Save Those Memories
There are many ways to save your family archives.. cheaply or properly.. and cheaply always costs more in the end.

Save Those Memories – Cine film to digital transfer

Call on: 01793 495733
Email: admin@savethosememories.co.uk
Address: 3 Lovell Close, Swindon, SN3 5BT

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Cine film transfer to 2K+ and 4K+ UHD digital files

Cine film is a fantastic format, designed for a much longer life than video tape. You should have high expectations for what can be achieved when this old, beautiful analogue technology meets new cine film transfer digital and AI technology. The Scanbox 4K by Debrie is the Big Brother of the Memory HD, which I had been using, with great success, since 2009. I am very proud of this major upgrade. The 2K+ (2,048 x 1,500) images of even standard 8mm can be truly stunning and everything is just better 12 years on. So, whether you have found a mysterious single 50ft. reel in an old drawer or have 100s of reels in a museum or family collection give me a call and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the best way forward with transferring your cine film archive however big or small.

There is an outcome to suit every need with three distinct services. The excellent “Frame duplication” service will excel above most needs and you can get an online quote below for this service level. But now, also, there are two new “AI enhanced Optical Flow” service levels for those who want the absolute best their film could ever give. It takes a much longer time but the results as you can see are remarkable. Call or email to discuss these service levels if you want to take things further.

Testimonals

Hi Chris, It really is refreshing to deal with someone who is thoroughly professional, efficient, helpful and courteous. My old 1930’s black & white cine films are now easy to watch and enjoy. Chris has cleaned, spliced, edited and titled them in an expert way, adding appropriate music. He even personalised the cover of the DVD by selecting images from the films. 

Thank you, Chris David Berglas “International Man Of Mystery” Past President of The Magic Circle

Equipment used

For all cine film transfer I will be using the superb, new “Scanbox 4K”, manufactured by Debrie Technology of Paris.

This can capture cine film in ……

  • 4K+ UHD (4,096 x 3,000)

  • 2K+ UHD (2,048 x 1,500)
 

Computer files can be natively captured in just about any codec / format / size you want.

  • MP4 between 20GB & 40GB per hour (h.264)

  • Avid DnxHR .mxf between 77GB and 88GB per hour

  • DPX .bmp at either 1.1TB or 4TB per hour
 
There are three distinct service levels.

  • Standard Frame duplication

  • AI enhanced Optical flow without editing
  • AI enhanced Optical flow with full editing

Call me on 01793 495733 to talk through your needs if you are unsure about what you might want.

Most of my competitors do not name the equipment they use, or who manufactures it and do not show a picture of it but just use phrases like “State of the art” which means nothing. Do ask what system they use and who makes it, then check it out on Google. I have invested a lot of time and money in the best cine film transfer equipment in the world for digitising small format cine film. I am really proud of it which is why I am happy to tell you all about it. Just buying a £500 4K camera doesn’t qualify as state of the art.

I have the only “Scanbox 4K” in private hands in the UK & Ireland because I have been prepared to invest in the very best.

Please see the sample videos – further down the page – or the video explanation of how the Scanbox 4K works by clicking on the video above.

Cine film transfer - 2K or 4K UHD?

Over the last few years I have noticed a significant shift away from DVD and Blu-Ray discs (see my blog). The quality of disc based archives is so much lower than can be achieved with a computer file that I have decided that “disc only” archives from cine film will no longer be an option. I will always happily make a disc if it meets your requirement but only as part of a disc / file archive. Most people are now concerned with getting the very best possible digital computer file for playback on a laptop, editing, streaming, uploading and sending around the world. For PC or MAC computer files I am archiving cine film as 2K+ (2,048 x 1,500) and 4K+ (4,096 x 3,000) and am finding that for the majority of customers 2K+ is the most popular choice.

For smaller archives or archives using MP4 (h.264 format) at 22GB per hour output format we can just use wetransfer.com to upload / download the files.

For large archives and archives in DPX or Avid DnxHR (.mxf format) I will need a USB hard disc drive. You can send one with your films or I can supply a quality Hard Drive.

Video transfer
Preserve your cine film movies

How to order and pricing

Ways to order: 

The simplest way to get things moving is to either give me a call or drop me an email. We can go through what you have in your archive and what you are trying to achieve.

  • Call: 01793 495733 (office) or 07940 810733 (mobile)
  • email: admin@savethosememories.co.uk – for further details check the “Contact” page. 

In addition to this, we now offer an online calculator that lets you get a free, instant estimate for the standard conversion of your cine film reels. It also allows you to send your enquiry to me if you so wish. Click the large “Instant estimate” button below to begin. 

You are also more than welcome to bring your cine film / video / photographic archive here and we can go through it in person. Just get in touch and we can work out an appointment that will suit you. If you wish to use the postal service then I recommend using Royal Mail Special Delivery.

Please include in your package a covering letter with your return and contact details / phone number / email address.

Address:
Chris Squires,
Save Those Memories,
3 Lovell Close,
Swindon,
Wiltshire, SN3 5BT

Please include in your package a covering letter with your return and contact details / phone number / email address.

Let me know the format you want the films saved as – For Computer files (PC or MAC) at 2K or 4K.

Click here for a free, instant estimate

Archive Return

Large archives are best saved to a passport sized hard drive so you have everything in one known place. The size of the drive needed will depend on your choice of output as DPX uses 1.1TB per hour so that will need some calculation. For large DnxHR or MP4 archives a 1TB hard drive will suffice in almost all situations. You can either include one with your films, you can get one sent to me or I can source one for you.

For smaller archives or archives that are transferred to the smaller MP4 file format I can either put them on a USB stick or I can use a file transfer service. I use wetransfer.com and I pay for the PRO upgrade so you don’t have to worry about file sizes.

Once I have created your files, I would upload to wetransfer.com. They send you a link in an email. Clicking on that link takes you to a simple download page. This service is doubly useful as not only can I send files to you, you can forward those files to anybody you want, anywhere in the world as many times as you want. So if you have friends or family, anywhere, you can quickly and easily distribute your archive to them.

I keep a back-up for at least a year and usually much longer so if you have a disaster at your end I can re-supply your archive at a later date.

cine film transfer

Example Footage

AI Optical Flow, Museum level

Sometimes only the absolute best will do. And with the installation of the Scanbox 4K I have been able to fully utilise all of the archiving skills I have accumulated over the last 21 years. This would involve creating an ultimate version of your films using the best of the Scanbox 4K AI Optical Flow capabilities, whether at 2K or 4K, the AI technology creates the smoothest, clearest possible version of your films as can be seen to the right.

If you are an organization (Museum, Hospital / University, Internet archive etc.) you might want the purely exceptional, better than broadcast standard, version of your cine film archives for long term usage.

The cine film to the right is just from a recent family collection where they wanted the best possible outcome. My Scanbox 4k AI Optical Flow system creates the smoothest, clearest possible outcome even from amateur, 60+ year old film

There are two service levels with AI enhanced Optical flow. a) without and b) with post-capture editing.

Typically both service levels entail the following level of detail:

  • accurate and realistic 1st generation AI scene speed correction from original 24fps source to 16fps or 18fps

  • best choice of frame management – AI optical flow, frame blending or frame sampling
  • fine image stability management based on still camera or moving camera to give a rock solid image

  • fine scene-by-scene grain reduction management

  • export to format or formats of your choice

Post-capture editing work for the highest level of service will also include breaking down the film entirely on a frame-by-frame basis:

  • removing every single glitch frame (first and last frame of a scene is usually too bright and / or involves inaccurate frame movement)

  • any old splice inaccuracies or imperfections

  • any frame innacuracies – bad frames where possible replaced or deleted

  • Any further stabilization or enlargement to give the absolute best result

From experience this is all incredibly time-consuming but worth it if you are after the very best.

The final cost of these AI enhanced archiving projects will depend on how much needs doing and whether there is sound. So the final quote will be determined once I know exactly what you want.

Give me a call and we can go through exactly what you are aiming to achieve.

Scanbox 4K with AI system

Museum and archive standard - Video examples

Useful Information