you could send your order to.

1-866-559-1163

I look forward to hearing from you!

Mike, just8mm.com must have changed their transfer process since I used them to transfer 12 7″ reels of film back in December 2009. Granted, a lot of the film was old (dated back to the mid-60′s) and warped due to aging and heat (I live in Texas), but the last 4 reels were relatively “new,” as in 20 to 30 years, and the films’ condition was good. This company’s website advertised “super quality” and stated that your film would look better than it ever did, so due to the low price, I stupidly sent all 12 reels to them without testing just 1 or 2 reels. They ALL turned out a far cry from “super quality.” In a nutshell, MAJOR color problems on all 12 reels (even the newer ones), blurriness at the edges where the film was warped (other transfer companies processed these same films and did a MUCH better job at correcting that), and sometimes the picture would just stop right in the middle of a scene, sometimes for 15 to 20 seconds, obviously because the technician was not paying attention to what he was doing. I immediately (the next day) wrote just8mm.com and asked for a refund–the owner flatly refused and offered to re-do the films. I said no, (why would the transfer turn out any better on the same equipment?), and again asked for a refund. Again, the owner said no. Unbelievably, he then offered me to get another company to transfer a film and send it to him, and if HE thought it turned out more crisp, clear, and in focus (he didn’t even mention the color issue, which was the worst problem) than his, then he would refund my money! I said no, I just want a refund so I could take my films somewhere else (they were gifts for my family–at this point I was horrified that a business owner could treat a customer so rudely, and I did not want to deal with him anymore). Bottom line: just8mm.com (or aka DVD Memories) might have different equipment and a better transfer method now, but Buyer beware: if you aren’t happy with the results, don’t expect to get a refund! His motto is: the customer is always wrong!

Two suggestions: I haven’t had all of the 12 reels re-done yet, but the ones that I have I used two online transfer companies. One is mymovietransfer.com. They did an excellent job for the money–I got the result that I was expecting when I sent my films to just8mm.com. The color was super! There was still some blurriness on the edges from the warped film, but because of their process, it wasn’t nearly as bad. I HIGHLY recommend them. If you can afford to spend more, another suggestion is mastercomputerandvideo.com. This guy adds period music and sound effects, which really brings the film to life! It is awesome! And the color is great, too. I didn’t need the music, but I wanted to try it out on a few reels.

My film conversion experience was EXPENSIVE AND HORRIBLE.

Costco Canada: Apparently they use FUJINON (Fujifilm) Canada on the east coast to do their transfer work. Naturally I assumed that the “FUJI” name would guarantee some standard of quality; I sure was mistaken!

Firstly: Waited for 2 months and when I finally called them, they said the film “hadn’t been processed yet”. Second: Costco promised that film would be returned on new, clean 8 mm reels, with film footage “cleaned up and color enhanced”. Never happened.

Secondly: Music soundtrack supposed to be placed in areas with no sound. Guess what? Never happened.

Thirdly: Film was barely watchable, with flickering artifacts, unstable “chipmunk sound”, poor color balance (hue was too red), and worst of all, it was digitized with a high compression ratio, causing a type of “mesh” artifact throughout the DVD, as if you’re staring at the TV through a bug screen.

Basically, a home transfer kit (like the kind sold by Optex) would have done a better job. I know this because I’ve used them before (where you take your movie projector and videotape a small mirror box with your video camcorder)

Costco Canada should be ashamed of putting their name behind this.

If the memory didn’t mean so much, I would’ve thrown the DVD into the garbage. Instead, I’ll be letting Costco know about this and hopefully I will get a refund.

Send your film to a long established professional company.
Quit using Costco.
We have been doing transfers since 1984.
Why do you think we have been in business so long???????

!-800-463-3222 m-f..
By the way, we have re-done many Costco, Rite-aid and Walgreen transfers.

If you’re going to send you film to Toronto, or near, then send it to Toronto Home Movies.

We currently have Toronto Home Movies, Montreal Home Movies, Florida Home Movies, Valley Home Movies (Denver). September 1st we will be opening an office in Mississauga, Ontario (Toronto).

Visit us at http://www.torontohomemovies.com

Call me at 416-479-0537 x1 or 1-866-559-1163 and let me know which office is closest to you. I am connected to every office.

Try using

Video Express Multimedia in Montreal, I had some old films transferred and in came out very well. There phone number is 514-344-3788

We’ve seen all kinds of messed up orders coming in from costco… One time we had someones film get soaking wet, and had to build a custom contraption just to dry it off in order to transfer it.

I have found a great transfering company in St. Louis, MO that has been in business for over 29 years….that says a lot!
They do all the film media transfers right on site at their St. Louis location…if you live locally your can just bring your video over…warm great customer service. If you need to ship they have never lost a shipment in 29+ years! Go to their website http://www.cintrexav.com or call 800-325-9541. P.S. they even offer Courier Service!

Hey there Nicole,

Call me at your convenience! 1-866-559-1163

If you’d rather email, email me at aaron@dggroup.ca.

We have offices in Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Denver and more.

We can work out a great deal for you and our work is outstanding.

Looking forward to speaking with you!

Hi Nicole,

Freelance film transferer here, will gladly take your project for only $400.00, and do a much better job than Costco!

E-mail me at ashton.hatfield@yahoo.com if interested!

Thanks

It’s always a good idea to pay a professional to do it, even if it costs a bit more. I’m sure quality is important to you.

Who do you trust to do your brakes? Your life is in their hands. If you film gets damaged or lost, you couldn’t pay 10 million dollars to get it back even if you wanted to.

There are companies out there that dedicate ALL day EVERY day specifically to film and video transfers. These are the people you should look at. Not the people selling toilet paper in bulk.

You’ll be happy if you take my advice seriously! I guarantee it.

I personally think it’s a little excessive for one to say “Don’t be Cheap”. Not everyone has the cash flow available. However, it is best to deal with professionals.

There is a VERY wide spectrum in regards to pricing. Many companies charge big bucks to transfer film. If you deal with a company, like Toronto Home Movies, who digitized 15,000-20,000 feet of 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm film every day, it gives us room to offer reasonable prices.

It’s not a bad thing to ship your film to a professional – just make sure they, themselves, don’t outsource your order to another company.

Food for thought.

I completely understand what you mean in regards to supporting local business. However, we receive orders from all over North America on a daily basis. Many of which have been referred by word of mouth.

We have offices in Canada as well as the US. No need for money to leave the country.

People deserve options. No one should be limited in regards to choice of companies.

I always suggest to customers to drop off personally, if possible. But, to someone who lives 50 miles from a small city or town, local business may not be an option for them.

Anyways, have fun over the holidays with your family, Bob, and don’t go too crazy with the pressure of Christmas orders. I know everyone is feeling it right now!

Ditto on Costco’s services. They can be quite unreliable in the most inappropriate circumstances. Out of the ten times that I’ve acquired their services, half of those left me displeased and unsatisfied. Professional is certainly the way to go. They do it for double (sometimes more!) the price, but I say it’s worth it. More money to dole out, but less hassle and worries on your end.

I haven’t checked back on this site since last June when I wrote a post regarding my experience with just8mm.com, so I just now saw that the owner of just8mm.com responded to my post of June 1, 2010. Not everything he said is true; in fact, most of it isn’t true. Here is my response to his response:

1. Not all of my film was warped, as the owner of just8mm.com stated in his response. He is greatly exaggerating because he never even saw my film. Part of it was warped, yes. But not even most of it. The film was old–up to 51 years old– and was stored properly. I believe the film that did warp was due to the humidity in Texas since I moved here years ago. But nowhere near was all or most of it warped. I didn’t even send the really warped film to him to be transferred because I knew it was beyond transferability. Also, if the film was as warped as much as he stated, why were two other companies able to transfer it successfully?

2. His website might not specifically advertise “color digital correction,” but they do advertise, “We use high quality, professional imaging equipment so you get impeccable color reproduction and resolution for your 8mm to DVD transfer.” After I got just8mm.com’s transfers back, I played his DVD transfer side-by-side to my oldest (51 years old) film on my film projector, simultaneously. The color on the ORIGINAL, 51-year-old film looked way better and natural than his transfer! No correction was even needed. Enough said.

3. Yes, I was treated rudely on the phone the first time I called and talked to the partner of just8mm.com. No matter what I said, his response was the same: “The film was warped.” He wouldn’t even listen to what I had to say. It sounded like that was the standard response to any complaint. Also, in my e-mail correspondence with the owner, he too did not listen to me and was more concerned with his BBB A+ rating and how he never received a complaint from anyone until me, than making me a happy customer by simply returning my money because I was not satisfied with the results.

4. He did offer to do the job over again, but these transfers were Christmas presents for my family, and I didn’t want to waste time sending all of these reels back to a place where I knew the results would not change as long as the process/equipment was the same as before. I needed to find another transfer company, so I needed to have my money back in order to go somewhere else that uses more up-to-date equipment and process, even if I had to pay a little more.

5. Randy lastly states that my credit card company reversed the charges. Again, he is wrong. I NEVER got my money back. Since then I am unemployed and I definitely cannot afford to have the rest of my films transferred by another company. So they are back up in my closet until who knows when.

So if you want to take a chance with just8mm.com, just be warned that if you aren’t happy with the results, don’t expect your money back. I suggest just going somewhere else, such as the two companies I mentioned in my other post, where I know they do good work.

Ran across this while looking for some transfer options. Regarding just8mm.com, advertising one’s BBB rating is a joke in itself what with recent exposure of their “pay for your rating” pricing structure. Forums like this tell the true story most of the time – emotion is part of the process. Businesses are dealing with people – you have to strive to exceed expectations and communication is usually the key to that.

At the end of the day it is always BEST to trust someone you can deal with one on one who is doing your work and has been in the industry for quite sometime..

Bob Diamond
dtvhomemovietransfers.com
27 Years at Film Transfer

It appears that this is a common issue with big box services. Simply put, there is more to transferring film in digital formats than running it through a machine and capturing it via PC. Not to over simplify, but the transfer must incorporate proper conversion and in the hands of a pro result in a perfectly preserved – and often improved – digital video.

Just an add on to Wesley’s post.

It’s always best to test a few reels, rather than one. The film colour, clarity and overall quality depends on if the correct film was used (indoor/outdoor), whether it is Super8 vs. Regular 8 (Super being higher quality than Regular), where the film was stored, the exposure it was shot at, the lighting conditions, etc.

You may end up sending your wedding reel, or your son’s first birthday as a tester, but if the film was shot in low light, it may turn out extremely grainy and may appear to be low quality. You can’t make a solid judgement if you, unintentionally, send the worst of your film as a tester.

Not everyone has PERFECT film. There are always some ups and downs within film projects. The film may not be terrible but there is always some footage that looks better than others.

It’s always nice to send a few different reels if you’re planning on judging the work prior to having all your film reels digitized. Just a thought.

Wow… terrible way to look at it. Are you still using a projector and recording the footage with a video camera? Using Final Cut or Premier for flicker removal?

One thing I have learned is you can USUALLY judge a company by their website. If their website does not look legit, their service will reflect that.

If someone intends on spending hundreds of dollars, or thousands of dollars, they should have the right to test your service.

If you’re doing it right, and care about what the person plans to do with the footage, people will trust you just by speaking with you. Most don’t bother with a tester.

BUT, EVERYONE has the right to a test order. It’s absolutely ridiculous to turn someone away because they want to test your service.

I do love this column Don Loper (whoever you are )

Here’s what we do, and we charge $.37 per foot for 8, super sound, or 16mm. We deliver two sets of the finished product in a rigid case with image captures and nice art on both the disc and the box insert(s).

We correct scene by scene for luminance and color. We title every person of interest (in their first appearance) in the collection by sending multiple emails back and forth with image captures attached for our customer to identify, we charge only for what ends up on the DVD and NOT for what we transfer. No leaders and no unwatchable film which includes all ceiling, floor, cartridge flip transitions, unexposed or over exposed and blurry to the point of being unrecognizable and we GUARANTEE CHRONOLOGY. Of course, we custom author each DVD individually with animated chapter links on scene menu’s. We do not charge additionally for anything mentioned above. We actually lose footage that passes through the machines and is worked on to improve or properly remove.

If the consumer doesn’t do his homework and just decides to take the bait and go with the provider who doesn’t do the work themselves, doesn’t use a qualified subcontractor who works directly with the customer during the process or customizes anything, they deserve what they get and not what they actually can afford.

This is really about going to the “Italian brother’s pizzeria” versus the Acme Generic Frozen Cheese Pizza. for the addicts it’s the Capri vs. Marlboro. Is it really that you think they are the same product? I get calls from people who think they are and that we are thieves. Let them eat ketchup soup.

Does the consumer want to invest the time to sit through a dog and pony show to see and learn what they are getting for their money, usually not and those who do become our customers.

It isn’t a losing battle against the CVS’ the Walgreens and Costco subcontractors, the customers who end up there (a) don’t know people like us exist (b) do and are just lovers of generic brands and a car will always be a car whether its a ford pinto or a ford mustang. They will pay their 100$ or more for 1000 feet that is processed in one hour and 10 minutes by $8.00 laborers and will be unhappy with the result & oblivious to the whole thing either way. Or, if they are unhappy, somehow the come to fund us afterwards, show off their crappy project, complain about their service and then complain about paying $370.00 for their 1000 feet with us, (which takes US nearly 8 hours to complete)then have us reprocess their job, are thrilled with the communication and become customers for life, referring their family and friends.

This, my colleagues is the sacrifice we have to make to stay in business. Be diversified in the services that you provide, OVERDELIVER your service on every project and charge a price that the consumer respects and is almost worth your time.

WE have always been at the bottom of the priority list of where to spend the hard earned dollar, and in these “trying times” we continue to be on the bottom and have to become overly creative to separate us from the next provider.

All of us know what to do (I hope by now, me full time since 1983) and we have to keep doing it. Giving our product away for free will devalue it and yourself. A hungry vendor is never respected, some of us just think they are. Long term it doesn’t add up and it cheapens what our time and talents are worth. We don’t sell Chinese suits.

I stress again, as in the past to the consumer – don’t send your precious archives to some unknown stranger who doesn’t genuinely care about YOU. Stay as local as you can and do your homework. Spend what you are supposed to to get it right ONCE.

I hope I caught all of my typos and that at least one of my points has helped someone in some way.

Stay eloquent my friends.

Oh, and in case you didn’t see it, The company is http://www.reeltransfers.com

I am looking for a business who can repair bad film. By that I mean, I have a few rolls of film that are seriously warped due to heat and humidity, and I was wondering if anyone out there knows a reasonably priced, respected company that specializes in “refurbishing” this type of film, so that it will be physically able to be transferred to DVD.

Thanks!

Linda

Hi Linda,

Never tried them, but a quick search landed this place–

http://www.tmtv.net/filmtodvd2.html

Again, have no idea about pricing as they don’t list it anywhere, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Good Luck!!

Thanks, Rick. I’ll check out their website.

Linda

Teri,

Can definitely accomodate your needs and give you a discounted rate. Please contact us at your earliest convenience at info@reeltransfers.com and we’ll get back to you immediately with assesment of media, transfer options, cost, and turnaround.

thx!

rick Neely, Owner
http://www.reeltransfers.om

Teri,

I could be wrong, but talking to a costco sales rep recently, I think they use Yesvideo. Not sure what equipment they use but I’ve heard that they use a more traditional telecine method (adjusted frame per second speed, 3 blade shutter; etc) so that film is transferred onto video tape/DVD/computer with minimal flicker. Moreso, yesvideo is partnered with Walgreens and Rite-Aid drugstores nationwide (in addition to Costco) so they deal with volume. It results in greater conveince (dropoff/pay/pickup at local store) and reduced cost. However, it can also be very ‘assembly’ line at the facility- your smaller film reels are spliced onto larger reels for transfer, run thru real-time into computer, then burnt onto DVD. The major disadvantages (I’m told) are you could wait closer to 3-5 weeks to get your order, there’s no real way to follow up on the order progress or even talk to the person who actually transfers your film, and I heard that they don’t even break down the spliced films. they just give you the spliced larger reels and the empty smaller reel cores.

Of coure, many of these observations are what I have heard from others, and even if true, many people are fine with that. I never heard of lost film orders from them.

In any case, we’d be happy to talk to you about transfer and cost options our company offers and address your specific needs. I personally supervise all the film orders and am pretty accessible. Drop us a note at info@reeltransfers.com if you like.

Good luck!

Rick

Teri,

There are all sorts of ins and outs with film duplication to DVD, so much so that it will ALWAYS overwhelm the client. Unlike VHS to video, film to video is not a slam-dunk. I’ve written up a number of issues on my blog about the intracies of film to video but what it all comes down to is the results. 4800 feet is not a small order. Get some samples done from different companies and compare the differences. Many will do one 50′ reel for free if you ask.

When you compare differences what you need to look for are radical things. If two films look decent but one seems to have the edge over the other one, you should count that as being equal. One single 50′ reel is not a good representation of a service provider’s work but you will be able to identify the ones that are doing bad work. Be aware of the price but don’t let it be a deciding factor.

When you speak to service providers on the phone try to note if they have a sense that your films are precious to you. All too often, service providers forget after hendling dozens of thousands of feet of film that these are people’s lives and that somebody cherishes them.

By far the biggest thing people like yourself are looking for, from my experience, is they want a local service provider. People just naturally dread putting their family legacy memories in the mail even if the Hope Diamond may have also been sent in the mail. If you will post the general geographic location you are in (i.e. greater Detroit, Los Angeles County, central Iowa, etc.) I might know of a good service provider I can recommend.

If you can’t afford to get your films done then just do a limited number, maybe several hundred feet. You could send some to Cosco. I’ve heard that they let you send them back again unlimited times free if you are dissatisfied.

Teri

Ive been at this for 29 years and in that time the one common thread i have experienced from my more than 6000 customers is do not use 3rd party companies to do this very personalized work.

Like Rick, I have not seen sprocket-less film either – if the “tape” is light brown and 1/4 inch- it is r2r audio ! Best of luck!

Thanks for the info. I guess these are audio films. What would they play on?

I took 100 feet of Super8 to Costco to be transferred as a test. The results were horrible compared to the original film. It was blurry, dark, and missing footage. Never take your film to a company like Costco whose contractor projects your film into a box with a mirror and video’s it with a digital camera.

Always take or send it to a company that uses high end film scanners like Rank Cintel film scanners or other high quality scanners. Unfortunately, this is still not a guarantee of quality work since you can still be a lousy car driver whether you have a Lamborghini or a Kia.

There are some expensive transfer companies out there that play on your emotions about your precious family movies. When they have you hooked you pay more than you should all because they have an ego about how wonderful their work is.

You do not always get what you pay for except when you take your film to Costco since they always have a low price and low quality.

I don’t agree that you should require a company to give you a free trial of your film. If you want to send a couple of test reels then do it and be responsible for paying for it regardless of the outcome. It’s a quick way to learn to do deeper homework.

It seems that the best way to find a great transfer company is this: If possible get a referral from someone you know or from a site like this that has had great success with a company whether local or not. Have them qualify their recommendation. Do not take the word of any company employee that you will get what they say you will (Just my .02 worth of reality).

With all that said, does anyone know a company in Utah you can recommend that uses high end film scanners and has a fair and reasonable transfer price for a win/win experience?

I read this site and the comments by many people. One of the most impressive were the comments of Asron Mortson of
Toronto home movies. I contacted Arron and had a long conversation and several emaail exchanges. Several things happened that I think should have been pointed out to me. First I received a notification of intent to return the movies to me due to rejection by Toronto Home movies because there was an import tax due. I had no idea that an import tax was to be paid to canada. So I paid it and eventually the movies were accepted. When the movies were finished I got a Bill from Toronto Home Movies which included the import tax I already paid. So in order to get the film and hard drive back I paid AGAIN. I caLLed Aaron and he agreed to look into it. I have never received a reply. I did get my film and Hard drive back. They were tossed into a bed of foam pellets several reels had about half of the film off the reel and just dumped into the box. The metal container that holds the 7 inch reels was bent beyond any further use because whoever shoved the film bach into it ignored the seperators and jammed the film int the container bent the lid and dumped the film into the box. Next I finally set up to start editing and backing upthe work. The drive flickered several times and then simply died. I called the maker of the drive Seagate, and they sent me an new power supply, That did not solve the problem Tech Support as Seagte said that somethin must have happened when the drive waS last used. I contacted Toronto Home Movies and they said Sorry about that. Nothing else Aaron has not contacted me about these problems and they apparently are not interested. I paid with two import fees and two way shipping over $1100, and I have bent film and no conversion plus a dead disk (It was brand new in box when I sent it. I would think twice before I let my film go next time, promised of great service and product are not always produced. I would like Aaron to address these problems but I cannot get a reply from him. I am out $1100 and have nothing.

I echo Bob’s sentiments mostly,

when you can find a reputable and reasonably priced facility locally, OF COURSE you go with them. But that’s not always the case. I recall a potential customer I had a long talk with on the phone and although it was very positive and the customer liked everything we had to offer, They lost interest the moment they realized that we weren’t local to them. The problem was they were in a very small town and there WASN’T a local transfer facility to go to.

I can’t speak for import fees in other countries, but I will say regardless of that a company with GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE treats a customer 2000 miles away the same as one who is 2000 feet away. Good communication, honest dealings, find a place that does that and you needn’t worry about being taken care of.

I’m sorry that happened to you, George.

George, Like everyone else, I’m sorry it happened to you also. It may not have been Aarons fault though. I have some insight on what may have happened to your package.

I was up in Canada for a couple of years before 9/11 and was always concerned about why this packaging issue was happening. Every time I sent a package from Canada to the U.S. or received a package from the United States it had been opened and gone through. It is the “Department of Customs” that is doing it. They open and tear through every box and its contents and then just stuff them back in the box and if you’re lucky throw tape around it to seal it. Then they either contact you about import/duty taxes due or let it go on. I think there is a minimum estimated value that they will let go through without the taxes, but I’m not sure what the amount is.

I understand from friends that since 9/11 it is even worse for packages coming into the U.S. especially if the box contains metal enclosures of any kind. I’m not saying they did, but I would not be surprised if U.S. Customs ran your hard drive through a strong magnetic field that destroyed it before they even opened your box from Aaron. Again, I’m not saying they did, but I would also not be surprised if they “shorted” the drive out on purpose to destroy the data since it wasn’t “new in the box”. As we all know, and I’m not sure I blame them, they are super paranoid.

I have never done business with Aaron but I can’t imagine his company would send your package to you the way you received it. I would like Aaron to say something as well, but he may be completely at a loss for words about it since he may not be aware of what Customs does.

I don’t know for sure but it sounds like both you and Aaron paid the import tax and that’s why he billed you back. Canada was happy to take both payments I’m sure.

I have no way of being exactly sure what happened to your order, but based on my friend’s experience and my own it’s just something to consider.

Hi Lena, I work for YesVideo and I’m sorry to hear your video didn’t come out as you liked. We’d like to work with you to get your order transferred right. Please give us a call and we’ll be glad to help you directly. Our lines are open 7 days a week at 1-866-463-7694.

Thanks,
Eber Legarreta
YesVideo

That’s 6 per year….

Steph – It does come to “you get what you pay for”. A specialized shop is going to CARE about what they turn out (hopefully). When we have a customer who cant afford to go forward, we create a solution especially for them. The most recent one that comes to mind was with a 4000 foot order that we took in. The customer could only afford to invest about 150$ at a time and so we transferred the entire order in proper chronology, processed it with custom links on a scene menu and then delivered it one disc at a time each month. We will complete delivery on that order just after Christmas (75% complete and delivered by Christmas). When you go local and with a “caring professional” you cannot go wrong.

Bob, I knew from past experience that YesVideo does the work for Costco. I should have reminded everyone here of that.

Eber, Duh….If YesVideo would ever do a great job the first time, you wouldn’t be saying “We’d like to work with you to get your order transferred right.” While your comment was nice, it sadly underlines the low quality of work YesVideo always puts out the first time.

Because you screwed up the 100 feet of test film I sent you, you are not getting the 3000 combined feet of super8, and 16mm silent film, 200 feet of super8 with sound, and 2 full digital film cassettes I have to yet be converted. I never went back for the $20 refund since it’s not worth the gas money and time. I don’t put myself out there to be burned twice for my money or time so I don’t give second chances.

From my own experience and everyone I personally know that have ever used your service via Costco, all have never gotten back a decent job from YesVideo? In my opinion it’s because for 10 years YesVideo has had contracts with its national retail partners and they are willing to let those partners take the heat for YesVideo bad work. From lack of experience and knowledge most people aren’t going to know it can be done better so they don’t complain and your contracts are safe. YesVideo appears to only be concerned with the volume of jobs they can process in a day therefore its workers can’t spend the attentive time to do a good job.

YesVideo should try putting some of its profits back into its business instead of its pockets and they may find positive comments all over the web about their work instead of negative comments.

You are in a business that impacts peoples lives, so care about those people and do the job right the first time. Only then will you be able to quit groveling for re-do’s to keep customers.

I posted a critique of Aaron Mortinsom work at Toronto Home Movies. He was posting regularly on this site and since I have been unable to get a reply from him I thought he might post a reply on this site. It appears he quit posting after I posted my problem. Again be very careful of silver tounged devils. Some venders seem to talk the talk but do not walk the walk

Clifford.
I still have the film and still want to get it converted to digital and put on a hard drive. What can you do in the way of cost so I can get this done. I have about 7 400′ reels and about 12 50′ reels most 8mm but 2 or 3 are super8

George Hubert

georgehubert@sbcglobal.net

Deciding on a company to work with you on your film transfer project should never be based on PRICE. You want someone to labor over your films as if they were the the most precious artwork on earth – and guess what? To you, they really are. If you disagree, then you are in for a big disappointment, especially if your films colors are out of whack or you have many different “scene conditions” within your reels. I could go on about this in more detail, but I have a lot of film to transfer.

I have been at this closing in on 30 years, since late 1983, when I learned to transfer film just like a HACK. Consumer projector, shining it on a wall. YUP. I admit that. I soon graduated to the plastic rear screen box – same HACK job result. In ’86 I invested in aerial image “projectors” that didn’t project, the result was a vast improvement for many details. That gear wore out by 2000 and it was replaced with Elmo gear which by 2004 was upgraded. By that time, desktop editing software became an integral part of EVERY transfer. After the actual transfer, we meticulously visit EVERY SCENE and correct as much as can be corrected. We superimpose names of people, etc., etc. we spend 4x the amount of time of the film itself to perfect the result. Don’t believe it? Come watch us work. This is why we charge .37 a foot.

When asking about WHO to trust with your film – Call and talk to the people who would actually work on your stuff. See if their experience is similar to mine. See if they talk above your head and outside the scope of your understanding(avoid those people). Ask for references and CHECK THEM OUT. Don’t take anyone’s word or be lured into a business relationship with someone who just talks a good game. Look for any “press” history. Ask your OLD local photography retailer, NOT THE CHAIN STORE for a referral. I could go on (again)..

And, as I always recommend, unless you are dealing with OCD VIRGOs like RC & I, stay LOCAL.

Hi Steve. Thanks for asking about recommendations for Seattle.

I don’t personally know of anyone in the Seattle area doing film to video conversions so I can’t give a recommendation. What I can do, though, is offer hints to use to help make decisions on what looks promising. In making decisions on which ones bare further looks I look at some technical hints given at the web site. To avoid stepping on other’s toes I won’t list all of my criteria. Here are some of my “make-sense” rules that probably apply to finding any service provider such as hair stylists, brick layers, and automotive repair shops, among scads of others.
- Avoid places where the web site bad-mouths the competition.
- Is their web site well organized and easy to navigate?
- Does the web site just simply look professional or does it look like a home-brew?
- Be cautious about HD options offered. Some of the fraud is readily apparent even to the casual observer such as delivering HD on a DVD rather than a Blu-ray disk.
- Be able to detect obvious deception such as claiming to spend four minutes per 35mm slide while only charging a dime a slide.
- When you speak to someone in person or on the phone is he or she pleasant and inviting to talk to or do you feel pushed?
- Do they have membership associations such as WEVA, a local Chamber of Commerce, etc.
- Is the web site devoted to technical hype that goes over your head?
- A capability to accept 16mm home movie film as well as 8mm is a good sign.
- Verify that your films will not be shipped out to be processed somewhere else.
- When you personally spoke to someone did you feel as if he or she were going to respect your films as precious family heirlooms?
- Payment in advance is a negative.
- No not accept under any circumstances having your films spliced together onto a larger reel. You want them back exactly as you left them. Once done that element of finding historical hints concerning a given clip is forever vanished.
- Be price aware but don’t let that be a primary concern.
- Look up any prospective service provider in http://www.maps.google.com and http://www.local.yahoo.com and see if there are any reviews for them. Reviews at these sites are of particular interest because the business has little control over what is given.

Ok. Wow. This thread has been very informative and a bit overwhelming. I only wanted to know what everyone was saying about the quality of Costco transfer and after what I have read concerning just that I will not be sending my film via Costco… If this is any indication to those of you in this thread that represent the Costco service that maybe it’s time to do a little overhaul of your methods and start listening to what your customers are saying.

What I am looking for is a company that does all types of transfers including 8mm, Super8, (both with or without sound), VHS, VHSC, Hi8… etc. All to DVD.

I have about 4 dozen or so of the 3″ reels of 8/super8 most with sound (one needs splicing) and one reel that is 5″ and one that is 7″, at least 2 dozen Hi8mm cassettes, and at least a dozen VHS/ VHSc….

I am in the Maryland / Delaware area and would like to stay local but dont mind shipping if its worth the result.

Any recommendations?

-Jon

Hi Jon,

This is Eber from YesVideo. We do the media transferring for Costco. We can transfer all the media types you listed, and have locations all around you where you can submit your order. Alternatively, you can ship directly to us, and we can offer you a discount based on the size of your order.

Its good that you’re doing your research. I just wanted to let you know that we’re very willing to work with you personally until your order is completed to your expectations. If you have any thoughts or questions, we’re available all week at support@yesvideo.com or 1-866-493-7383.

Best,
Eber Legarreta
YesVideo

This thread has turned into a shameless plug for film transfer companies, thinly disguised as “advice”. Now all pretense of advice is out the window. Way to go “bob”.

In defense of all the vendors out there, including myself-

Well OF COURSE any of us would like to land the business of anyone on this thread who needs transfer services done. We’d be idiots on this thread not to respectfully mention it where appropriate.

But I’d like to think we also dispell good advice to those who aren’t familiar about what to look for in shopping for services. No doubt Bob, Wes, Myself, all can do good quality transfers, but I don’t see any of us knocking each other, nor knocking good reputable companies near any customer. The thread started with folks asking about Costco’s transfer services, and a discussion/debate evolved about who does what, the pros & cons of dealing with folks based on price, process, locality; etc. And since potential customers tend to warm up to businesses that are active and responsive, it doesn’t hurt to say that we can help them if all other options don’t appeal.

So continue to rag on us if you will. I don’t think I’ve land a single job from my contributions to this thread, and I’m fine with that. I’ll keep participating as I’m sure Bob, Wes, Eber, and others will.

Some more “advice” to consumers, since it is flowing so freely on this board. Beware of film transfer “experts” who have time to write out 6 and 8 paragraph posts on this site…they apparently are not very busy transferring customers’ film and have a lot of free time on their hands Wonder why?

Yet, my single rhetorical question above – and probably this remark slides right in.. Must be either too long OR I name names.

another anonymous person heard from – I’m a passionate multi-tasker myself – spare time will come when I am dead.

Shucks fellas, SEO not working out like you hoped?

Well bob, I am sure the good people at yesvideo are pleased to have you running their name into the ground. I am simply trying to point out the difference between honest discussion and attempts by you and others to elevate yourselves as some sort of unbiased experts. In fact you are engaging in nothing more than internet marketing. I think it is your antics which have no place on this board. But please let’s keep this going…I am sure your tiny customer base will find it informative (and maybe entertaining)!

Yes, bob, your professionalism is just dripping from your last post. How comforting that must be to your future customers. If my math is right, your career has netted you about one customer every business day. Mine yields 20 times that. And I don’t have to spend all my time acting like a genius on message boards. As I said previously, no wonder you have so much time to “blog” here.

I did my research before sending all my films out to someone to transfer my films. I wanted to make sure that my precious childhood memories did not get lost! I found a local company in MAINE to transfer my films, I was really happy to have found him. When i spoke to Francis at Via Vision film and video Productions, he put my worries at ease with all my questions and concerns. I was also happy that I didn’t have to mail out my films to who knows where, and being able to drop my films off in person and support a local business was priceless! Now, myself and my family can enjoy my old home movies!

I live in Monmouth County NJ Any local places that anyone knows of that could transfer my 8mm hi 8 to dvd’s? All set to take them to Costco but am now rethinking that idea. Videos are 25 years old but have been stored in a container for all these years. Thank you Would like to stay local.

Kate,

Consider duplicating your Hi-8 video cassettes to the digital domain YOURSELF. Hi-8 to digital is not like film to digital. Film to digital takes real know-how and is not recommended even for those technically adept. Hi-8 to digital however is easy for the consumer to do with the right equipment. Assuming you already have a Hi-8 camcorder and an everyday desktop computer, all you need is a quality analog to digital converter with time base correction (TBC). Without question I recommend the Grass Valley ADVC-300 available at retail outlets and is also readily available at eBay. Do NOT get the ADVC-110 which is sold even more readily at retail outlets such as Best Buy because it is cheaper. When you are done sell it at eBay. Plan on spending about $400-$450 new and a little less than that at eBay.

Hi-8 to digital is very consumer doable for the technically adept. Nevertheless, I have clients that still elect to give me their Hi-8 cassettes to duplicate because they just want them done right and don’t trust themselves to do it. Once again, Hi-8 to digital is NOTHING like film to digital so more than likely anybody you find doing it will do it as well as anybody else including myself. So, if you still want to have it done professionally I recommend that you find any small shop in your area where the cassettes will not be shipped out for processing.

Keep this in mind: If doing it yourself you will have the capability to edit as well.

Looking for a local company in the Salt Lake Valley, where I can drop them off myself and pick them up. I will not ship my home videos in the mail. I want to talk with the person personally. Any suggestions? I haven’t had the chance to go through all the comments, but it was very informative.

We did 8mm to digital conversion at home using our old Eumig R2000 projector, our Canon digital video camera, and a computer. Took a long time but got excellent results.
1. Focus the projected image carefully.
2. Set the projector to slow motion (one-third of normal speed) to get as many video frames of each film frame as possible.
3. Set up the camera and focus carefully (manually) on the projected image.
4. Start the camera, then start the projector. Tread carefully so you don’t shake anything until the film is over.
5. Transfer the digital video to the computer.
6. Run software that takes apart the digital video file into a separate image file for every frame. You need LOTS of storage for this!
7. To eliminate flicker, in the next step you take advantage of the fact that among all the many video frames you captured for each film frame, there will be ONE where the camera and the projector were in sync. (The reason for running the film slower was to make it practically certain that at least one video frame would be in sync.)
8. Run software that compares every video frame to the frames before it and after it, and keeps only those frames that are brighter than the ones before and after. The brightest ones are the ones that were in sync.
9. Run software that puts the bright frames back together as a digital video file. It will need to adjust the playback time to match the original film’s running time.
As you can see, it takes a while but costs nothing if you already have the projector and a video camera. The results we obtained here were excellent.

Welsey, thanks for your comments.

The camera used is a consumer level 720p Canon camera. The colour in our final videos are on par with commercially converted material I’ve watched. I’m sure a better camera would improve the colour but given the quality of the film image we’re satisfied with the result.

Look up the Eumig R2000 projector. It’s a self-contained projector and rear-projected screen that looks like a 15-inch TV with two reels on top. Back in the 1970s this was the top end of Eumig’s consumer line of Super 8 projectors. The screen is flawless and very bright. Also because it’s rear-projected the camera can be placed right in front of the centre of the image so there’s no parallax error.

Neither the camera nor the projector has adjustable speed, so we can’t synch it to the camera that way. In fact, I’ve never seen an 8mm projector with continously-variable speed; and even if I had one, there would be no way to keep it in sync with the camera, the speeds would drift apart. Commercial telecine machines sync the video camera frame rate to a signal from the projector motor, which can’t be done when the projector and camera are independent machines, even if both of them had adjustable speed.

Instead we worked with what we have. Our projector has several fixed “slow motion” speeds. Projecting at normal speed produces 3 flashes for each frame (3-bladed shutter in the projector). Slowing down the projector produces more flashes of each frame, e.g. at 1/4 speed there are 12 flashes of each frame. This greatly increases the chance that one of them will be simultaneous with one of the camera’s frames. The software processing then picks out those bright frames and makes the movie from them. You might call this “accidental sync”.

We certainly didn’t pick frames manually, and I’m a bit offended that you thought I made that part up. After separating the frames into individual JPEG files, a simple 20-line C program written by my son selected the brightest frames by comparing the overall brightness of each frame with the ones before and after. No image analysis is done, it just adds up the values of all the bytes in the JPEG – the higher the total, the brighter the frame. Being so simple, this program worked successfully on its first test run. BTW since the video file was progressive there were no issues around interlacing.

We’ve successfully converted hundreds of feet of 8mm and Super 8 using only what we had. It’s time-consuming because of the slow projection and the need to kick-start each of the three steps of digital post-processing (separation, selection, and synthesis) but it’s not especially labour-intensive.

Most of the software tools we used are open-source, except for the C program my son wrote. The app that reassembles a movie from the selected individual frames simply asks you how long the movie should be, and presumably interpolates if there are not the right number of images.

The key point I was making with my original post is that with a little ingenuity it’s possible to get much more out of what you already have.

cococorbin: I don’t personally know of any in Seattle but I hunted around on the web and found one that at least is saying all the right things. Email me and I will send you the link and my thoughts on the matter if you are interested.