8mm & 16mm Home Movie Film
(Silent, Optical Sound, and Magnetic Sound)

All transfer, conversion, and copy of regular, Super 8mm, and 16mm home movie film to DVD is done in Chelsea, Michigan. The person you hand your irreplaceable family legacy memories to is the one who will personally either oversee or perform the carefully designed tasks that will convert, transfer and copy your legacy Easter Sunday home movie films to modern and durable DVD media.

For films where it will improve results, there is an option to clean the film prior to duplication using a process designed specifically for movie film. This not only improves the film quality by removing excessive dust and lint but also gives new life to your home movie film. We look for ever changing exposure and white balance levels. Scenes in your film having dark areas are made to show more detail when we adjust the video gamma level as the film rolls. Special attention is given to producing brilliant flesh tones. This means that someone is literally babysitting your film with each foot of its roll making adjustments as the need arises. Because these adjustments are made as your film is rolling, there is no need for us to charge an extra fee for color correction or our other standard enhancements.

Because of our attention to critical telecine techniques you will never see flicker or what is commonly called a "rolling bar" in your transferred and converted regular, Super 8mm and 16mm home movies. Film advances at 16-24 frames per second while a television or computer screen will scan at 30 frames per second. Not addressing this miss-match issue results in an annoying pulsation or rolling bar in your converted and transferred family memories.

Where applicable, we will coordinate with you to maintain any archival scheme or arrangement your films may have. Often times the films have hand written notes on film leader, reels, boxes, or film cans. These notes, written by now gone mom or pops, many times provide important clues to a family history and play a large part in identifying film content. In processing your films we will make every effort to maintain and preserve such archival information during conversion, transfer, and copy.

Our capabilities for sound include both optical and magnetic for both Super 8mm and 16mm films. This is not a misprint. Almost all Super 8mm sound films have a magnetic sound track while most 16mm sound films use an optical technology. For a few years television stations were making 16mm sound films using magnetic technology. We can transfer those films to DVD.

Your DVD will be delivered with professionally designed graphics coordinated between the interactive menu, the photo quality water resistant label printed directly on the disk, and the DVD case jacket. When you play the DVD you will see a fully interactive menu where the various regular and Super 8mm or 16mm films will be individually selectable for playing by the viewer. Please view an animation of how your product is typically packaged: Home Movie Transfer DVD Packaging

We are able to say with confidence that the quality we deliver with our duplication, transfer, and copy process of regular, Super 8mm, and 16mm home movie films to DVD is as good as it gets. We have such complete confidence that we invite you to give us one 3 inch reel (50 feet) of regular 8mm, Super 8mm, or 16mm home movie film (silent or sound) which we will transfer to DVD without charge. If you have already had film transferred elsewhere we will copy at half-price up to 400 feet of that same film when you give us your original DVD. You owe it to yourself to be certain that your family legacy memories on home movie film converted to digital and copied to DVD retain all the quality that modern technology can deliver.

Our price list is available for you to examine: Film Transfer Pricelist

Why Convert and Transfer to DVD

Celluloid film yellows with age and becomes brittle. Analog recorded magnetic tape used in video is estimated to begin to show significant degradation after ten years. Digitally recorded tape may give the appearance of lasting longer because of its error correction and ability to drop frames without being noticed. Even consumer grade DVDs are subject to rapid aging making it extremely important to only use professional grade media when your memories are at stake.

Consider also Blu-ray

Professional grade CD-ROMS and DVDs, while they are estimated to hold their information for a hundred years, are susceptible to scratches and finger prints. When CDs (and later DVDs) were being designed in the 1970s, nobody imagined they would one day find their way into the hands of children. Blu-ray media, however, was designed with the family home environment in mind.

Why W. Cardone

W. Cardone Productions has the latest technology to do your photo and home movie transfer and conversions (we accept both prints and negatives) to DVD or Blu-ray disk. We offer options for restoring and/or improving the quality of both aged celluloid and video home movies as well as still pictures and audio.

The DVD and CD media we release on is of the highest quality costing roughly three times what is available to the consumer and is certain to last for decades. We print a full color photo quality label directly on the disk which resists water. In addition, we offer an archival grade DVD option which uses a 24ct gold reflective layer for ultra longevity.

Please call for details on what specific capabilities exist and for pricing. We offer free pickup and delivery in Ann Arbor and many parts of Washtenaw County. If you choose to use a credit card we use wireless technology at your door for maximum security.

Please visit our blog to see a wealth of information relating the conversion and transfer of legacy media. New information is added regularly.