2019
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Preserving Your Memories: The Importance of Digitizing 8mm and 16mm Film Written by: Brandon Harris, Smooth Photo Scanning Services
The digital age completely revolutionized how we capture and watch home movies. Analog formats became history in what seems like just a few years and suddenly the world had converted to digital. This has unfortunately rendered most home movie collections obsolete – especially 8mm, Super8, and 16mm film.
If you are lucky enough to have family footage on old film reels then you know how difficult it can be to watch and enjoy, let alone share. Who even has a working projector anymore? The other problem with old film formats is that they do not last forever. The chemical makeup of 8mm and 16mm film causes it to break down and deteriorate with each passing day.
Even when stored in perfect conditions, the truth is that physical film is doomed to break down eventually. Some of those films may contain precious footage that you will want to preserve for future generations, so you will need to consider a way to maintain their quality and stop the deterioration process.
Converting 16mm and 8mm film to digital is the only way to guarantee that your children will be able to enjoy your family is priceless home movies. Digital files are immune to the damaging effects of time and mother nature, and if backed up properly, can last forever.
Still not convinced? Well, to help you make up your mind, here are a few arguments for digitizing your home videos that are just too hard to ignore.
Save Your Home Movies for the Next Generation
If you are reading this article then chances are that you understand the importance of preserving your footage for the future. Each film reel tells a story that commemorates important moments in your family.
Old film formats do not have an unlimited shelf life so the longer they sit collecting dust in your basement or attic, the worse off they will be. Converting 8mm and 16mm film to digital is the best choice you can make for preserving your priceless family videos for generations to come.
Easy to Watch, Easy to Share
Even if your 8mm, Super8, or 16mm film is still in pretty good condition, it is obviously not the most convenient way to enjoy them by any means. The home projectors needed to view old film reels are no longer manufactured, so you will have a hard time finding one that is working, even on eBay.
If you decide to convert your 16mm, 8mm, or super8 film to digital, it will be infinitely easier for your family and friends to watch them. Digital videos can be viewed with ease from a computer, TV, tablet, or smartphone.
What is more, digital files are very easy to share. You can send digital movies via email, through the cloud, create flash drive copies, etc. You can also burn your 16mm or 8mm film to DVD after digitizing it and hand out copies to your loved ones.
For a lot of people, digitizing their old family videos is a fun and emotional experience because they get to see footage of their family members when they were young for the first time.
Professional 16mm, Super8, and 8mm Film Transfer Services
You might be convinced that converting your 8mm film to a digital format is a great idea, but you might be asking how do you go about doing that?
For most people, the digitizing film is not a great do-it-yourself project. The equipment and software needed to get the job done right will set you back thousands of dollars, and you will easily spend hundreds of hours learning how to master it. Luckily, there is the film to dvd service providers who can professionally convert your 16mm and 8mm film to digital format for you.
If you do decide to go with a professional service, you will want to choose a company that offers frame-by-frame capture. This method scans each individual frame into high-quality images, which are then processed to create a smooth and seamless motion picture. Transferring 16mm, Super8, and 8mm film to DVD or digital using frame-by-frame technology offer a superior, accurate, flicker-free viewing experience.
My father has been in the document scanning industry for as long as I can remember. I worked for his company Smooth Solutions, Inc. during summer breaks growing up and for a couple years after college. Wanting to venture off on my own, I gained experience in several careers including wholesale seafood sales as well as owning and operating a bakery for several years. When my father approached me with the opportunity to expand upon his already successful business by providing high quality, professional scanning services to the general public, I jumped on board. From personal experience, I recognize how important it is for most people to have their family memorabilia preserved for future generations and I want to be a part of helping others do that.