Old Home Movies Resurrected
Bring your old movie film memories back to life with our state-of-the-art
frame-by-frame high definition transfer technology
100% Safe, Full High Def (1080p), 2K & 4K Film Transfers to USB
Remember “Film Nights”? Gathered in front of an old movie projector, laughing out loud at your home movies?
Those days may be gone, but somewhere there’s a box full of memories just waiting for another chance to tickle your funny bone.
Let RetroMedia transform your dusty old reels into vibrant ,easy-to-play digital files on USB, that you and your family will enjoy over and over again for years to come.
Our system for digitising 9.5mm pathe film is 100% safe, with no risk of sprocket-hole tearing.
As you can see, the sprocket perforations are located between the individual image frames. If sprocket-hole tearing occurs (a very real risk with projector-based, sprocket-driven transfer systems), the damaged section of film will be ruined beyond repair.
Because our system is not projector-based, there is no pull-down claw or sprockets in our system that could possibly tear your film.
We Accept All Home Movie Film Formats
Unsure exactly what movie film formats you have there? No problem! RetroMedia can digitise all home movie film formats from the early 1900's onwards, including 8mm, Super8 (sound or silent), our super-safe 9.5mm conversion service, as well as 16mm (silent, optical sound & magnetic sound).
If you're unsure about what you have, or have many different types of media, enquire about booking an in-home assessment or organising session with a RetroMedia Memory Expert. Available within the greater Brisbane/SEQ region.
Ten Reasons To Only Trust RetroMedia With Your Films
1. Films are fragile
Even just playing them can cause damage. A projector can easily tear, chew, or burn your film. Our frame-by-frame scanning does not use projectors for image transfer, but many competitors do.
Your film can easily be damaged by old projectors of unknown condition.
Careless operation of projector-based transfer systems can also spell disaster.
Because we use the state-of-the-art RetroScan Universal Mk ii claw-less film scanner, it is simply not possible for us to damage your films.
2. Made in Brisbane!
Film work is done in one of our two Brisbane studios.You're welcome to ask to see our film setup because we don't hide behind so-called "trade secrets".
Our central Brisbane store is located at
249 Lutwyche Rd, Windsor. Qld. 4030
We're on the corner of Bowen St, with parking in Bowen St.
Our business hours are:
Weekdays 9am - 5pm
Late night Thursdays by appointment only
Saturdays 9-12 (AEST).
No appointments necessary (except for Thursday evenings), just pop in!
Ph: (07) 3357 4807
SMS: 0448 855 056
If a service is not open and honest about their film transfer methods, it really isn't because they have any special "secret process" to protect.
Services hide behind this argument simply because they don't want the curtain pulled back to reveal their dodgy methods.
With our high-tech film conversion setup we have nothing to hide. You can ask to take a look at our setup anytime.
If a company will not show you their system, we suggest you look elsewhere.
3. Prepared by hand
Your film is hand inspected, carefully hand cleaned, and if any damage or bad slices are detected we repair these before transfer.
4. Clawless film path
We are proud to offer the RetroScan Universal Mk II 4K multi-format transfer system fresh from the US (as used by the Academy of Motion Picture Film Archives, in Hollywood). The gentle clawless film feed system cannot damage film perforations.
In film projectors, toothed sprockets and a small lever called an advance claw drag the film through the projector. But the claw &/or sprockets can easily damage the sprocket holes on your film. This is always a risk with projector-based systems, as shown in this photo of torn perforations in a piece of 9.5mm film.
Our system is claw-less & sprocket-less, and gently tensions and guides the film without touching the perforations at all, ensuring we cannot tear them. So your film is safe!
5. Cold lamp technology
RetroScan's cold-to-the-touch LED lamp technology safeguards your film from any chance of being burnt.
Hot lamps in projector-based systems can easily burn your film, causing irreparable damage.
They also tend to produce overly-bright "hot spots" in your picture, as seen below.
With it's cool white LED light source, our system can never burn your film & introduces no colour cast. Illumination is evenly disbursed so there's no washed out "hot spot" in the middle of your picture.
6. Frame by frame scans
RetroScan individually scans frame-by-frame each and every image on your film. You get a sharper picture with no blurred, doubled or interlaced images.
Frame-by-frame, or FxF scanning is a system that digitises each individual frame of film as a separate snapshot. These are then played back at the correct frame rate to give you a movie.
Other systems do not give you a discreet snapshot for each frame, but instead a video approximation of your film's content. Blurry double frames & interlacing give lower quality results.
We can even deliver you a folder with every individual scan (snapshot), in the unlikely event you feel like going through thousands of frames. The point is, our system produces individual discreet scans of each frame of your film, with the attendant benefits.
7. 100% Flicker-free
Because RetroScan photographs each frame individually, the resulting transfer is guaranteed to introduce ZERO flicker.
There is a mild type of flicker caused by a projector's shutter blades. This is apparent even when watching film projected on a screen.
But there is also a much more annoying pulsing effect, caused by differences in frame rate between projector and camcorder in projector-based systems when not operated carefully.
With us you get neither.
Because our system is a true frame-by-frame system (not projector-based), we can virtually guarantee zero flicker in our digital transfers.
The one exception to this is flicker caused by a faulty original recording, due to a fault in the original camera. This is very rare - we've seen this only once or twice in many thousands of reels of film converted.
8. Minimal cropping
Adjustable film framing means we can capture up to 20% more of your film around the edges of the frame in areas cropped off by lesser systems.
Projector-based transfer systems are limited in how much of the film frame they can actually capture, by the size of the film gate opening.
Our system has no such gate, so no such limitation. We can position our camera to capture more picture around the edges of the film frame that lesser systems will crop off.
It could mean the difference between cutting off Aunt Mildred's head, or keeping her in one piece!
Just how much picture could you lose with lesser home movie (film) conversion methods?
Here we have actual screenshots of firstly a local competitor's projector/camcorder-based Standard Definition conversion.
Below it, downsized to around 1/5th original scan size (so that the frame sizes match for our comparison here), is RetroMedia's gate-less, true Frame-by-Frame Full High Def 1080p capture, demonstrating the difference in picture quality, as well as just how much of your film image a competitors system can crop off.
Here's a second example. Competitor's on the top & ours below.
Plus, just to reiterate, in real life our frame size would be a minimum of around 500% larger, which means that your High Def TV does not have to upscale a Standard Def picture, with the attendant risk of picture softening &/or pixellation.
Plus we also scan at even higher resolutions of 2K & 4K as options.
9. Full High Def 1080p, 2K & 4K scanning!
Our Full High Def (1080p) digitising process means vivid, crystal clear picture quality for your enjoyment. We also offer even higher resolution with 2K & 4K scanning!
Because there are no Standard Def TVs anymore, it doesn't make sense to choose a service that cannot digitise your film in at least Full High Def (1080p). This will mean that your movie will not need to be "upscaled" as much by your TV in order to fill the screen.
As the image shows, Full High Def 1080p frame size is almost 4 times larger than Standard Def. Plus we now offer both 2K & 4K scanning as well.
So instead of your TV having to enlarge a Standard Def film transfer by almost 400% to fill your TV (with the accompanying softening of picture & possible pixellation), your RetroMedia Full High Def film transfer naturally fills* your TV screen without any upscaling.
*NB: Because the film formats we transfer are almost all 4x3 aspect ratio, and today's TVs are widescreen 16x9, we'll insert vertical black bars (a.k.a "pillar-boxing") to fill the sides of the screen, as shown below.
10. FREE backup included!
Exclusive 3VAULT triple redundancy archiving - 3 backups of your files stored in 3 secure, offline locations - included FREE for 6 months with all our digitising services!
And of course all of your original media will be returned to you with your digital versions at the end of the project.
Our Process & Pricing
Preparation:
All film is carefully inspected, and hand-cleaned before conversion. Any broken or breaking splices are repaired. This preparation is included in our service at no extra charge.
Digitising Process:
Our standard offering is true frame-by-frame scanning using our RetroScan Universal MkII 4K film scanners (as used by the Academy of Motion Picture Film Archives, in Hollywood), of Regular 8mm, Super 8, 9.5mm & 16mm silent film.
2 NEW INCLUSIONS at NO Extra Charge!!!
We have perfected our new Wet Gate system, which is now included free with every transfer. This process can reduce or remove base scratches (scratches on the film's base side), giving a better picture. Demo clips coming soon!
We also now include basic film grain reduction in most transfers. This is a basic application of film grain/picture-noise reduction that would benefit most film. Poor quality film would instead require careful scene-by-scene application of this process, and that is not covered here (but is possible), and some damaged film may be too far gone to benefit. But for most film we see, this inclusion will give a more pleasing result, which is why we've now included this at no extra charge for film that will benefit from it. Once again, Demo clips coming soon.
We can also process the sound from Super 8 magnetic sound film & both 16mm optical sound & magnetic sound film where film is in projectable condition, syncing it up perfectly with the scanned picture.
Your digitised memories are then delivered on USB3 in Full High Definition 1080p resolution (minimum), or optionally at 2K or 4K resolutions, as mp4 H264 video files, the easy-to-share, editable file format choice, viewable on the widest range of devices, including most TVs.
Raw, unprocessed AVI files are also supplied.
Please note that we don't ever scan any film at Standard Definition, because technology has moved well past that point, with all TVs being at least High Definition. Please bear this in mind when comparing our services with others who still only offer Standard Def, and usually only camcorder-shot projected images of a wall. The minimum resolution we offer - Full High Def 1080p - is around 4 times the resolution of Standard Def, so with our conversions your TV will not have to enlarge a low res picture in order to fill the screen of a High Definition TV.
We can also perform 2K 4x3 scans (aka QXGA), and 4K 4x3 scans (aka UHD-1), both delivered at 16x9 aspect ratio (pillar-boxed).
Resulting Files:
Mp4 (H264) Files: As standard, our transfers are delivered as popular, shareable mp4 h264 files, which will be easy to watch on your TV & to share with family & friends.
Raw AVI Files: You will also receive archive-quality raw AVI files. These are the unprocessed version, and the highest quality the scanner will output - an editable file perfect for future-proofing. It will play back on any Apple Mac or Windows PC, and through them (via HDMI) on your TV. (NB: You may need to download the free VLC player).
Please enjoy a sample clip of an mp4 h264 conversion, of a Super 8 film from the 70's that we have scanned at our basic 1080p resolution with our newly included basic Grain/Picture-Noise Reduction applied.
Pricing - Silent Film:
For Regular 8mm & Super 8mm silent film, our gentle-on-your-film Full High Definition 1080p conversion prices range from as low as .50c per metered foot of film, or even lower if you have very large reels.
As an example of what we mean by "metered" footage, if your 400ft reel has, let's say, 137 feet of film actually on the reel, that’s the footage you’ll pay for. Our metering is accurate to a fraction of an inch, so you won't pay for approximations.
For 16mm silent film, our gentle-on-your-film Full High Defintion 1080p conversion prices range from as low as .60c per metered foot of film, or even lower if you have very large reels.
For 9.5mm silent film, our gentle-on-your-film Full High Definition 1080p conversion prices range from as low as $1.00 per metered foot of film, for the very safest (non-tearing, non-burning) film transfer possible.
• A setup fee is applied for jobs of less than 1000ft. From $40 per project depending on format, waived at 1000ft.
• Small reels (3 inch) are charged by the reel, rather than by metered footage. This per-reel rate also applies a minimum charge for larger reels containing small amounts of film. Depending on formats & quantities, priced from as low as $33.30 per reel.
• We also offer discounted footage rates for any very large reels (containing 600ft of film or more).
• Because of the potential for some very large files from film, we supply a high speed, quality brand name USB3 device. The cost for supply & load of a USB3 depends on the size of your project, starting from $44. To make your backup responsibilities hassle-free, you can order extra USBs at any time during your 6 month warranty period.
• Some extra prep charges may also apply to some film depending on condition & rarity of format. All film needs to be on reels in order to be converted on our system. In cases where film is supplied without reels (coiled, loose pieces, or on cores) there will be some extra costs in labour & for us to supply reels. And occasionally we may encounter film that requires extra preparation, such as mouldy film, or film with vinegar syndrome. These are not covered within our regular service. Click here to learn more.
• For a custom quote considering your quantities, urgency, your film format and the physical condition of the media, please enquire here.
Add-on Pricing for Sound Film:
Our frame-by-frame scanners do not convert sound. For film with sound, we currently offer 2 solutions.
1) We can firstly scan the film frame-by-frame, and then do a second additional projector-based pass to capture the sound, which we then have to sync together. The extra sound pass plus editing to sync the sound together doubles the applicable rates for silent film scanning of that format (on reels of up to 600ft capacity). We offer a discount on sound capture/sync rates for very large reels larger than 600ft capacity.
2) A second option can be that we scan the film & leave the sound unrecorded - not such a bad option as in some cases the audio hasn't weathered the years as well as the film has, being a thin magnetic strip in the case of Super 8 & 16mm with mag sound. We are beginning to sometimes see the sound strip lifting off the film at this point in time. We'd be likely to catch such a problem at the film cleaning/inspection stage, so a decision could be made at that time.
This is also the best approach when you're unsure of the value of the content to you. Once you receive the initial silent conversion you can decide on whether or not you will convert the sound based on the importance of the content to you, and the quality of the content. There's no overall price disadvantage to waiting & getting the sound done at a later stage.
It's also important to note that not all film with a film stripe actually has sound recorded. Sometimes sound film was purchased in error, or because that was all the store had in stock.
Lastly, while we can convert magnetic sound for Super 8, as well as magnetic & optical sound for 16mm, and present them to you in perfect sync, the film needs to be in a physically projectable condition. In cases where the film has shrunken or curled in such a way that the perforations can no longer be aligned with a projector's pull down claw, then we would not be able to play the film on a sound projector. Therefore we cannot convert the sound in such cases.
Such a high quality, perfectly synced audio capture/sync process as we offer is very labour intensive, but we do offer bulk discounts on large reels holding 600ft of film or more.
Extra Preparation Charges: NB: All film must be supplied on reels in order to be converted on our system. In cases where film is supplied without reels (coiled loose, or on cores) there will be some extra costs in labour & for us to supply reels. And occasionally we may encounter film that requires extra preparation, not covered with our regular service. Click here to learn more.
Turnaround Timeframes:
Depending on your quantities, we’re quoting from approx 3 weeks at the moment for a small film conversion project, not including shipping time. Most jobs will be in the 3-6 weeks region, but some big jobs can take longer than that, because all digitising occurs in real time, and there are always jobs in the queue. If you’re in a hurry and need it sooner than these timeframes please let us know, and we may be able to accommodate you. A rush fee may apply.
On the other hand, if you're in no particular hurry, we also offer low priority discounts in some circumstances.
Terms:
• We ask for a part payment (deposit) at commencement, of 1/3rd of the estimate for your project.
• To keep things fair, for regular timeframe projects your job will go into a queue of work and will be attended in turn. Please note that predicting timeframes is not an exact science. It's simply not possible to precisely allow for unforeseen issues that may occur with obsolete media, either in your job, or in the jobs ahead of yours in the queue. So we aim at estimated turnaround targets. If you have a looming deadline or event, please let us know, and we can discuss options with you.
• Original media is available for collection upon full payment. Unless prior arrangements have been made, we ask for payment to be made within 7 days of invoicing. Storage fees may be levied on jobs not paid for &/or collected within 30 days of invoicing.
• We like to be as flexible as possible. We’re happy to work with you before commencement of the job to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement. But we do ask that if we have not made alternate arrangements with you before commencement, that you will honour our terms.
Interstate? Outside Greater Brisbane?
We understand that it isn't always easy - or even possible - to drop in to our centrally located store. So until Christmas 2024 RetroMedia is offering Free Shipping to clients who mail in their job!
Free Trackable Shipping (Return Journey) offer for mailed-in projects!
How it works: For mailed-in jobs, we'll pick up the tab for outbound (return journey) trackable postage, Australia-wide. NB: Please quote our promo code "FREESHIP24" at the time of ordering to avail of this offer.
To get the best price on your postage to us, we recommend that you use Australia Post Pre-Paid Satchels (or Express Satchels if you prefer) to post in your job, as these are a flat price Australia-wide. If you want to use a box, it will usually be cheaper to place the box inside a pre-paid satchel, especially if you are interstate.
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Get Your Media To Us
Gather up your media and drop it over or ship it to our Brisbane store. No need to thoroughly organise it all. Just a basic sort out, and a quick dust off & we can take care of the rest.
We Digitise & Preserve
We'll work our magic to professionally clean and convert your old media to future-proof digital formats.
You Relax & Enjoy
Experience the excitement of watching and sharing your memories anywhere, any time you like!
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