Can I Convert 8mm Film to Digital Format on My Computer?

Yes! 8mm Film converts to many digital formats for viewing on computers, laptops, smartphones, and all devices that support the mp4 format. Most modern devices that play video support mp4. DVD or mov options are also available as needed to convert 8mm film to digital.

“Can I” is only the first of several questions that need to be answered, including: who, what, where, when, how, and why? These questions are answered below, each with a link to an article for more information.

What Are Digital Conversion Benefits?

The most important benefit of converting 8mm film is that it can be watched again without a projector or a screen. Other benefits include sharing the video with friends and family, archiving the video before further film decay sets in, and backing up when 8mm film is converted to digital.

Click Benefits to read more details about the benefits of digitizing.

Who Digitizes 8mm Film to Digital?

Digitizing film is one of those things that you can do yourself. Most people use a third-party service. See DIY for details on converting film yourself.

Several companies digitize 8mm film, each with its personality. Reborn Audio Video boasts several unique features:

1. Our focus is on the Denver metro area, not the national mail-in market, providing individual one-on-one customer service, eliminating the risk of mailing memories out of town and out of state.
2. Very Competitive pricing. After Covid, Reborn Audio Video began to operate out of a home office, cutting much of the overhead, passing savings on to you.
3. All customers are helped personally by appointment, so every customer meets in person with the actual person who will be working on your project, not an employee.
4. Customers receive direct contact with someone with hundreds of thousands of feet of 8mm film conversion experience.
5. Reborn Audio Video always uses state-of-the-art frame-by-frame 8mm film conversion equipment.

Reborn Audio Video is local, owner-operated, and conveniently located in the Denver Metro area.

Find out more about Reborn Audio Video here.

How Do I Digitize Film?

You can convert 8mm Film yourself, requiring the proper scanning equipment, a computer with the power to capture the film, and the power to edit film after capture.

If you choose to do it yourself, click here for tips on the equipment to do the job correctly.

Once you acquire the equipment and have captured, processed, and edited the film, it must be encoded.

Click here for details on how to do a great 8mm Film Conversion, including encoding.  

What Format Do I Convert 8mm Film to?

Choosing the final format for your converted 8mm film depends on:

1. How will you watch it – on which device(s), from smartphone to flatscreen TV and everything in between?
2. How do you plan to share digitized film? Copies of USB drives, DVDS, or sharing through cloud services on the internet are three options.
3. How do you plan to edit your video, including lighting, color, cropping, and audio levels and quality?
4. What level of resolution do you want, from very small for social media and phone viewing to very high resolution for maximum archival properties?
5. How much free storage do you have available? Storage capacity limits other options, from a few dozen megabytes per hour to a few hundred gigabytes per hour.

There are several format choices when converting 8mm Film.

Where Do I Take My Film to Be Converted?

If you choose Reborn Audio Video for your conversion project, view the contact information below, make an appointment, and drop off your film for a few days.

Click here for details on delivering your digital conversion media to Reborn Audio Video.

As you choose your conversion provider, there are several considerations:

1. Whether or not you are comfortable with the idea of packing and shipping your film
2. The convenience of your home for those remaining places with actual addresses
3. The conversion experience of the person who takes your film conversion order.
4. The experience of the person doing the actual conversion work for your film, slides, videos, records, and cassettes.
5. Competitive turnaround time. Reborn Audio Video offers turnaround in terms of days, while competitors quote turnaround time in terms of weeks.

When Is The Right Time To Convert to Digital?

There are four choices and consequences when considering whether to digitize 8mm film or not:

1. Do nothing and continue storing your film until it deteriorates and is no longer convertible, and then throw it away.
2. Throw them away now because they will never be converted and watched.
3. Pay next year’s prices due to inevitable inflation creep.
4. Convert it today and start watching and sharing them again with the peace of mind of digital backup.

Can I Convert 8mm Film to Digital to Play on Computer? Get Started

1. Call or text Jamey: 720 204-5464
2. Set an appointment (every project receives my attention)
3. Drop off your tapes (and records, cassettes, slides, or negatives, too)
4. In a week or less, pick up your new digitized video.