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Why
Should You Choose CJS Technologies? |
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There are
many reasons why you should have CJS Technologies digitize
your film, slides, or photos. Unlike many of our competitors, we are a full-time
business that specializes in digital transfers. Digitizing film, slides, photos,
and the like is
the only thing we do. Some outfits on the Internet are just
hobbyists. Other companies are camera stores or picture development houses that convert film, slides, or photos on the side.
We, on the other hand, have invested lots of time and hundreds of
thousands of dollars in offering a high-quality, high-value product.
We do all of our work in-house, we don't ship your materials to a 3rd
party to be done.
We do projects for people all over the world.
CJS
Technologies is family owned and the owners are directly involved in
everyday operation of the business. This helps to ensure the
highest quality product and the best customer service. We have
no doubt that you will be satisfied with our product.
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What
to look for in a company when you're looking to preserve your film |
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We are aware that most people want
to shop around before choosing a company to transfer their film to
DVD. Please consult this checklist of things to watch out
for. We guarantee that you'll be satisfied with your film
transfer. If you'd like us to perform a free test transfer of
film or slides prior to sending an entire
project, please call us and we'll arrange a test transfer at no
charge. 877.345.6383
All Digital
Make sure there are no analog steps in their
process. Some outfits start by transferring your film to VHS then
to DVD. This will greatly reduce
the quality of the video because the quality of VHS is much worse than
DVD. This kind of transfer is
totally useless, you'd be wasting your money. We
start at a higher level than DVD, our original files are DV!
Are the DVDs Authored?
Stand alone DVD recorders are now available,
but they do not produce DVDs like authored DVDs. The structure
of a DVD is much easier to use with an authored DVD, plus the
quality of the video can be controlled better with the authoring
process. Using stand-alone DVD recorders is also a sign of a
business that can't/isn't willing to use top of the line equipment. Outfits that use this process sometimes
say "Direct to DVD" transfer. More compatibility
issues arise with DVD recorders too.
Length of time in business
We've been in business doing all digital
transfers of film to DVD since the advent of DVD technology (1999).
This shows that we have a lot of experience and we must be doing
something right. Our first DVD burner cost $6000.00. How
times have changed.
Quality of
Employees
All of our full-time employees are 4 year
college graduates with varying degrees from Computer Science, to
Finance, to Public Relations. We like to think that this says
something about the professional quality of our service and our
dedication to this business.
The process and quality of
equipment
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Film |
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- 3-CCD broadcast quality professional digital video cameras (800
lines horizontal resolution)
- Frame-by-frame transfer equipment
- Lip-synched sound with frame-by-frame sound
film transfers (Most competitors will use telecine if they can even do
sound film transfers). |
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Slides |
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- Dedicated Nikon
film scanners |
Can you
get reasonably priced copies of your project?
We offer copies of your project at reasonable
prices and you can even reorder DVDs later without sending back
anything. This means everyone in your family can have copies
of your memories, and you could even split the cost.
Can you reach them on the
phone?
Try and call us on the phone during business
hours at 877.345.6383. As long as you call within hours 8a-5p
Central, with maybe the exception of the lunch hour, we will answer
the phone. CJS Technologies LLC has been in
business for over 6 years serving those customers who want the best
archival grade film transfer performed. Our customers come
from all around the world.
What is the final product?
Are there any hidden charges?
- Do you get your film on DVD? MiniDV? DV AVIs on
DVD? MPEG-2s? You get all of these from us.
- Do they
charge extra for these?
Finally...
| Where is the
company located? |
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We are based in Marshalltown,
IA. A Midwest town of about 30,000. Obviously, a city
this size couldn't sustain a company like ours. We
think this says something about our products/services.
We love Iowa and are proud to be Iowans. We're
personal and honest as well as knowledgeable and experienced. |
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Quick
Information
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Transferred To
(All of These) |
Resolution |
DVD Bit-Rate
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Film |
- Super 8mm
- Super 8mm Sound
- Regular 8mm
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- DVD (90 mins)
- MiniDV (SP mode)
- DV AVI DVDs
- MPEG2 DVDs |
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800 lines
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Maximum:
7031kbps
Average: 2279-5375kbps |
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800 lines |
| Slides |
- 35mm
- 16mm
- 120/220 Slides
- Stereo
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- Slideshow DVD
- High-Res JPEGs on data-DVDs (or CDs)
- TIFFs are available |
4000dpi
Max. image size of
5700 x 4000 pixels
2-5MB per image (93 JPEG setting) |
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- Medium Format
- Large Format
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- Slideshow DVD
- High-Res JPEGs on data-DVDs (or CDs)
- TIFFs are available |
4000dpi
Image resolution and file size depends on actual size of slide |
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Photos/
Negatives |
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-
Slideshow
DVD
- High-Res JPEGs on data-DVDs (or CDs) |
Prints: 600 dpi
Negatives: 4000 dpi |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Q: |
Will I get my films, slides, and/or photos
back after they have been digitized? |
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A: |
Yes, when your
project is complete we will ship all of your materials back to
you via a tracking carrier such as UPS or FedEx. Your
materials are not destroyed or damaged during our
processes. In fact, your film, photos and slides will come
back cleaner and more organized than when they were sent to us. |
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| Q. |
Can
I add narration to my film of slides DVD? |
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Yes, but it is more difficult than you may
think. You will need a MiniDV camcorder (or possibly
another type of camcorder)
Narrate by yourself:
1) Get your films transferred by CJS
to DVD, MiniDV, MPEG-2, and DV AVIs.
2) Get your MiniDV camcorder and position it to
"film" the TV screen and so that the camera's
microphone can pick up the narrator's voice cleanly and
clearly. It's important to have the camera pointed at
the TV so you have a visual reference as to what the speaker
is talking about.
3) Start the DVD at the title menu, most DVDs we provide will
start at the title menu by default. Start the camera
recording. Position the narrator to see the TV and
narrate. Press play and have the narrator start
narrating.
4) Either narrate the entire DVD or narrate chapter by
chapter. To narrate chapter by chapter just use the
scene selection menus. |
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Q: |
I would like to see how good your product
really is before I spend money to convert all of my materials.
Do you offer a trial of your service? |
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A: |
You can send
us some reels of film, slides, and/or photos and we will
digitize them for free. We are that confident of our
process and final product. With film, you will receive a DVD playable on your TV or in your computer's DVD
drive. For a slide transfer, you will get a slideshow DVD and the
high-resolution JPEGs of your slides. |
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Q: |
Have you ever had any films lost or damaged
while being shipped to you or back to your customers? |
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A: |
No, we have
never had any such problems.
There have been a few times when delivery slips have blown off
of a customer's door by the wind (which created some
confusion), but all films have arrived safe-and-sound both to us
and back to our customers.
If
you send a package to us it will never be left outside in the
heat or cold. There is always someone at our office to
accept packages from UPS, FedEx, or USPS Parcel Post.
We strongly suggest sending your materials
via FedEx or UPS. They do a much better job of
handling packages than US Mail. |
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Q: |
How long will my
film to DVD project take? |
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A: |
The time varies
depending on how busy we are and how extensive your project may
be. Most projects take around 2-3 weeks to complete but
they can take more or less time depending on the factors
already mentioned. |
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Q: |
My films are really old. Are they too old and
brittle to be transferred to DVD? |
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A: |
Not at all. We routinely digitize films from as far back
as the 1930's and some from even earlier. Not only are our machines very easy on your film, but our
cleaning
process cleans, moisturizes and lubricates the film,
making it stronger. |
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Q: |
Are
you a home based business? |
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A: |
No, we are a full-time business with employees located in an
office building. |
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Q: |
Will the cleaning process damage my films? |
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A: |
No, the film cleaning solution and process was designed
specifically for cleaning motion picture film. |
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Q: |
What will I receive when my film project is completed? |
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A: |
Please
see the Quick Information
section above for the answer. Or check out the Film
or Slides
page for more specific information. |
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Q: |
What do I do with my MiniDV masters? |
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A: |
The MiniDV masters contain the footage of your films in a
format called DV, digital video. If you have a MiniDV
camcorder and a computer with a FireWire port you can move the
video into your computer and edit it. You can create
your own custom DVDs or put your film footage on a website.
They are also good for archiving your footage.
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Q: |
I
want to edit my film after you transfer it. How do I do
this? |
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A: |
We
give every customer 3 things to help with this, MiniDV tape
masters, DV AVIs on DVD, and MPEG-2s of your film. If you
have a MiniDV camcorder you can feed the film footage
into your computer from the MiniDV tapes, then edit that
footage in a video editing program like Adobe Premiere. The DV AVIs
on DVD serve the same function as the MiniDV tapes. But
with these anyone with a DVD drive in their computer can copy
the same files as found on the MiniDVs to their computer's
hard drive, and edit from there. These files are
extremely high quality and are good to use if you intend to
use transitions or other effects. We strongly encourage
editing the the DV AVI files. The MPEG-2s we provide
are for use when you just want to take clips out of your
footage. These are easy to use with cheap (or expensive)
DVD authoring software that is usually bundled with now
inexpensive DVD burners.
We are working on bundling a
software package to sell to customers that don't have the
proper software for editing their footage. If this
interests you please email information@cjstechnologies.com.
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Q: |
What will CJS Technologies do if there is a problem
with my DVD? |
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A: |
CJS Technologies guarantees your satisfaction with the
quality of the final product. If there happens to be
a problem with your DVD, we will fix it. Our process guarantees clear, in-focus transfer with no flicker, at
correct running speed. If there is any problem with
focus or flicker it is in the original film.
We use DVD+R
disks that are viewable in about 95% of DVD players or in a computer
with a DVD drive.
Your DVD player must be
compatible with +R or -R discs or our product may not
work. You will not be able to find a company that can
make discs that are compatible with these players because they
will also be using +R or -R discs. We try to use
the most compatible DVD discs written in the most compatible
way.
If
your player is incompatible with the DVDs we provide you, you
will have to get a new DVD player. It's a inconvenience to
a very small number of our customers, but potential compatibility
issues should be a non-factor when deciding to have your films
transferred to DVD. There are just too many positive
reasons. DVD players are now available for under
$30. You'll end up having an extra DVD player for another
TV! Some manufacturers of inexpensive players are APEX,
Coby, there are many others too. Just ask a sales
representative at the store when you look for one, or read the documentation
to see if they play +R discs.
It is rare that we run into compatibility
issues. We use high-quality, high-compatibility discs
written at 2.4x, the most compatible writing speed. We
also verify all discs we write, which is very important for
burning working discs. Verifying a disc means that the
data that is written is checked bit-by-bit against the source
files to make sure that everything is good. We try to make
our discs as compatible as possible because it is a hassle for
us if a disc doesn't work. So we do as best as we can.
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Q: |
Do
you do color correction on film? |
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A: |
Yes. For
film our editors will color correct your film. Mainly we
use white-balance color correction with adjustment to
saturation. Usually saturation needs to be lessened with
films, because over time some colors in film fade while others
remain, mainly red, leaving the film with a red hue or even
just red. Of course with some films green or blue are
dominant.
Even though we color correct the film
it is foolish to expect that we will do a perfect job of color
correcting. It is impractical to color correct every
small scene for the price of our transfers, no one else can do
it any better without putting in large amounts of time.
After all, almost all the film we handle is amateur film from
small gauge film. If your film DVDs looks red when you
get it, it is probably because of extreme red-shift in your
films. Without removing all saturation, making the film
black-and-white, we have to leave the some red in. With
all this said, we do an excellent job of making amateur film
look great. |
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Q: |
Do
you do color correction on slides? |
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A: |
Yes, specialized
software does the majority of the color correction. If
we sense that manual color correction can be done on a slide
to improve it's quality we will correct if further. The
bottom line is that your digitized slides will look better
than the originals. |
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