Our Services

At Tonal Productions we take your home movies and turn them into high quality digital formats. We use the finest equipment to provide you with the finest results, preserving your videos for years to come.

Transferring 8mm film (both regular and Super8) is our specialty. We use high quality projectors which record your film frame-by-frame with LED backlighting. There is no flickering, no "hotspots", and your film is not harmed in any way. It is simply the best way to transfer film.

We can also transfer BETA tapes, VHS tapes and their little cousins, VHS-C tapes with the same high quality.

With digital cameras we can transfer most formats. This includes 8mm tapes, miniDV tapes and video cards.

We also offer scanning services for 35mm slides and photos. Using high quality digital scanners at a variety of bitrates, your pictures will look fabulous and last a lifetime.

With all services, complete editing is available. We'll get rid of any blank spots or damaged video seamlessly, leaving you with just the footage you want. We can also add captions, music or narration to any video and combine any type of format, letting you personalize your video any way you like.

With all the services we offer, you can rest assured that we can handle all your video needs!

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PROCESS

Video comes in all shapes and sizes, but the process for getting them digitized is basically the same. Here's a look at the process and equipment we use.

The first step in ensuring a quality transfer is to provide our computers with the best signal we can during the capture process. This is where quality equipment comes into play. I learned long ago that if you can start with a high quality video signal, the rest of the process is that much easier.

VCRs, film projectors and cameras must be able to provide that initial high quality and we use some of the best. Our VCRs include the Panasonic AG-1980, JVC HR-S9900U and JVC HR-S7600U. These VCRs provide excellent picture quality along with a sturdy transport system. More importantly, they all have built in TBCs (Time Based Correctors), which helps to stabilize the picture while providing a very clean image.

The film projector we use is a Tobin Systems TVT8. This projector provides frame by frame recording and LED backlighting. Recording is done to a SD digital camera before being passed to the computer.

Video cameras include the Sony DCR-TRV340 for Digital 8 tapes and the Sony DCR-TRV80 for mini-DV tapes.

TBCs come in 2 flavors. The TBCs in VCRs are line TBCs which help in cleaning the image quality. We also use an external TBC (DataVideo TBC-1000), which is a full frame TBC used to correct signal problems. This TBC is always inserted into the chain for VHS tapes.

Finally, all video is passed to the computer using a Pinnacle Systems USB-710 Capture Box.

All video connections are completed using S-Video cables.

So, there's the workflow that transfers the video into the computer. But what happens next? Well, it's a 3 step process. First we must record the video, then the video is edited and cleaned up and finally, it must be rendered to a file format compatible with either DVDs or Flash Drives.

Capturing your video is done with a program call VirtualDub. The video is captured in a lossless (compression-free) AVI format (using the HuffYUV codec). The files created are huge but it's the best way to do it and it provides us with the best possible digital rendition.

At this point, the video is ready for any editing/fixing/enhancing. Basic editing includes removing any blank or damaged areas and adding transitions. More advanced editing can include removing video noise, color correction and video stablization. We have several pieces of software available for video editing.

After editing is done the video is re-saved as a lossless AVI file. It is this final file that is then used to create either a DVD or MP4 files.

Why Choose Us...

There are several reasons to choose us for your video needs.

• First and most importantly, the quality of our work. We use the best equipment available to assure that all our work is done with professional results.

• Fast service. In most cases, your videos will be done and returned to you within a week.

• Personalized service. No two jobs are ever the same and we work hard to insure that your videos are done the way you want.

• Pricing. We've done our homework and found our prices to be the most competitive on the market. In fact, we're about half what our competitors charge.
• Customer Service. When you contact us, you'll be dealing with a live person who is the same one who will be doing all your work. We can answer all your questions, get precise directions and make all the arrangements with one phone call.

We're not the biggest transfer house, but we feel we're your best option for fast, friendly, high-quality and low priced service!