• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

So what's so cool about the Phoenix System? Well, it's exclusive to Alive Studios so you can only get this kind of quality here... Below are some of the key features you will benefit from, and check out the examples here on the site to see it for yourself.
	Phoenix Demo

Phoenix Technical Specs - At a glance We use Phoenix machines for ALL cine film transfers including 8mm, 9.5mm and 16mm One to one frame scanning (every single frame is scanned no matter what speed your film is shot at) Scanned at 2K Film Resolution (2048 x 1556) Available in a choice of Standard Definition (SD) or High Definition (HD) SD - Is output at 720x576 interlaced or progressive HD - Is output to 1080i - 1080p - 1080-24p true cinema & 720p Multiple media outputs available (DVD, Blu-ray, Image sequence, mini DV, HDV, ProRes 422 HQ and more) Sound is transferred with our Dolby Stereo sound head. The sound is then output to Dolby Digital Sprocketless technology (gently guide the film over the scanner) Enlarged gate so you can see the whole of your picture

One to One Frame Scanning Your film is guided over a 2k film scanner and digital images are made of each and every cell of your film. If you're thinking "what?" take a good look at your film and you will see that it is made up of a series of still photographs - usually around 18 images for each second of film (18fps or 'frames per second'). So your little 4 minute film roll is made up of around 4300 still images which when shown one after the other, create a moving picture - or film.

So now you have a basic understanding of what you actually possess in those canisters, you can understand the need to digitally scan each of these little cells individually, in order to authentically recreate the film. And of course, we have the added bonus that once these images are safely on our computers, we can work our magic even further. Through software we careful editing to remove unwanted sections such as leader-tape. Finally, your editor will watch each section of film and apply colour correction filters to restore the natural colours and remove horrible tints caused over time.

Perfect Speed
The biggest benefit of our one-to-one frame scanning method is, no matter what speed you shot your film at, the Phoenix system creates a smooth, flicker-free film running at a perfectly natural speed.

I.e. If you shot your film at 18fps (frames per second), we need to turn that into 25fps to work on your TV set. To do this, our software creates the missing frames for us. The difference at Alive Studios is that we use Optical Flow Technology, developed originally for Apple's 'Shake', which uses a reverse telecine feature to restore the original frame rate of a film by removing pulldown, so even on frame-by-frame playback, you will not get the unpleasant 'blurry' frame experienced by less powerful software.

High Definition - Worth The Wait The truth is, we were in a position to offer HD in 2007. With the advancements of high-def cameras on the market, we could easily have recorded a piece of film using a projector and a high definition camera. The results could of course be labeled as "high definition", but the fact is, unless you scan every cell individually in high definition, you're never going to achieve True HD. The other option of course is to scan the film in standard definition then simply up-scale it to high resolution and put it on Blu-Ray discs. Tempting? Not really. upscaling is like settling for second best - not something we're comfortable with here. And so we waited...as did you....until 2009 to when we were ready to launch the UK's first True HD one to one film scanner.

Blu-ray Info

Say Hello to True HD!

Cine film shot on Anamorphic lens? We fully support cine film shot on an anamorphic (widescreen) lens. If you filmed using an anamorphic lens, we will scan this film in true Widescreen meaning you enjoy all the benefits of your widescreen TV. Did you shoot your cine film at 24fps? If you filmed at 24fps you'll be thrilled to know that Blu-Ray supports true 24 Cinema, which mean we can put your film onto disc at 24 frames per second exactly as it was shot, with no need to insert any frames. only Blu-Ray can do this, so if you're an enthusiast who wants to retain your filming methods perfectly, then go for the Blu-Ray option.

Widescreen

Gentle on your old films
In the past we would suffer problems caused by damaged sprocket holes which cause the film to shudder and jump, often rendering the film useless as a stable picture cannot be made. This is a problem no more - Phoenix uses sprocketless technology to gently guide the film over the scanner. So whilst we do not claim miracles, if you have film that will not play in a projector any more then you know Alive Studios can definitely help you.

Improvements to Sound Sound enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that from March 2009, all cine film with sound on will be scanned on the brand new Phoenix HD system to use the systems enhanced sound capture capabilities. Even if you're not having your film to BluRay, you will still benefit from the extremely high quality sound this system will produce for you. Our music licence gives you full Surround Sound, and if your film has it's own soundtrack, this will be output on your DVD in Dolby Digital Professional.

Improvements to DVD quality We are now encoding film to DVD at a higher level to retain the full quality. Higher quality means we now put around 70-80mins on each DVD. Despite the obvious material cost to Alive Studios in doing this, we feel this is something we are obliged to do to retain the full quality of our workmanship. To put more than 80mins of film on a DVD would, in our opinion, lower the quality of your DVD.

If you love the medium of old film and don't want to lose the feeling in it's reproduction, but understand the necessity to protect it, and are excited by the possibility of actually improving it, then Alive Studios is the company for you.

We have always felt we offered the highest quality transfer in the UK, and with the launch of this new system, we have surpassed this and now offer something even more unique.

We call it Phoenix 2k.