GENERAL QUESTIONS

What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Paypal. You can call us if you'd like to discuss alternate payment options. All funds must be in US currency

Do I get back my original materials?
Yes, all original materials submitted will be returned to you.

Do you allow for regular USPS shipping or Media Mail?
You are free to use whatever shipping method you choose to send your items safely to us. We use ground shipping either via Fedex or UPS to return your items due to their verification and trackable methods. Although a bit more costly, it results in very reliable and dependable delivery of your items back to you.

Do you allow for local orders with no shipping?
We sure can, Click on the tab to the left of your screen labeled "Local Ordering" or click HERE.

QUESTIONS ABOUT MOVIE FILM TRANSFER

What's the difference between 8mm, Super8, Hi8, and Digital 8?   There has been some confusion with 8mm formats.  8mm and Super8 are two names for the home movie films most people used between the 1930s and the early 1980s.  These are the two formats, along with 16mm, that are MOVIE Film formats.  For the past 15 years or so, Sony has been selling video cameras that use 8mm videotapes (techinically referred to as Video8).  The original models were referred to as 8mm (again, video8) camcorders.  Later models introduced were capable of recording at a higher resolution and were called Hi8 camcorders.  Several years ago, Sony introduced a new digital version they call Digital 8.  All three of these formats use the same size camcorder videotape.  Reel transfers can transfer these to DVD under out videtape to DVD listing choices.

Do you have a minimum order requirement?  There are no minimum orders, but it is sometime more cost effective to do as much as you can in one order as there are reductions in shipping costs (based on carrier) as well as potential bulk discounts

How much film is on a reel?   To find out how much film footage you have, measure the diameter of your film reels (straight across the middle of the reel from one edge to the other.  A 3" reel contains 50 feet, a 5" reel has 200 feet, and a 7" reel has 400 feet. 

How much film will a DVD or VHS tape hold?   DVD's will hold between 1700 and 1900 feet of film depending on whether it's 8mm or Super8. 

How do I arrange the films?
Most people like to arrange the reels in chronological order oldest to newest. Number the reels in the order you want. If you are not sure of the correct order, there is no way for us to know either. Our best advice is look at every reel for clues, dates, anything that might indicate an order. With your best effort please label each reel in the order to be transferred. We can only proceed with your transfer if the reels are numbered. You can however send us a signed letter stating that you give us permission to transfer in any order.

What if I want to edit my own movies on my computer, can I retrieve the files from the DVD?
  You sure can. There are a few few freeware programs that have both Window and Macintosh versions you can use to extract your DVD movies into formats for editing. One program we strongly recommend is MPEG Streamclip which you can download at it's website www.squared5.com. As a matter of fact, here at Reel Transfers, we actually RECOMMEND you edit your own movies. After all, these are YOUR Home movies. And you can have a lot of fun customizing them to your own likes, as well as adding your own music and so on. Of course Reel Transfers offers custom Editing and DVD authoring services and although we'd be happy to do it for you, it can be a bit costly for some people which makes editing yourself a major benefit.  

Can I add titles to the video or chapters to the DVD?  
For film transfer, Yes.  The first title (appearing at the beginning of the video) is FREE. This is the title you will see when you push play on your DVD player.  Additional titles may be added to the video for $5.00 each (there is a option for that on the UPGRADES section of the shopping cart).  Once you have put the DVD in your DVD player, you can press the menu button and you will see a generic menu with one chapter on it.  Selecting this chapter is another way to start playing your video.  You may add additional chapters to the menu that will allow you to go directly to designated parts within the video.  The first chapter title is FREE, each additional chapter title is $5.00 each.

Is there any part of my film that won't be transferred or will be edited out?  
We transfer everything, although we edit out obvious head and tail leader. We choose not to presume any footage whether it's suspect (out of focus, shaky, over or under exposed; etc.) is expendable.

  How soon can I get it done?  
Currently, our turn-around time is 6-10 business days for 8mm film and 2-3 for 16mm film. Our turn-around time increases during the holiday season.  For an additional fee, we can expedite your order.  Give us a call for more information about our rush service.

  How do I place my order?
  Use our easy to use shopping cart to place your order. It will handle all products, taxes, shipping options, and sales agreements. If you live within the Smyrna-Atlanta, you are welcome to use our handy Dropoff/Pickup center or contact us and arrange a local handoff. Click HERE for more information about that.

Can't I just play the films in my old projector and shoot off the screen/wall with my video camera?
  You could do that, but a standard consumer projector and video camera is not designed for telecine conversion, which put simply, is the process that allows you to view the film on a dvd or videotape without flicker, focus problems, or other light issues. Our telecine system runs your film thru a specially designed frame-by-frame projector that video captures the film with precise focus and balanced light

QUESTIONS about VIDEO TAPE TRANSFER

What types of video tapes does Reel Transfers convert?
At this time, we convert the following types of cassettes: VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Mini-DV, 8mm, Hi-8, and Digital 8, BetacamSP, Betamax, HDV, DVCam, and international VHS tapes. 

What is an international VHS?
If you have a VHS tape you recorded/acquired from a country outside North America, it likely was recorded using a different recording standard (PAL, SECAM) and will not play on an american VCR (NTSC). Reel transfers can convert your tapes to DVD playable in any DVD player with no problem and perfect image quality.  

  What is the turnaround time?
Currently, we can turnaround any transfer project within a few days. Larger orders may require an additional week or so. We notify customers of transfer progress as we go. Optional upgrades or additional copies of the DVDs could also ad additional time  

  How much video will fit on a DVD?
To take advantage of the best quality encoding, we can fit up to two hours of video on a DVD.  You don't want to sacrifice quality for quantity to fit more onto a DVD.  The bottom line is that if you try to fit 6 hours of an EP VHS tape onto a 2-hour DVD, you will see moderate pixelation and sound quality will dither.  It's never a good idea to combine too many tapes onto one disc.  Optimum transfer is (1) VHS to DVD, (1 or 2) hi8 or 8mm to DVD (depending on the length), (2) MiniDV to DVD, (4) VHS-C to DVD, etc..

  Can you transfer just part of my videotape?
We can, but the cost will be the same. Additionally, if the portion of tape you don't want is just blank video, our recorders won't detect a signal and will stop recording, so there's no foul. If this is not the case, then please review your video prior to submission, and ensure that notations are made based on the video counter for where you would like to stop and start. 

   How do I tell you where I want the chapters to be located?
With basic transfer, chapter markers and menus are fairly basic, thus the name.  The transfer allows for incremental "chapter-forwarding", allowing the browser to jump forward and back through the video footage.  The increments vary by machine, but the average is about 6 minutes.  Full Video capture and editing allows for more control, and thus, customization. This however falls under custom Editing services (under upgrades) and can be a bit more pricey.

  What if I only have one hour of video to transfer. Is it cheaper?
No, our prices are the same for any tape.  However, for DVDs less than 1 hour in length, we do provide a higher-quality encode, so your video transfer will look absolutely pristine.

  My videotape is already degrading, with some snow or lines across the screen. Will transferring it to a DVD fix these problems?
Basic transfer does not provide cleaning services for your original source material.  For a different service, Video Editing can be applied wherein your tape can be analyzed, adjusted audibly and visually, image-stabilized, and more.  DVD quality depends on the source tape.  If your video is in a questionable state already and you're worried about it, then it's absolutely time for videotape preservation!  

Will my video look better when it is transferred to DVD?
Over the long haul, yes.  Your first step towards preservation is getting that old degrading analog material off its original source film and applied to longer-lasting digital media.  We use professional video equipment, which helps the picture tremendously, but the simple fact is that the DVD will only look as good as the original tape.  Over time, however, you will continue to experience degradation on your original tapes, due to aging, condensation, heat, magnetism, dust, static, etc.  DVD's do not experience this type of quick degradation.  

Can you transfer professional VHS tapes to DVD? I've got some VHS movies that might never be released on DVD, and I want to preserve them.

We do not transfer copyright material for legal reasons, even copyrighted material without monetary gain, as per FBI regulations.  

Can you do video editing?
Yes, we do video editing at $100 per working hour. If you discuss with us what you're looking for, we can more accurately assess your editing needs.

QUESTIONS ABOUT AUDIO  TRANSFER TO CDR 

Is there a legality issue for copying my LPs to CDR?

It is legal for an individual to transfer or have some else transfer a SINGLE copy for his or her own use, provided the originals are owned by the individual. It is not legal to make multiple copies so we do not offer CDr duplication of any Vinyl transfer. Reel Transfers will not transfer an lp with the intent of the customer making multiple copies. We assume that the customer has gained a legal copy of any lp sent to us.

What's the difference between a Micro-Cassette and a MINI-Cassette? They look the same.

Micro-cassettes are the more common small audio cassettes used in portable hand recorders as well as the kind of cassettes used in the older answering machines. MINI-cassettes, although very similar, are actually a bit wider in length and are primarily used for Dictaphone recording (common for Sony & Philips recording devices). If you're not sure, Click HERE for a side-by-side image comparison of the two types.

QUESTIONS ABOUT 35MM SLIDES & PHOTO SCANNING

Can you handle prints that are bigger than 4x6?
Yes, but we charge a premium markup for that since any photo larger than 4x6 is deemed 'oversize'. But we can handle photos up to 8.5 by 11"

Can you make DVD Slideshows of my photos?
Sure can. That option (as an upgrade) is listed under both the photos/slides category as well as upgrades.

What kind of slide scanning equipment do you use?
Our system is a Nikon 5000 high-end slide scanner that houses internal ICE software which cleans your film of scratches and offers color correction where needed

QUESTIONS ABOUT DVD DUPLICATION

What is the quality of the DVD Copies?
The copies will be exact duplicates of your original disc. Our state-of-the-art robotic system checks each copy against the original and automatically rejects disc's with errors or flaws.

What if the DVD doesn't play on my machine?
We tell the 1% of customers that do have an issue with the DVD to try another DVD player and more than likely it will work fine. Most (but not all) players are compatible with DVD-R and will play it fine.

I burn my masters on DVD R. Can you make copies of that also?
We can make copies from DVD R, but the disks that you receive back will be DVD-R, which is currently the most compatible format for DVD players around the world.

Why is a Mini DVDr disc more expensive to duplicate than a regular DVD?
A single sided mini DVD costs the same to duplicate as a regular DVD. But many mini DVD-R discs used in camcorders are DOUBLE-SIDED, so you couldn't just duplicate one side and get all of your recorded material. Our mini conversion option will extract the recorded media from BOTH disc sides, and combine them onto a single DVD. It's a slightly more intricate process and thus a bit more expensive, but certainly worth it f you have these kind if mini DVD discs.

Does the price include labels or printing on the Disc? 
Color text printing is included on every disc.

If I have "Chapter" , "Tracks" or "Menus" on my original disc, will the copies have them as well?
Yes. All Chapter, Track and Menu information is transferred to the copies along with any other data on the original discs.