Cine film transfer in HD or UHD
Cine film transfer in HD or UHD
8mm, Super 8, 9.5mm, 16mm frame scanning
£85 per 200 feet in HD
The Alive Studios Film Scanning Service
We transfer Cine Film to digital, for families, archives and museums all over the UK. We convert standard 8mm, super8, 16mm, super16 and 9.5mm. We use a true one-to-one frame scanner that takes individual photographs of each cell of your film, which are expertly compiled into a movie, then edited and colour corrected. The resulting cine film transfer is sent to you on a USB memory stick and uploaded to the Alive Cloud, where you can share your films with friends and family. We recently upgraded our scanner lenses to the new Sony Pregius CMOS image sensors to handle dark, noisy films better. See the new image sensor in action.
You can choose to have your film scanned in 2K, which is High Definition, or 4K Ultra High Definition..
Read customer reviews
Steven’s team turned 40 fragile, old, flickery movies into a wonderful HD experience that we can now easily share with family and friends around the world.
Service Features
Film Scanning in HD or UHD
DVD is standard definition (SD), which should never be used for film scanning as the quality is simply too low. We use HD, which has 5 x the mega-pixels of SD, or Ultra HD, which has over 20 x the mega-pixels of SD. Phew!
Supplied on USB stick
Your films will be supplied back to you in MPEG-4 format. Plug into your TV to enjoy on the big screen. Then pop it into your computer to re-order, rename, and edit. Add your own titles, music etc., to create amazing films.
All films are cleaned
Before we scan your cine film, we always give it a thorough clean first. Partly to protect our scanners, but also to improve your picture, as cine film typically has a good deal of dust and hairs floating on the emulsion.
Colour correction
Cine film benefits hugely from expert colour correction. We use a variety of methods, including colour correction, contrast enhancers and de-noise, which makes the picture smoother and clearer.
Free 30 day movie hosting
All films we transfer for you are uploaded to our password protected Alive Cloud service, with FREE ACCESS for the first 30 days.
Free collection and delivery
Information on Cine Film formats
- 3" dia. Holds. 50ft of film (4 mins)
- 5" dia. Holds. 200ft of film (16 mins)
- 7" dia. Holds. 400ft of film (33 mins)
- 3" dia. Holds. 50ft of film (3 mins)
- 5" dia. Holds. 200ft of film (7 mins)
- 7" dia. Holds. 400ft of film (14 mins)
Why scan film in 2K/4K and why no Cine film to DVD ?
Benefits of HD/4K Ultra HD, and why we’ve dropped discs…
All cine film benefits enormously from a high definition transfer. It may look like a tiny cell, but even 8mm cine film holds a surprising amount of data and is not just equivalent to, but higher than, HD. To scan your film in standard resolution (SD), we would essentially disregard a vast amount of information resulting in loss of fine detail and colour.
Horizontal lines per definition type
- Standard definition 576
- High definition (2K) 1080
- Ultra HD (4K) 2600
Horizontal lines per film type
- 8mm 900
- 9.5mm 1070
- 16mm 1800
Horizontal lines per film type (approx.)
For reference High Definition (2K HD) is 1080 lines and Ultra High Definition (4K UHD) has 2160 Horizontal lines
In 2012, we went HD-only. As leaders in our industry, we are responsible for setting quality standards. The 1990s SD/DVD technology is simply not good enough. We have these fantastic HD/UHD files in front of us, so to scale them down and reduce the quality for DVD is a step backwards.
In 2016, we took another bold step by dropping disc formats. So there’s no more Cine Film to DVD or Cine Film to blu-ray. Instead, we send you a USB memory stick (or hard drive) that play on any computer or TV with a USB port. You can re-arrange the films, change the names, and even edit the movies on your home computer (and make your own DVDs if you really feel a need to, but I doubt it). So much more versatile than discs, this truly is the way forward.
We recently upgraded all our scanners by replacing the lenses with new Sony Pregius CMOS image sensors. We also replaced the scanner lights with 3 x brighter LEDs. A new AI Frame rate conversion uses deep learning to increase video frame rate without artefacts. These upgrades have helped us realize even higher picture quality than ever before, mainly when working with dark, underexposed films. Read more on 4K UHD Cine film scanning.
Output formats
MPEG-4
We supply your films back to you in the very versatile MPEG-4 format. Works on any computer, phone, tablet or TV. We give you one file for each reel, named or numbered as you like. So, if you send 22 x reels of film, you will get back 22 x files on your stick. We deliver the files on a USB Stick. You can provide your own, or buy one of ours, from just £12. See our Output Comparison page.
- HD: (400MB per 50ft)
- 4K UHD: (700MB per 50ft)
Backup Hard Drive
It’s a good idea to have a backup of your project. Our backup service includes a copy of the above MPEG-4 files and also the ProRes 422 Master files. ProRes is a high-quality file that works with all the major editing programs. You will get one .mov file for each reel of cine. We deliver the files on a USB hard drive. You can provide your own, or buy one of ours from just £70. See our Output Comparison page.
- HD: (5GB per 50ft)
- 4K UHD: (21GB per 50ft)
Alive Cloud
It's Netflix for your home movies
Alive Cloud is free for 30 days.
Log in via your computer, or download the free APP to your phone or tablet so you can take your memories with you wherever you go. We also have the Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon and Fire TV APPs, making all your home movies available on-demand from the comfort of your living room. It’s as easy as calling up Netflix – only with our service, you are the star of every episode!
Log in online to make changes to the titles of your movies, create multiple user logins for all your friends and family so they can share the experience too. Chat directly with your dedicated editor to ensure your films are made just the way you want them. You get 30 days free; then you can extend for just £22/year.
There’s so much you can do; just visit this page for more info.
Featured Stories
’12 String’ (short film shot on 16mm)
Thank you to another happy Alive Studios customer, Mr Bob Lorrimer for sending us the above link to his finished short film entitled ’12 String’.
16mm film of Vivien Leigh
16mm film of Vivien Leigh (2020)Watch this video on YouTube Here is a short clip taken from a large collection of home movies belonging to
Super 8 film scanning with 2 sound channels (2020)
Here’s a demo of some super8 cine film which was originally recorded in stereo sound using dual track film. The cine film has two separate
Hot Property – shot on 16mm film
Another awesome film by one of our customers. Film-maker Bob Lorrimer used Alive Studios to digitise this 400ft reel of 16mm film shot in 1969.
Sir Winston Churchill’s Farewell to Parliament 27th July 1964
Sir Winston Churchill's Farewell to Parliament 27th July 1964Watch this video on YouTube Alive Studios recently had the privilege of being sent some wonderful 8mm cine
16mm film transfer for Andrew Morton’s book
Alive Studios spent some time recently working with Andrew Morton on the images to be used in his latest book – 17 Carnations – a
Serving over 23,000 customers worldwide
Ordering is so easy!
Online
Build your order using the ‘Order and quote form’ button below.- Print off the order form.
- Wrap your films securely and place them in a box/Jiffy bag with your order form.
- Send at the post office, or use our FREE courier collection service.
Or order by Phone
Or order by Phone
Speak to one of our friendly team at the studio who will do everything for you.
Lines are open 9.00 am to 5:30 pm weekdays, and most Saturdays Tel: 0800 0830561
FREE Collection Service
We are happy to arrange for our courier to collect your cine films from your work or home address. We’ll provide you with a convenient one-hour time slot by text and/or email. The collection is completely free for any size order. (UK mainland only, Scottish Highlands & Islands at extra cost).
FREE Delivery Service
Delivery back to you is completely FREE on ALL orders, no matter how large or small. As with our collection service, we even provide you with a precise one-hour delivery window, so you don’t have to wait in all day.
Get a quote & build your order
Use the handy “save for later” feature to return anytime.
Online
- Print off the order form.
- Wrap your films securely and place in a box/Jiffy bag with your order form.
- Send at the post office, or use our FREE courier collection service.
Or order by Phone.
Or order by Phone
Speak to one of our friendly team at the studio who will do everything for you.
Lines are open 9.00 am to 5:30 pm weekdays, and most Saturdays Tel: 0800 0830561
FREE Collection Service
We are happy to arrange for our courier to collect your cine films from your work or home address. We’ll provide you with a convenient one-hour time slot by text and/or email. The collection is completely free for any size order. (UK mainland only, Scottish Highlands & Islands at extra cost).
FREE Delivery Service
Delivery back to you is completely FREE on ALL orders, no matter how large or small. As with our collection service, we even provide you with a precise one-hour delivery window, so you don’t have to wait in all day.
Get a quote & build your order
Use the handy “save for later” feature to return anytime.
