Frequently Asked Questions

Photo Slide Show To DVD

Q. What types of images can I send you for my photo slide show?
We normally scan your photos, slides, and negatives for use in your Slide Show. If you have any digital pictures you want to include, please send them on a CD.

Q. Can I add music to my slide show?
Yes, we can. Please review our music guide or consider sending your own music CD in with your film. We will also try to purchase a song on-line for you. You can find more information below in music selection.

Q. Will my slide show have a menu with chapters?
Yes, you will have the option to play the show totally or select chapters from the main DVD menu. Remember to separate your photos into groups and label them, when you send them so we can set up the chapters.

Q. How long will each photo be shown?
You can tell us the length of time to show each photo. We recommend 5-10 seconds.

Film-To-DVD Conversion

Q. What type of film do you convert?
We transfer 8mm and super8mm film.

Q. Do you add menus and chapters to the DVD?
Yes, we typically make a chapter per reel of film. The reels are usually 3 inches (or 50').

Q. How many film reels will fit on a DVD?
A DVD will store about 2 hours of your movies. For minimum compression we sometimes recommend transferring only 60 minutes of content to one DVD. Most 8mm film were sold and processed on 3-inch reels, however, it was common to splice film together and put them on larger reels. Please use the following as a guide. Please separate your film by the number of individual DVDs required.

Q. Do you clean the film?
We use a cleaner that is specially formulated to remove dust and mildew and also lubricates your film to help prevent it from cracking during the transfer process. It also helps to preserve film during storage, extending its shelf life.

Q. Can or do you edit the film?
We remove obvious blank areas of the film or exposures that are unviewable.

Q. Do you damage the film?
Movies are not destroyed or damaged in the process. They are returned to you with your order. You should store them away in a secure, cool place as a possible back up in the future.

Q. Can you add music to my movies?
Yes, we can. Please review our music guide or consider sending your own music CD in with your film. We will also try to purchase a song on-line for you. You can find more information below in music selection.

Video Tape-To-DVD Conversion

Q. What videotape do you convert?
Almost all VCR and camcorder tapes including vhs, svhs, minidv, digital8, 8mm video and hi8 video.

Q. How many tapes can I put onto one DVD?
We can combine as many videotapes as you like, as long as their total length is no longer than 120 minutes. If they are longer than 120 minutes, we will use anOrder DVD. Digital 8 or miniDV we recommend only transferring up to 60 minutes of content on to one DVD to maintain the higher quality of these sources.

Q. Do you add menus and chapters to the DVD?
Yes, we typically create a chapter about every 10 minutes for your longer tapes. If you have a collection of short tapes, such as 30 minutes, you may consider a custom chapter title per tape.

Photo Scanning Services

Q. What format will my pictures be in?
We typically scan your images and save to JPEG. However, we can also deliver the lossless TIFF if you prefer, but your file sizes will be considerably larger and much slower to work with. Unless you plan to edit your images, get JPEG.

Q. At what resolution will my pictures be scanned?
We scan standard prints at 300dpi, smaller photos may be scanned at 600dpi (dots per inch). Negatives and slides are scanned at 1600 dpi by default and up to 3000dpi if requested.

Q. How many photos will fit on one disc?
If we scan your prints at 300dpi, we could get about 500 photos on a CD and 3000 on a DVD.

Q. How many slides will fit on one disc?
If we scan your slides at 1600dpi, we could get about 220 photos on a CD and 1500 on a DVD.

Music selection

Q. What music choices do have for my project?
You have three choices:

(1) We use royalty-free music that is available in the several genres. All genres are instrumentals and are listed on our music guide page.

(2) If you have some music with special meaning to you, you can supply your own music. We can only use your music if it is an original CD that you have purchased. Please send us the CD with your order. It will be returned with your finished project. You cannot resell your finished DVD if we use your copyrighted music.

(3) Suggest a song and we will try our best to purchase it for you. If your choice is not available, we will substitute one of our royalty-free selections.

Navigation Menus with background images

Q. Do I have a choice of background images?
We create title and navigation menus (except for a basic video tape transfer) that let you skip to any section of your DVD using the remote control. You can play the entire movie or portions (chapters) from the navigation menu. You will see a frame from each chapter. We use background image for these menus. We try to match the theme of the DVD with a suitable image. We inventory some images that can be selected as a background. Please refer to our background selection page and mark your choice on your order form. We also provide special menu sets (see menu sets) and can edit your movies for an extra charge.

Standard Title Menu	Standard Navigation Menu

DVD player compatibility

Q. Will my DVD play in my DVD player?
Over 96% of all DVD players sold today play the DVD-R format. If you purchased your player in the last 2 to 3 years, it should support this format. Please check your DVD player's documentation before ordering a DVD project. Also, you can find a list of compatible players on-line here. Look for players that play DVD-R media http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php