Not sure how much film footage you have?

Click Here to download our sizing chart.

Film Transfers

place order     visa mastercard

How much will it cost to transfer your films onto DVD?

$30 for inspection, adding head and tail leaders, timing each film reel, ultrasonic cleaning, replace broken splices and film repaired as needed. The $30 cost is per 1000 feet of film or less. If you have more than 1000 feet of film, then it will cost another $30 for timing, cleaning and repair.

Add .22 cents per foot for film transferred to DVD. This cost includes the special projectors, the broadcast cameras and the technician who watches every foot of your film until it is safely transferred onto DVD.

Last, add the cost of DVDs onto which you burn the film images. See our normal DVD-R rates. Example: 1 - 5 DVDs cost $4.97 ea.

Cost Formula

$30 cleaning + .22 per foot X total number of feet you have to transfer + $4.97 for 1 DVD = $______Total

Film Footage Chart click here

How much film do you have? 50’ reels are in yellow Kodak boxes or in round plastic reels that are roughly 3 inches in diameter. The following guides are measured to the OUTSIDE diameter of each reel:

100, 200, and 400 foot rolls are usually in protective canisters.

  • A 50’ reel is roughly 3 inches in diameter and will run about 4 minutes long
  • A 100’ reel is roughly 3.75 inches in diameter and will run about 8 minutes long
  • A 200’ reel is roughly 5 inches in diameter and will run about 16 minutes
  • A 400’ reel is roughly 7 inches in diameter and will run about 32 minutes

    • The Transfer Process

    DVDs4Less has a dedicated, in-house film transfer lab with air filtration where we delicately transfer your 8mm and super 8mm films, old black and white and color home movies onto DVD. We are proud of our flicker-free film transfers because nothing is held back to insure that you get back the highest quality images from your original films.

    98% of all 8mm and Super 8mm films are silent films. We do not transfer films with magnetic sound tracks. We can also enhance your listening enjoyment by adding custom pieces of music that fit the mood of your DVD for up to $75.

    ALLOW UP TO TEN BUSINESS DAYS TO PROCESS YOUR FILM ORDER.

    At DVDs4Less, the whole process for us begins with the understanding that your films are not just a bunch of dusty old reels thrown in a box. Often, the historic nature and emotional memories that your film images unlock can only be cared for with delicate, special handling by trained film technicians who know the correct way to handle film. These people really care and that’s why our film transfers are produced 100% in house for your protection and security. We do not ship your film away to another lab and we do not farm out anything.

    Here are the reasons why DVDs4Less makes such an exceptional transfer from old film onto DVD:

  • We begin by inspecting your film and repairing broken splices and torn film sprockets with professional, Maier-Hancock “glue and scrape” splicers. Our professional film editors have years of training and experience editing 8mm, 16mm and 35mm motion picture film. We do not use Mylar which is a cheap, perforated stick-on film splicing tape. You get professional, clean butt-splices that pass through with a minimum amount of jitter and weave.
  • Next, your film is touchlessly cleaned with sound waves inside an ultrasonic clean box using harmonic wave vibrations just like a jeweler uses to clean diamonds. This loosens and removes loose dirt or dust particles that have collected on your film from past use. We cannot remove particles deeply embedded into the film emulsion or “hairs in the gate” that were inside the camera when the film was originally shot. The clean film images look very professional without all the dust and dirt appearing on the screen. Your friends will be amazed at how life-like your family films appear on a large home theater screen or on a normal TV screen.
  • Then, comes the real magic. DVDs4Less uses high resolution $80,000 Sony broadcast cameras with $20,000 Canon IF high resolution lenses to capture the film image. This is what will make your film look better than anyone else who has had their films transferred in the old conventional manner. These cameras are so expensive because they have the highest resolution to capture all the original sharpness, full colors and the wide exposure latitude on the film just as it was the day the film was taken. And that’s precisely what you’ll see on your screen. From our broadcast cameras, your film is electronically transferred directly onto the DVD, a loss-less, noise-free process that makes your film look just the way it was originally photographed.
  • Ever see old film that “flickers” on the screen? You’ll never see that again. We lock the camera’s scanning frequency to the film speed so there is no irritating screen flicker – NONE. What you see is a nice smooth image that brings memories back to life so you and your friends can relive the good old times just as you remember. Kids are always amazed to see their parents and grandparents when they were younger and often, children themselves.
  • Your film is never projected onto any surface. Each camera shoots through an optical, ground glass diopter lens and focuses directly onto the surface of the actual film emulsion inside the projector gate. The image is just as clear and crisp as if you were looking at each frame with the naked eye. This direct film to DVD transfer process provides the most clear, unobstructed edge-to- edge view of the original film. Nothing is lost or partially cut off like all the other “projected” film transfers. Sides and tops fill the screen right out to the edges. You’ll see full, brilliant images just the way they appeared on the day your film was photographed!
  • DVDs4Less uses cool white LED lights to illuminate each frame. There are no hot lamps to fade colors or burn irreparable brown holes into your original film.
  • We use gentle projectors with sprocket-less projector transfer blocks. There are no projector sprocket teeth to “chatter” and tear apart the sprocket holes which can permanently ruin your film. Your film is internally controlled inside the projector on servo-driven, limited slip tension hubs.

    • If your family films are priceless or if the film is a one-of-a-kind historical master, then you probably don’t want someone projecting that film onto a white card hanging on a wall. There are always lots of cheap ways to transfer film using focus-impaired consumer projectors and cheap, consumer-grade video cameras. These old technology systems do not make a bright and colorful film transfer.

    Is your film quite old and very brittle? Not to worry. Our systems will gently transfer your films from the optical block onto digital DVD and faithfully reproduce every single frame. Your original film will be returned back to you cleaned, firmly wound on each reel, repaired as needed and unharmed. We have transferred hundreds of old black & white films from the 1930s – bringing back to life forgotten images from the past.

    When you get back your original films and your new DVDs, your family legacy in movies will come back to life in brilliant color for all to enjoy on any DVD player or computer that can play back DVDs. Never again will you need to set up a white viewing screen. No more struggle to balance the altitude of a projector on books and tables. No frustrating loading procedures and broken film that suddenly jams or spills all over the floor. No more stopping the projector to fix the loop or clear broken film jammed inside your projector. Remember how tedious it was to load one reel after another while your family waited about none too patiently? Just pop in the DVD and relive the past with family and friends right on the spot without interruption. We’re sure you’ll agree that DVDs4Less offers the highest quality film transfer available anywhere.

    Questions? Please call us at (800) 852-2330. Ask for Jim. He loves to talk about your films, film transfers and our crafted procedures.