Universal Digital Services LLC

This section is about informing you of the different processes used to transfer movie film and other media. In addition, we have added little tidbits that you probably aren't aware of, but should be to make a sound decision concerning how you want your treasured and precious memories transferred and handled. Plus, we've thrown in some interesting items as well just for good reading and the fun of it! After all, who says you have to be bored while learning?

Did You Know...

1. All movie film, whether celluloid or plastic synthetics, degrades and decays with time?

2. All movie film shrinks with time due to decaying and outgassing?

3. As little as 1% shrinkage is enough to damage film just by running it through a projector? This is because the sprockets and claws used to advance the film a frame at a time have very tight tolerances so the film doesn't jump or jitter during playback. The problem is, old shrunken film doesn't fit these standardized dimensions anymore.

4. Most damage to older movie film is actually caused by trying to project it with standard projectors? The film may be playable but small amounts of damage are occurring each time it is run through a projector. With each pass, more damage occurs and the probability of a catastrophic failure increases.

5. All other transfer facilities, to our knowledge, use regular projectors to scan your precious memories? Now, these projectors have been modified to project the image onto a mirror or camera lens rather than the screen. But, the film advancing mechanisms are the very same components and dimensions they were originally manufactured with. This means old films are being put at great risk for damage during the scanning process.

6. Universal Digital Services is the only transfer company with in house designed and fabricated equipment that does not use sprockets, teeth, or claws to advance the film? We designed our equipment from the ground up intentionally doing away with all mechanisms that protrude through the film. We used patented computer technology to electronically register the frames for capture rather than using a fixed dimension mechanism. No other facility can claim this capability.

7. Even companies that brag about their super expensive Rank Telecine transfer machines are faced with exactly the same sprocket dimension problems? That's right even the big guys still use sprockets and teeth to register the film frames. And that super expensive equipment is just as damaging as a regular projector on old film.

8. Many of our competition's customers have been told their film is just too old to transfer? In some cases that is true, the film is just too far gone and decayed to make a successful transfer. But, in many more cases the customer was told the film was too old because it wouldn't run through their projectors correctly without serious damage. Universal Digital doesn't have that problem. If your film isn't a curled up blob of goo, we can probably make some kind of a transfer for you. It may not be 100% perfect, but we will get everything we can transferred for you.

9. Most of our competitors splice your reels of film together to make it easier for them to transfer? We don't. After cleaning, repairing, and transferring your film, it is returned to you exactly like it was, only cleaner and more repaired! Our mission is to extend you treasured memories into the future, not modify them!

10. An electric eel can deliver a shock of over 600 volts? I can see it now, electric cars with bathtubs in their trunks full of eels! Hey, we may have something here!

11. We will be continually adding more tidbits of knowledge as I can remember them? Well, you do now! Come back often to see the lastest new industry developments.

Please visit our other pages to learn more about us and how we can help you preserve your treasured memories. Thanks again for visiting and please return often to see the newest products and services we are adding.