Film to DVD

[BillB]

Is there anyone out there that can take a 30-45 minute USAF film from the 1950's or 60's on CAP and make a DVD? I have a copy of the film ACCENT ON YOUTH about the cadet program and would like to get a DVD for use at Squadron level. And I don't have the money that video stores charge.

[ande.boyer]

what format is the film? 8mm or something vintage from that era?

[DNall]

For sure check your resources out here, but while I'm thinking about it... I wonder if NHQ IT could help put you in contact with someone in the AF who I think would be interested in preserving such an item.

[whatevah]

what format is it?  I believe Ritz Camera is doing some formats for $30 (some are $50).  up to 2 hours from two tapes, transfered onto a DVD.   Not sure about copyright issues, though...  Aren't military videos supposed to be public domain?

[Al Sayre]

You used to be able to buy a gizmo for converting 8mm to VHS, and could probably find one pretty cheap on ebay since VHS is going the way of the Dinosaur.  Once it's on VHS you can buy/borrow a dual dubbing VHS-DVD machine. (available at walmart for <$100.00)

[CAP428]

If you look in the phone book for "video" or "film" or even some photography stores, there are usually hundreds of ads for this.

You can find them pretty much anywhere.  If you really can't find a place near you, I know a guy that does this.  Go to www.barnezy.com and click "services".  You can probably mail it to him.

But the phone book should solve your problem.

[SarDragon]

Most military films that I have seen are 16 mm.

The basic conversion process is simple, and the equipment isn't too hard to set up on your own. You need:
16 mm projector (usually the hardest part)
video camera
front surface mirror (3" x 4" should be large enough)
enclosure for the three items above to keep out extraneous light
mounting equipment for the first three items

The mirror needs to be mounted 45 degrees from the centerline of the projector lens, and the video camera an additional 45 degrees to the mirror, making the camera axis 90 degrees to the projector.

Move the camera and the mirror so the length of the light paths is about the same, and the projected image fills the camera frame.

Looks like this:



That's the same setup the pros use, with high=dollar equipment.

[CAP428]

That would result in a mirrored image.  And poor quality.  I personally would not recommend it.  I would recommend giving it to a professional.  Unless you have a few grand to plunk down on a professional grade video camera, your results will be limited, since most consumer video cameras use poor lenses and poor resolution.

And most professionals use straight-to-computer scanners, not video cameras.  You run the film through the scanner and light is passed through the film (movie film is a positive image, not a negative like most still camera film) and scanned/imported into a film conversion software program.  Then, editing can be done and be burned to DVD, VCD, or made into a file compatible for computer use, or even outputted to VHS.

If you absolutely don't want to spend the money for a pro to do it, (it really doesn't cost much, I just had some done recently), SarDragon does have an excellent idea, but with one change.

Where he has the camera positioned now, you need another mirror, placed parallel to the current mirror, with its reflective side facing the current mirror.  Then, put the camera facing in the direction toward the projector, but offset to be at the level of the second mirror.  I'm not good at explaining, but I'll make another picture and post it on here once I make it.



I haven't checkedinto the authenticity of it, so *disclaimer for me*, but there is an add for a shareware program that will allow you to convert film to DVD at http://www.surfpack.com/downloads/1677/convertfilmtodvd.html.  It is labled as "8mm2avi 1.4 ".

[BillB]

The film is 16mm with optical sound. I was hoping someone on this board had the professional equipment to go from film to DVD. The mirror method makes very poor quality reversed video. I was thinking of doing that since my video camera is in the $12,000 range and records SVHS/VHS. But then it would still need to be transferred to DVD and every generation loses quality. I emailed National a couple of days ago, but there has been no response as yet.

[CAP428]

Well, I edited my response above about the same time you posted, so I don't know if you read it, but yes, you can buy a film scanner and then use a computer program to do it yourself.

However I HIGHLY recommend getting a pro to do it.  I did some recently and it only cost about 80 bucks, and I had a lot of film to put on the DVD.

MotoPhoto and similar stores will do it, as will hundreds of "mom and pop" video conversion stores.  My phone book has tons of listings.  Look in your local book and I'm positive you'll find someone nearby if you live at all in the vicinity of a medium sized town or bigger.

Well, my computer is not working well right now, so I can't directly post the pic here, but I modified the diagram given above to show how you could theoretically set up a mirror system to get a non-reversed image.  I still wouldn't recommend it though.  It results in poor quality, and if you have Super 8 or something with sound, the sound quality would be deplorable.  But, if you want an ubercheap way of doing it, this diagram will show you:

http://www.freewebs.com/jesusgroupies/cap.htm

[SarDragon]

For Bill B and CAP428, that is EXACTLY how the big pro machines work. I used one in the Navy for over a week putting old 16mm films on video tape. If you look at the revised image above you will see that the lines go into the camera on the same side of the lens as they came out of the projector.

As for quality, you get what you pay for. The mirror is the biggest factor, and MUST be a front surface mirror. The other advantage of a pro house is the film cleaning done before copying.

The fancy scanning machines are also much slower that the projection method, since they go frame by frame. The projection unit is essentially load and go.

[CAP428]

Oh, I see what you mean.  I thought you meant the type of projectors you put behind the screen, which would create mirrored image.

I don't doubt that that method has been used, but I also work in this area and I can say that I/the people I know do NOT use that method.  We use electronic film scanners to put the film straight into the computer for editing.  You can buy film scanners to do this, most economically online.