Handbook for Audio Visual Media Conversion & Transfer Services. Our Contact Information: or ;

Transcription

1 Handbook for Audio Visual Media Conversion & Transfer Services Our Contact Information: or ; or or or INTRODUCTION...2 MARKETPLACE TECHNOLOGIES CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES...3 STANDARD OFFERINGS...7 NEW OFFERINGS...8 SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CINTREX AND ITS RETAILERS...9 FACT SHEETS FOR EACH SERVICE AUDIO Conversion Services Standard Definition Film Transfer Service High Definition Film Transfer Service Video Tape Transfer and Conversion Services of Home and Corporate Movies Photo and Slide Scanning Services Custom Editing and Organization and Storage Services HOW TO SELL CONVERSION SERVICES...27 FILLING OUT THE CINTREX ORDER FORM, ONLINE OR AT YOUR SHOP...31 REFERENCE CINTREX PROCESS FOR MEDIA CONVERSION & TRANSFER OF CONTENT.37 REFERENCE - MOVIE FILM MEDIA, ITS HISTORY & TYPES:...47 REFERENCE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT VIDEO TAPE MEDIA...48 REFERENCE - LISTING OF VIDEO TAPE TYPES...51 REFERENCE - LIST OF MEDIA OPTIONS FOR TRANSFER SERVICES...54 Page 1

2 Introduction This Cintrex Audio Visual Handbook is for our retailer / dealer network. It provides training, reference, and sales information about our services. We collectively help people (and companies) save, organize and share their memories that are stored in old film, video and audio tapes, audio records, photos, and slides. We do this by playing or scanning the old media on specialized machines, digitizing the content, and then transferring it to DVD, Blu-ray Disc or to other current digital formats so that the valuable contents can be viewed and revisited again. We offer the home consumer peace of mind, we modernize their memories, and make it easier to relive and remember times past, rediscover life long friendships. We can breathe life into corporate archives, helping companies repurpose their valuable media assets for new uses in marketing and sales campaigns, giving new value to old video and audio recordings. Transfer and conversion services have been around since the introduction of the VHS tape cassette. Companies such as Cintrex have continued to offer affordable means to transfer valuable film contents to a newer, easier-to-use media such as video tape and more recently DVD. With the introduction of the CD and DVD, it became possible to move content from photographs and slides onto optical discs, and to transfer content from aging, earlier video tape formats to DVD. New technologies are now creating greater demand for conversion services, and new opportunities for the Cintrex retailer partners. This handbook will help our retailer partners better understand the Cintrex product line and to become effective and successful in the sale of these products. We answer the what you need to know, and highlight the sellable features, competitive strengths, and benefits of our conversion services. Cintrex has been providing a wholesale service to its national reseller/retailer network for almost 30 years, and we do it well enough for retailers to continue to earn good profit margin while providing affordable, competitive products that meet their customers needs and expectations. Together we stay in business because of our combined great customer service, our affordable products, our good reputations, and because image and capture technologies continue to improve. With each new introduction of new technology, its associated pricing becomes more affordable after initial introduction, the old technology becomes obsolete, and we then find new ways to delight our customers with this new technology. Cintrex Audio Visual thanks you for your consideration and very much appreciates your business. Page 2

3 Marketplace Technologies creating new opportunities New marketplace technologies are creating more demand for media conversion and transfer services. Consumers and companies with HDTV, Media Players, Storage, and Internet Services have increased need for our services. Independent retailers should deliver competitive products and services to better serve customers and differentiate themselves from the large chain retailers. 1. HDTV as a viewing medium is far better than older generation TV s. High definition video (prerecorded and broadcast) is defined by four (4) characteristics, by the number of lines in the vertical display resolution, by the type scanning system used to make the picture, by how fast the picture image is refreshed, and by the aspect ratio of the presented picture. High-definition television (HDTV) resolution is 720 or 1,080 lines. In contrast, regular digital television (DTV) is 480 lines. The higher the number lines of resolution, the better the color and clarity and overall viewing experience. The scanning systems are either progressive or interlaced; progressive scanning redraws an entire image frame when refreshing each image, while interlaced scanning draws the image field every other line or "odd numbered" lines during the first image refresh operation, and then draws the remaining "even numbered" lines during a second refreshing. The third consideration is the number of frames or fields refreshed per second. The two most common HDTV fps rates are 720p60 and 1080i50. The 720p60 format is 1, pixels, progressive encoding 60 frames per second. The 1080i50 format is pixels, interlaced encoding with 50 fields per second; one-half the scan on one field, with the other half of the scan the next field. Two interlaced fields formulate a single frame, because the two fields of one frame are temporally shifted. The standard television aspect ratio is 4:3; the same for computer monitors, and wide screen HDTV television has an aspect ratio 16:9. The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. A movie or TV Show is best presented on HDTV when it exhibits a wide screen 16:9 aspect ratio. New Sales Opportunity: HDTV audiences prefer high definition video for their TV shows and rented movies. Film and video transfer products made in high definition will be preferred by customers having HDTV. Cintrex offers High Definition Film and Video transfer products, and it is recommended that this service is offered to your customers. Page 3

4 2. Media players are available today either as software applications on computers or as standalone appliances connected to the home or business HDTV set. Software media players and standalone appliances act like distribution points for the entire collection of family video s, audio recordings, songs, saved TV shows, Internet content, treasured photo s and images, etc. Some of the more common video / audio media player applications for computers come from Quicktime (Apple), Windows Media Player (PC), Adobe, and RealPlayer. Standalone media player appliances act as media ipods, storing a whole library of content that can be cataloged, researched, and viewed, or listened to, with a few clicks of the remote control. These standalone appliances are becoming more popular and are introduced to the market by Western Digital, DELL, Apple, and HP. New Sales Opportunity: Transferred content needs to be in common data file formats rather than traditional DVD s in order to work with media players and media applications. Cintrex offers the most common, less compressed data file formats that are ready for play with media players. Examples are MOV, MPEG2, MPEG4, and WMV formats. 3. Consumer Storage options have multiplied for customers. Storage continues to become less expensive while at the same time offering greater storage capacities within ever smaller physical form factors. The most common storage types for the home consumer are: Optical discs DVD (4.7GB or gigabytes in size) and Blu-ray Disc (25GB in size) Dual recording layer Blu-ray Disc s can hold up to 50GB, the equivalent storage of ten (10) DVD s. External hard disk drives (up to 3TB or terabytes in size). An external hard-drive features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the platters. Solid state memory USB jump drives (up to 32GB in size) and new solid state hard-drives (up to 1TB). Solid-state drive (SSD) retains data in non-volatile memory chips and contains no moving parts; while hard disk drives (HDD) are electromechanical devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads. SSDs are typically less susceptible to physical shock, quieter, and have lower access time and latency. SSDs use the same interface as hard disk drives, and are becoming the preferred choice as their price continues to drop. New Sales Opportunity Cheap available storage gives home consumers more options for handling their important media files. Storage drives are often accessed by media appliances to present media files across the wide screen HDTV or be listened to over the home stereo system. Storage drives are used as a repository on the home network, keeping important family files all in one place, with an extra copy in the local bank s safe deposit box, kept there for long term preservation. Cintrex retailers/dealers should and now can offer more storage media options to customers, Page 4

5 giving them their final transfer products on multiple media types; in the process helping the customer better save their memories. 4. Business Storage - There are even more storage options for business, including dedicated networks comprised of optical disc storage systems and solid state drives, backed up by magnetic tape drives; the collective storage network can be sized well over 100TB. Tape backup and hosted remote storage company archivists prefer magnetic tape backup as the best archival storage medium for important corporate, museum, government, and university video collections. Archivists view DVDs as a transport medium only, not as a serious storage media. Archivists also think that high grade magnetic tape such as Ultrium LTO (linear tape open is the standard) is much preferred for long term storage over hard-drive disc systems. They think valuable collections should be kept on redundant data servers, or outsourced to a network backup hosting site, and all backed up with magnetic tape New Sales Opportunity If you have business clients today, consider offering transfer services that feature LTO Ultrium tape as the final media, in addition to DVD, Blu-ray, or hard-drive. Cintrex now offers transfer services to Ultrium LTO tape. We will also begin offering off-site long term storage to Ultrium LTO-5 tapes for customers wanting a subscription service. 5. Organization and Cataloging Information - With longer term storage options also comes the increased need to catalog, organize, and provide information on the media files kept in the family collection; notes to future viewers of the content. What good is the content without an explanation of its nature and why it was saved? Media content saved for a long time loses value and its importance if there is no identifying information attached to it New Sales Opportunity Begin offering organizational services such as cataloging content, organizing it, collecting and attaching personal notes and recollections to families media libraries. Offer the ability to attach audio narratives to film and video transfers, a means to add value to families collections. Such services are gaining popularity, and are welcomed by families and companies seriously interested in long term archival services. Cintrex now offers this premium service. 6. The Internet offers ubiquitous access to any service offered over the Web. The home and corporate consumer use the Internet for access to news and information, for access to applications, for extending their business capabilities, for backup and storage, for sharing information with others. The most popular web applications, the social networks, give users the ability to share their important media memories with friends, family, fellow employees, and Page 5

6 even with the entire web public (You Tube). Video memories are stored, accessed, shared, streamed, and redirected across the Internet; and not just to computers and laptops, but to mobile phones and ipads. For families and corporations wanting to repurpose their media collections, to make use of past valuable content for more current purposes and projects, it is most important that the content be in digital file form, compressed for transport across the Web, and in common accepted formats New Sales Opportunity tell customers that their valuable media content can be presented back to them in their preferred file formats; already digitized and compressed and formatted for the WEB or any other intended application. Summary More options exist for customers. The latest technological developments (HDTV, Media Players, Storage, and the Internet) create more reasons for customers to digitize their media libraries. Many times customers will want to use the original source content for digitization and will want to utilize the latest image and capture technologies. Profitable opportunities exist for Cintrex partner retailers to help customers with conversion, organization, and reformatting their media libraries. We have the services to help with today s new digital presentation and with tomorrow s need for improved preservation and storage. Page 6

7 Standard Offerings On this page is a brief description on each of our current standard offerings for conversion services. The next page highlights are new offerings. Later in the guide there is more detailed information about the processes used to deliver both these standard offerings and our newest products. Audio Conversion Services this is conversion of previously recorded audio content from audio cassettes, reel-to-reel audio tapes, and vinyl LP s (33 s, 45 s, and 78 s) to digital files on CD or other customer requested digital media. Available data file formats include most common formats such.mp3,.aif, and.wma. Standard Definition Film Transfer Services - This service is for the scanning and digitizing of home movies and motion pictures made from old film types, and then transferring the digitized content onto DVD. Cintrex cleans and prepares old film, then digitally scans the projected film as a moving image in our Buhl Multiplexers, transfers the captured content onto the requested digital media, and provides an excellent quality transfer product for the home movie conversion market. Video Tape transfer conversion service is the digitization and transfer of content from video magnetic tapes, both the consumer and professional broadcast variety, onto DVD and other digital media. Cintrex cleans the video tapes with special machines to remove dirt and inspect tape condition, then plays the tapes, captures the content, and transfers the digital content onto new media, most often a DVD. Slide and Photo Scanning and Transfer conversion of slides and photos to digital images and placing these images onto DVD or CD, usually accompanied by background music as images are put into an automated slideshow. Digital Transfer of Content to new media transfer of existing digital media onto newer media for purposes of consolidation or easier access Editing Services We offer extensive video file editing by Apple Certified Techs for color correction, special effects, repairs, substitutions, titles, sound enhancements, etc. A/V Equipment Repair we offer repair services for the following audio visual equipment: Kodak Carousel Slide Projectors, Elmo Film Projectors, and Panasonic and Sony Video Tape Recorders and Tape Decks. Page 7

8 New Offerings On this page is a brief description on each of our new offerings for conversion services. Later sections contain detailed information about the processes used to deliver our newest products. High Definition Film Transfer Services Cintrex and its dealers can now offer high definition transfer of 16mm, 8mm, and Super 8mm film to Blu-ray disc or as data files in media players for play on today s wide screen HDTV s. High definition film transfer is recommended over our standard definition transfer because of six (6) reasons: better color, better clarity, more lines resolution, more viewable original content on HDTV (no cropping of content as with standard definition transfer), best available transfer technology for retention and preservation of yesterday s content, and more profits for the retail store. Data File formats for Hard-drives and Media Players All transfer services products are now available as data files in the most popular file formats preferred by consumers or dealers wanting to do their own video or audio editing or uploading files to the social networks on the Internet. HD Video Tape transfer conversion service is the digitization and transfer of content from HDV and HDCAM video magnetic tapes to Blu-ray disc, hard-drive, and other types of digital media. Don t pass on new business. The HDV tapes from the high end camcorders can now be transferred! Advanced Editing Services Offer customers advanced editing services such as color correction, scene deletions, rearrangements, third-party voice narratives, special effects, etc. These services can be used in conjunction with both past recordings and recent recordings, for customers doing collages and/or special event presentations for weddings, memorials, birthdays, graduations, and video resumes. Cintrex can supply an initial film or video transfer with a time code signal within the presentation so that it can be used by the customer when making changes to a supplied edit decision list or EDL. The customer completed EDL list is then returned to the dealer and ed to Cintrex; and we cut the final DVD or Blu-ray master based upon customer direction. Long term storage of customer content Beginning March 1, 2011 all finished orders are being backed up on our storage network for a period of 90 days so as retain customer content until customer is satisfied. If desired, we can provide long term storage of customer content on our storage system and also have the customer content backed up to archival magnetic tape for redundancy and peace of mind. Network access by the customer to their content is planned. Organization and Cataloging Hard-drive contents for a family s conversion of its total library of film, video s, photo s and slides, Cintrex offers an organization service which catalogs/organizes content according to the month and year of original capture; and then supplies, in both hard and soft copy, a notepad, excel spreadsheet, and adobe file of the hard-drive s contents as originally transferred. These specially made files can also serve as a repository for later edits or updates on or about the hard-drive s contents. Page 8

9 Service Agreement between Cintrex and its Retailers PURPOSE OF AGREEMENT...9 SERVICES...9 OUTSOURCING TO CINTREX...9 ORDER FLOW PROCESS...10 CINTREX RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESS...12 DEALER RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESS...13 PRICING...13 PAYMENT TERMS...13 WARRANTY...13 LIMITATION OF LIABILITY...14 COPYRIGHT LIMITATION...14 CONFIDENTIALITY...14 NON-EXCLUSIVITY:...14 PURPOSE OF AGREEMENT: Provide understanding of mutual expectations in the operation and services delivery by Cintrex Audio Visual (aka Cintrex) for its Dealer network comprised of retailers, resell partners, and sales agents (aka Dealers) who resell Cintrex service products to their respective end customers (aka Customers). SERVICES: Cintrex is a wholesale service bureau providing transfer services; moving valuable content in old film, video, slides and audio formats to the latest digital file formats resident on newer digital media such as DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and hard-drive. OUTSOURCING TO CINTREX: The Cintrex go-to-market model for transfer services is through its Dealers. Greater than 90% of Cintrex transfer sales come from the dealer network, the exception is the St. Louis regional area where Cintrex is based and receives local walk-in traffic. Cintrex has a 4,100 sq. ft. office / warehouse with four (4) transfer stations for conversion, scanning, and computer editing services. Necessary spare parts are kept in inventory for maximum production uptime. Current daily production capacity is 30,000 feet of 8/16mm film, up to 120 hours of magnetic video / camcorder tape, up to 16 hours of audio content, and up to 1000 slides, overheads, or photos (all same day totals). Cintrex prefers to offer its services through Dealers because of the existing trust factor and positive perception that local Customers already have of the Dealers. Dealers are committed to delivering a quality product at a fair price, and have a strong commitment to ongoing customer satisfaction. Cintrex has been in business greater than 30 years Page 9

10 and makes the same commitment to its Dealers. The existing Dealers have been a source for Cintrex s best testimonials. Existing Dealers already sell transfer services, and outsource all or part of the necessary services work to Cintrex. For new Dealers, selling transfer services and outsourcing the necessary work to Cintrex can have the following advantages for new Dealers: Low cost of entry to enhance existing product portfolio, and increase sales revenues; transfer services can account for up to 50% of some Dealers overall annual sales revenues Provide a quality product to Customers that generates positive perception in marketplace for more sales More chances for repeat business; Cintrex received 2,700 family orders each year in 2009 and 2010 through the Dealers, and oftentimes the same Customer came back to the Dealers again with more orders Average overall gross profit margin of 40%, successful Dealers set the sales price to be competitive and make a good profit Order turnaround is 2 weeks on most orders; special restoration orders can take longer Favorable payment terms, Cintrex invoices Dealers only after work is done, so no money asked for upfront Cintrex stands behinds its Dealers, and is accommodating to Dealers needs when working with a customer Money-back guarantee if the customer is ever unsatisfied with the service ORDER FLOW PROCESS: Most orders for Cintrex services come from Dealers, who have agreed to resell Cintrex services to their Customers; with the finished products being presented as a Cintrex brand product or as the Dealers own brand (with the service work outsourced to Cintrex). The entire order flow process, from start to finish, is shown below in abbreviated form. The purpose of the process is to deliver a quality product in the same manner 100% of the time. Cintrex warrants the finished product to be right, or Cintrex will make it right. Cintrex provides a guarantee that our conversion services will be the highest quality obtainable for the suggested MSRP, and if not, the Dealers net purchase price will be refunded if Customers can show a higher quality product. The order process: Customers inquire about transfer services. Dealers provide answers to Customers questions, sell the merits of their transfer process, differentiate the transfer product from the competition, ask for the order, and make the sale. Dealers complete the entire order form correctly, including necessary due date, number of product copies, and detail the specific work to be performed for the Page 10

11 Customers order. It is important that the Dealers retain one copy of the order form in case there are later questions from Cintrex. Customers sign the order form, approving the limitation of liability statement; receive a copy of the order form. Dealers place order contents (tapes, film, cassettes, photo s, etc.) in appropriately sized bags and container box, and take excessive care to make sure contents are securely protected from the rigors of common freight carrier shipment. Dealers know that they are handling very valuable, one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable items; and go to great pains to make sure the container box survives shipment to Cintrex. Shipping is provided at no charge by Cintrex. Dealers place pre-made UPS shipping labels (having Cintrex s shipper number) on the container box, and give the box to the UPS pickup person that comes to the Dealers sites, or take the container box to the nearest UPS store or drop-box for shipment to Cintrex. Premade shipping labels are ordered in advance in bulk for dealers that are already UPS shippers, and on an as-needed basis for dealers that are currently not UPS shipping accounts. Cintrex Dealers also have the option of using their own common carriers and then receiving shipping credits from Cintrex on later invoices. Upon receipt into Cintrex, the container box s order form and associated contents are catalogued and tracked through the Cintrex transfer process. The outside of the container box is marked/labeled with date of arrival into Cintrex, due date back to the Dealers, the respective dealer s name and customer name, and any special instructions noted on the order form. Each service order is worked on by experienced Cintrex technicians. The order form instructions are followed as written and marked by the Dealers. That is why it is very important to fully complete the order form with the customer at the start of the order process. If questions come up, the Cintrex technician will call the Dealers for clarification. Common questions come up over order of transfer (which items get transferred first), title spellings, table of contents format, music selection, how many copies, whether a need exists to combine contents onto fewer disc s, file formats, and due dates. Transfer services are available for the following products: o o o o o 8mm, Super 8mm, Super 8mm with sound strips, and 16mm film, including 16mm with magnetic or optical soundtracks; all types film transfer available in either standard or high definition (for HDTV) Consumer magnetic tape formats VHS, VHS-C, BetaMax, camcorder tapes such as 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, and HDV Professional broadcast tape formats ¾ U-matic, Betacam, Betacam SP/SX, DVCPRO, DVCAM, and 1 Open Reel SD cards, camcorder hard-drives, MiniDVD s, etc. Audio records, reels, and cassettes Page 11

12 o o Slides, 35mm negatives, photos, proofs, etc. Available transfer media DVD, CD, Blu-ray Disc, and Hard-drive The Cintrex product content is very good; customers regularly provide ready testimonials for what they receive back. It is a better experience for all if Cintrex knows upfront the expected options included in the order, so that we mutually succeed at delighting the customer. When the order is finished, Cintrex packages together the old contents and media, the new media with the transferred contents, a Cintrex invoice and a packing slip listing container s content. The box is shipped via UPS, at no cost to Dealers, and shipped in time to meet the requested due date. Shipping is always via UPS ground, unless the order is a rush order, and then extra shipping charges will be applied as necessary to meet due dates. Each shipping package has a tracking number, and Cintrex is able to provide order status and shipping status as requested by Dealers. Typical turn-around time is 2 weeks within Cintrex from receipt of order to shipment of an order. Dealers can make arrangements with Cintrex for shorter intervals as necessary. Rush orders may cost more for additional labor to meet necessary due dates. Upon Dealers receipt of finished Customers orders, Cintrex asks the Dealers to perform a final inventory check and review of the transferred contents, making sure the product meets expectations. Again, if something is wrong Cintrex will work with the Dealers to make it right as soon as possible, and satisfy our mutual Customers. Effective March 1, 2011, Cintrex is making a backup copy of ALL transferred content and keeping these copies in data storage for a period of 90 days. This is being done for a number of reasons: 1) protection against orders lost in possible misrouted return shipments, 2) later requests for more editing, 3) additional copies, and 4) answer questions about the finished order. After 90 days, the customer s content is erased from our systems. An extended data storage option for customer media libraries, greater than 90 days, is available for an annual fee. CINTREX RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESS: Cintrex will provide the following services to its Dealers: Training - to the Dealers salespeople to sell the product and to the lab technicians to understand the process, plus unlimited Q&A as necessary to help Dealers become competent in selling, ordering and supporting transfer services Marketing Help & Materials brochures (customized with your logo), posters, countertop stickers, order forms, unlimited Q&A Secure website for Dealers as a repository for all the necessary information and guides to support the Dealers Page 12

13 Providing quality transfer product, plus taking care of valuable one-of-a-kind items and returning all original items in the same condition as received Confidentiality all Customer content is protected and not shared or distributed Timely response to all Dealers inquiries Timely response to problems and concerns brought up by Customers and Dealers; Cintrex assumes up front that it is at fault when problems happen and works to correct the problems to the Dealers and Customers benefit Professionalism from Cintrex staff in all areas when working with Dealers Timely shipment of product to meet commitment to Dealers and due dates for Customers; Cintrex pays for all shipping, or credits Dealers that ship into Cintrex with their existing preferred common carrier Timely invoicing for work performed Appropriate labeling of product and packages as asked for by Customers and Dealers Monthly invoice statements if asked for by Dealers DEALER RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESS: Professionalism in working with Cintrex, and in representing Cintrex products and services Order Forms completed, and acceptance of the Limitation of Liability by Customers or Dealers Arrangement of shipment of Customer orders to Cintrex Timely payment to Cintrex for services per agreed upon terms of payment PRICING: Competitive wholesale rates are available to all Dealers. Cintrex will work with Dealers as necessary to win customer business in competitive situations. Wholesale purchase pricing should be agreed upon between Cintrex and its Dealers before any orders are placed upon Cintrex. Cintrex will only recommend competitive retail transfer rates to its Dealers; it is up to Dealers to determine final retail sales pricing. PAYMENT TERMS: Payment is due after creation of a Cintrex invoice. Cintrex does not request money from Dealers until an order is completed. Typical terms are net 10 or net 30 with your good credit. Cintrex accepts AMEX, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, or your corporate check for payment. Please call Cintrex if alternative terms are desired. WARRANTY: Cintrex warrants that the work done for the Dealers meets the specifications asked for on the order form provided by the Dealers. If the work is not done to the satisfaction of the Dealers and does not meet the specifications on the order Page 13

14 form, Cintrex will correct its work at no cost to the Dealers. The transfer services product has a one year warranty. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Cintrex does not lose or damage Dealers orders; however, there is a limitation of liability statement on our order forms that protects both Cintrex and the Dealers; it is important that customer acknowledges this statement with their signature; the statement reads: When submitting film or other material, customer acknowledges and agrees that liability for any loss or damage to film or other materials during the processing service will be limited to the replacement cost of a non-exposed roll of film and/or a blank media of similar size. Except for such replacement, store shall not be liable for any other loss or damage, direct, consequential, or incidental, arising out of customer s use of said service. The undersigned hereby warrants that the material being presented for copying is not to his/her knowledge protected by copyright, owned by another, or that if the material is protected, the undersigned has obtained the permission of the copyright owner to make copies of the material COPYRIGHT LIMITATION: Cintrex will transfer copyrighted film, video, or audio recordings ONLY when one of the following conditions are met: 1) when the customer is the actual copyright owner, or 2) if the customer has obtained written permission to do so from the copyright owner. Copyrights are granted by the U.S. Library of Congress to the producing or holding company which created the content in question. Copyright is not transferred to the buyer upon purchasing a commercial videotape or cassette or professionally-released movie from a retail store, for example. It is a violation of applicable copyright laws under Title 17 of the U.S. Code as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and anti-piracy laws for Cintrex Audio Visual to transfer materials to DVD or CD for you for which we do not own the copyright. CONFIDENTIALITY: 1. Customers content is protected and not shared or distributed by Cintrex; 2. Cintrex and its Dealers shall take reasonable precautions to preserve in strict confidence any confidential or proprietary information exchanged between them concerning their business, products, equipment or services of either party, including without limitation, trade secrets. Such reasonable precautions shall include exercising precautionary measures designed to preserve the secrecy of such information and to prevent its disclosure to third parties, except following prior consent of the other party, with such precautions being at least equivalent to those taken by each party with respect to its own confidential information NON-EXCLUSIVITY: - Cintrex does not typically compete with Dealers for Customers business. Cintrex does not typically seek multiple Dealers within the same geography; nor does Cintrex typically grant geographic exclusivity to any Dealers. Cintrex and Dealers cooperate together to deliver a quality transfer services product and to earn a profit for work performed. Cintrex appreciates your consideration of our company, and thanks its Dealers for doing business with Cintrex. Suggestions and comments about this document and doing business with Cintrex are always welcomed. Page 14

15 Fact Sheets for each Service What you need to know Most sellable features Competitive advantages with this product Benefits for customers Pricing Suggested Retail Transfer Rates are given Total pricing for transfer job equals conversion service transfer rate + extra options + selected media + extra copies. Media: first DVD is included in pricing, no extra charge. Extra DVD copies are extra $, Blu-ray Disc is extra $, extra BD copies are extra cost, customer supplied external hard-drive has a set-up fee, and external hard-drives are available for purchase Page 15

16 1. AUDIO Conversion Services What you should know when offering this service This is conversion of previously recorded audio content from audio cassettes, reel-to-reel audio tapes, and vinyl LP s (33 s, 45 s, and 78 s) to digital files on CD or other customer requested digital media; pricing is per finished minute. Available data file formats include most common formats such.mp3,.aif, and.wma. Associated other services available with audio conversion include customized packaging for the new CD s, cassette and reel tape splicing repair, cassette casing repair, and long term digital storage. Most sellable features We can take content from almost any old recording, whether old reels, cassettes, and records, and make these sounds come alive again on CD or any requested file format for play on customers media players. We also repair and splice tapes before transfer. Competitive strengths done by firm doing this for 30 years, offer transfer services for all vinyl record types, and the transfer service has a warranty if not right, we make it right, or we offer complete refund. Benefits to customer affordable rates for listening again to their favorite personal audio recordings from the past. Suggested retail pricing is in the pricing section. Page 16

17 2. Standard Definition Film Transfer Service What you should know when offering this service - This service is for the scanning and digitizing of home movies and motion pictures made from old film types, and then transferring the digitized content onto DVD or as a data file format for storing on a hard disc drive. Why would someone want this service? For most people the stored film is no longer viewable and its contents are in danger of being lost forever. Film types supported: 8mm, Super 8mm, Super 8mm with sound, 16mm, 16mm film with optical sound, and 16mm film with magnetic sound. The measurements 8mm and 16mm refer to the width of the film. Film with sound has a separate dark brown strip on one side of the film (either magnetic or optical). The Film Transfer Process - Film inspection, professional cleaning and preparation, determining proper order or sequence for transfer (what goes first), then film projection, scanning, ingesting, capture, editing, compression, finalization and placement onto DVD or as data files on hard-drive, and also interim storage on Cintrex storage network for extra copies or editing corrections. Offer optional extra s increase the value of the finished transfer product to the customer and the retailer; offer background music for silent film, special onscreen titles at beginning of individual film chapters, extra copies of the DVD (extra copies as gifts or for storage in the safe deposit box), transfer as data file formats for home editing. Is there anything else you would like to put on this order? What personalized wording would the customer like on the DVD label and case sleeve? Reasons to buy Peace of mind, saving family memories, revisiting past lives and experiences, great gifts, best service for the dollar value (best bang for the buck), do it before it is too late! A quality transfer that looks better than the original projection, and is warranted to be best transfer in its comparable price range or your money back. What does the customer get back with their order - Cintrex returns all original film, film reels, non-transferred damaged film, customer supplied notes; plus new DVD, with customized labels on DVD and sleeve for DVD case, a packing list detailing the length and condition of original film, extra copies if ordered. Pricing the transfer rate is per foot length of film, i.e. MSRP for standard definition film transfer is 15 cents or $0.15 per foot. A 200ft length of film is $30 total at MSRP. MSRP varies by area of country. 15 cents is our most common MSRP example. Calculating a quote estimate film is stored on metal or plastic reels - 3 inch reels hold 50 feet of film, 5 inch reels hold up to 200ft, 7 inch reels hold up to 400ft, and 9 inch reels hold up to 600ft of film. Figure up the total footage of film and then multiply by 15 cents per foot for a quote estimate. Add to this estimate another $1 for every reel of film supplied by the customer to take care of repair splicing and film preparation. Page 17

18 Competitive advantages of this service for your customer 1) Film is prepped and cleaned before transfer by professional team that handles approximately 3 million feet per year. 2) The transfer process uses broadcast studio cameras that scan the film with the largest available optical computer chip set in the industry (qty 3 2/3 CCD imagers) to provide better color and clarity. 3) Advanced editing services are available to have the transferred movie look the way it was meant to be shown, including color correction, scene rearranging, scene deletions, background music, sound enhancement, onscreen titles, and special effects. 4) Transfer is made onto Taiyo Yuden white playable DVD-R s that have a shelf life of up to 70 years, and have an inkjet printable surface for customized labels and/or pictures. DVD s can hold up to 2 hours of movie time. Optional Blu-ray discs are available that can hold up to 8 hours of movie time on one disc. 5) Optional delivery of content as a less-compressed data file on DVD data disc, or external hard-drive; this type format delivery is ideal for the educated consumer wanting to work on their home movies using their own software editing tools. This service is extra cost, but preferred by discerning customers. 6) Each order is backed up with a soft copy in our network storage system for 90 days to protect against loss of content in return shipment and to make extra copies or edit changes if needed. 5) Limited Warranty will refund money if customer is not satisfied with our transfer. Projection and Film Image Capture process (for the customer wanting to know more): Hardware: We use three (3) hardware components in this process 1) modified film projectors, 2) light multiplexers, and 3) professional broadcast HD (high-definition) movie cameras. Film is run through a modified film projector at 20 frames per second (fps) for silent film and 24 fps for film with sound; and our capture / transfer process converts the content to run at standard 30 fps designed for TV and broadcast films. Film output is an aerial image within the light multiplexer that is captured by an HD camera containing three (3) 2/3 CCD chips (charge-coupled devices) for imagers, working in conjunction with a sophisticated DSP set (digital signal processors). Our cameras imagers and processors are the very best for scanning and capturing the projected moving aerial image because of heightened light sensitivities due to improved optics, higher color sampling rates (4:2:2), and ability to scan and record both standard definition and highdefinition resolution. Software tools: We use Apple s Final Cut Studio software (same as in Hollywood) for the initial content encoding / conversion into uncompressed large data files, for video and audio editing and for compression into the final image and burning onto DVD or Blu-ray Disc. Page 18

19 3. High Definition Film Transfer Service What you should know when offering this service - This service is a PREMIUM service available for the scanning and digitizing of home movies and motion pictures made from old film types, and then transferring the digitized content as high definition movies onto Blu-ray Disc or as a data file format for storing on a hard disc drive. More profit for dealers when they sell a higher end product; customers will find that the modest price increase for high definition film transfer is well worth it! Film types supported: 8mm, Super 8mm, Super 8mm with sound, 16mm, 16mm film with optical sound, and 16mm film with magnetic sound. The measurements 8mm and 16mm refer to the width of the film. Film with sound has a separate dark brown strip on one side of the film (either magnetic or optical). The Film Transfer Process - Film inspection, professional cleaning and preparation, determining proper order or sequence for transfer (what goes first), then film projection, HD scanning, HD capture, HD editing, finalization and placement onto Blu-ray or as data files on hard-drive, and also interim storage on Cintrex storage network for extra copies or editing corrections. What does the customer get back with their order - Cintrex returns all original film, film reels, non-transferred damaged film, customer supplied notes; plus new Blu-ray Disc aka BD, with customized labels on BD and sleeve for BD case, a no-charge, second copy on DVD as optional media for non-bd players, a packing list detailing the length and condition of original film, extra copies if ordered. If the customer supplied or purchased an external hard-drive for storage of the high-definition files, then this is supplied as well. Offer optional extra s increase the value of the high definition, finished transfer product to the customer and the retailer; offer background music for silent film, special onscreen titles at beginning of individual film chapters, extra copies of the BD or Blu-Ray Disc (extra copies as gifts or for storage in the safe deposit box). Is there anything else you would like to put on this order? What personalized wording would the customer like on the BD label and case sleeve? Reasons to buy Peace of mind, saving family memories, revisiting past lives and experiences, great gifts, best service for the dollar value (best bang for the buck), do it before it is too late! The best quality transfer that looks better than the original projection, and is warranted to be best transfer in its comparable price range or your money back. High Definition is the best way to save your memories for future viewing. Page 19

20 Recommendation Cintrex recommends the high definition transfer of 16mm, 8mm, and Super 8mm to Bluray Disc (BD) or to data files for play on today s wide screen HDTV s. High definition film transfer is recommended over our standard definition transfer for five (5) reasons: Better color in the resultant movie due to increased light sensitivities of HD digital cameras in the transfer process. Better clarity in movie due to double the lines of resolution presented with high definition transfer formats (when compared to SD transfers). THE best movie transfer format for showing on HDTV, because most of the contents of the original film are now visible in a wide screen 16:9 aspect associated with HDTV, whereas before, it was necessary to crop out some contents so the movie picture would fit into the standard 4:3 aspect of older generation TV s. If original source media cannot be saved, or if its condition is already in a bad preservation state, then HD film transfer represents the best possible transfer today and the resultant uncompressed data files will be a better record of the past for preservation in the future. Customers also receive a DVD copy of the high definition transfer at no charge, so that the movie can be viewed in non-bd players. Please note that this version of the movie will be standard definition, as DVD players cannot show High Def movies. Pricing the transfer rate is per foot length of film, i.e. MSRP for high-definition film transfer will be higher than standard definition transfer. Please consult the Cintrex price list for more information. MSRP varies around various areas of the country, being as high as 35 cents per foot. With this initial introduction, we are suggesting 22 cents per foot to be competitive. The large chain retail outlets do not offer this type product. Calculating a quote estimate film is stored on metal or plastic reels - 3 inch reels hold 50 feet of film, 5 inch reels hold up to 200ft, 7 inch reels hold up to 400ft, and 9 inch reels hold up to 600ft of film. Figure up the total footage of film and then multiply by the store recommended price per foot for a quote estimate. Add to this estimate another $1 for every reel of film supplied by the customer to take care of repair splicing and film preparation. Competitive features 1) Film is prepped and cleaned before transfer by professional team that handles approximately 3 million feet per year. 2) The transfer process uses HD broadcast studio cameras that scan the film with the largest available optical computer chip set in the industry (qty 3 2/3 CCD imagers) to provide better color and clarity and more lines resolution. 3) Advanced editing services are available to have the transferred movie look the way it was meant to be shown, including color correction, scene rearranging, Page 20

21 scene deletions, background music, sound enhancement, onscreen titles, and special effects. 4) Transfer is made onto Verbatim white Blu-ray Disc s that have an advertised shelf life of up to 70 years, and have an inkjet printable surface for customized labels and/or pictures. BD s can hold up to 3.5 hours of high definition movies. 5) A second copy of the transfer, in standard definition, is also made for the customer and placed onto DVD, as an extra copy for DVD players in the car or home or for safe keeping. 6) Optional delivery of content as H.264/.mov data file on external hard-drive; this type format delivery is ideal for the educated consumer wanting to work on their home movies using their own software editing tools. This service is extra cost, but preferred by discerning customers. 7) Each order is backed up with a soft copy in our network storage system for 90 days to protect against loss of content in return shipment and to make extra copies or edit changes if needed. 8) Limited Warranty will refund money if customer is not satisfied with our transfer. Projection and Film Image Capture process (for the customer wanting to know more): Hardware: We use three (3) hardware components in this process 1) modified film projectors, 2) light multiplexers, and 3) professional broadcast HD (high-definition) movie cameras. Film is run through a modified film projector at 20 frames per second (fps) for silent film and 24 fps for film with sound; and our capture / transfer process converts the content to run at standard 30 fps designed for TV and broadcast films. Film output is an aerial image within the light multiplexer that is captured by an HD camera containing three (3) 2/3 CCD chips (charge-coupled devices) for imagers, working in conjunction with a sophisticated DSP set (digital signal processors). Our cameras imagers and processors are the very best for scanning and capturing the projected moving aerial image because of heightened light sensitivities due to improved optics, higher color sampling rates (4:2:2), and ability to scan and record both standard definition and highdefinition resolution. Software tools: We use Apple s Final Cut Studio software (same as in Hollywood) for the initial content conversion into uncompressed large data files, for video and audio editing and for compression into the final image and burning onto DVD or Blu-ray Disc. Suggested retail pricing is in Cintrex price list, supplied separately. Page 21

22 4. Video Tape Transfer and Conversion Services of Home and Corporate Movies What you should know when offering this service - This service is for the transfer of video tape content to either DVD or Blu-ray Disc (BD) or to an external Hard-drive. Video tape types supported: We can accommodate the transfer of the most common consumer and professional broadcast quality video tapes. The consumer type list includes VHS, BetaMax, VHS-C, 8mm Camcorder tapes, MiniDV camcorder tapes, HDV camcorder tapes; and the commercial tape types includes U-Matic, Betacam, Betacam SP, DVCPRO, and DVCAM. If customers have European or foreign video tapes in PAL format, we can transfer these as well. The Video Tape Transfer Process - Tape inspection, professional cleaning and preparation, removal or disabling of recording tab (to prevent any new recording over customer content), determining proper order or sequence for transfer (what goes first), then playing the tape on the proper player, ingesting and capturing the content into our systems, editing, compressing data, finalization and placement onto DVD, Blu-ray Disc (BD) or as data files on external hard-drive disc; and also interim storage on Cintrex storage network for later extra copies or editing corrections. What does the customer get back with their order - Cintrex returns all video tapes, any non-transferred damaged video tape, customer supplied notes; plus new DVD, BD or external hard-drive, with customized labels on the disc and sleeve for the DVD/BD case, a packing list detailing the length and condition of original video s, extra copies if ordered. If the customer supplied or purchased an external hard-drive for storage of the high-definition files, then this is included as well. Product features High Quality DVD or Blu-ray Disc; Customized Editing available, a Quality Transfer that looks better than the original projection, and is warranted to be best transfer in its comparable price range or money back. Reasons to buy Peace of mind, saving family memories, revisiting past lives and experiences, great gifts, best service for the dollar value (best bang for the buck), do it before it is too late! The best quality transfer that looks better than the original projection, and is warranted to be best transfer in its comparable price range or your money back. Pricing the transfer rate is per tape. Suggested rates are per tape: $33 each for consumer grade tapes, $40 each for professional broadcast type tapes. DVD s can hold 2 hours of playing time of standard definition movies, while BD s (Blu-ray Disc) can hold up to 8 hours playing time. Subsequent tapes put onto the same DVD or same BD are only $10 each. Recommendations for large volume transfer of multiple tapes from a family s complete video library, it suggested that the video tapes be converted into data file Page 22

23 formats and placed on a large external hard-drive to better save on storage space and for longer term preservation. External hard-drives can be supplied by the customer or the retailer or by Cintrex. More value for both customer and retailer. Competitive features and points about our process 1) Video tapes are prepped and cleaned before transfer by professional team that handles approximately 10,000 video tapes per year. The tapes are cleaned by industrial machines to wipe off dirt, loose oxides and metal particles, and detect tape areas in need of repair before beginning transfer. Professional broadcast tapes are made of better quality materials and can last significantly longer through multiple plays before failure. 2) The transfer process utilizes the correct player to match tape format. These high end tape deck and recorder machines are given regular maintenance to the magnetic heads and internal mechanisms so that tape play is optimum. 3) Advanced editing services are available to have the transferred movie look the way it was meant to be shown, including color correction, scene rearranging, scene deletions, background music, sound enhancement, onscreen titles, and special effects. 4) Transfer is made onto Taiyo Yuden white DVD s or Verbatim white Blu-ray Disc s that have an advertised shelf life of up to 70 years, and have an inkjet printable surface for customized labels and/or pictures. BD s can hold up to 8 hours of standard definition movies, or 3.5 hours of high definition movies. 5) Optional delivery of content as H.264/.mov data files on external hard-drive; this type format delivery is ideal for the educated consumer wanting to work on their home movies using their own software editing tools. This service is extra cost, but preferred by discerning customers. 6) Each order is backed up with a soft copy in our network storage system for 90 days to protect against loss of content in return shipment and to make extra copies or edit changes if needed. 7) Limited Warranty will refund money if customer is not satisfied with our transfer. Page 23

24 5. Photo and Slide Scanning Services What you need to know This service is for the scanning of photographs and 35mm slides and their conversion into data file images placed on CD. Our standard product also includes a slideshow movie of the collected images accompanied with background music, screen titles, chapters, and requested special effects. Photo and slide images are cropped and edited with customized software to present a professional image. Standard transfer per photo and/or slide is at 400ppi (pixels per inch), but higher resolution scans are also available. The higher the resolution scan, the more time and more labor go into the job. Most sellable features save space, save memories, organize images into folders, share with others, save history; a great way to recognize or celebrate a significant event such as a Wedding, Graduation, Birthday, Video Resume, and Memorial Service. Competitive advantages with this product 1. DVD slideshow can have customized licensed background music and special effects to create the very best impression for the intended audience. 2. Photos and slides are prepped and cleaned before transfer by a professional team doing this for over 20 years. 3. Advanced editing services are available for cropping and improving image content, as well as custom editing to produce a movie slideshow to better tell the story; including color correction, scene rearranging, scene deletions, background music, copyrighted audio, onscreen titles, and special animation effects. 4. Transfer is made onto Taiyo Yuden white CD s & DVD s or Verbatim white Bluray Disc s that have an advertised shelf life of up to 70 years, and have an inkjet printable surface for customized labels and/or pictures. BD s can hold up to 8 hours of standard definition movies, or 3.5 hours of high definition movies. 5. Each order is backed up with a soft copy in our network storage system for 90 days to protect against loss of content in return shipment and to make extra copies or edit changes if needed. 6. Limited Warranty will refund money if customer is not satisfied with our transfer Pricing suggested retail pricing is 65 cents per photo or slide, this price includes the DVD movie. Page 24

25 6. Custom Editing and Organization and Storage Services Customers will be interested in hearing about higher end services such as those listed below in order to get the best possible transfer presentation and the extra peace of mind. Cintrex is offering these services to meet market demand. Custom Editing Services we offer custom editing of film files for tasks such as building collages scene deletions rearrangements special effects special introductory titles audio and video third party overviews, narratives or introductions closing credits special animation enhanced color correction Audio correction, etc. Editing services are often ideal for special occasion presentations such as weddings, memorials, graduations, birthdays, video resumes, family video albums, and so on. We have Apple Final Cut Pro certified technicians to complete this type work. Most times for editing work the process involves a minimum of 3 exchanges of content between dealer and customer before a final acceptable version of the film transfer is completed. A typical engagement might include us sending the transferred product back to the dealer with a time code stamp in one portion of the movie, accompanied with an edit decision list, or EDL. The customer will make the appropriate changes on the EDL, and then or deliver the EDL back to the dealer who then forwards it to Cintrex. Cintrex makes the changes based upon the EDL and customer comments, and then sends the completed job back to the dealer and customer for final acceptance. While this may involve extra work, the money and time are well worth it for the customers wanting this type of special editing. As example of our work, we recently digitized the contents of a 16mm film from Germany from the 1930 s that was on permanent loan to the St. Louis Art Museum. Though the film itself was in good condition, the color had faded and left a strong red hue to all images within the film. We transferred the digital contents with our HD camera, and used Apple s Final Cut Pro software tools to bring back a much superior movie presentation in which vibrant colors were present and human flesh tones restored. We received a nice thank you, and they used this film for presentations of an art exhibit at the museum. Organization and Cataloging Hard-drive contents the longer a family or company plans to keep its audio visual media in collection, the more important it becomes to have information available about the collection, the necessary facts such as the who, when, what, where, why, and how,.the things that give the video and audio more importance Page 25

26 and more meaning to later viewers. For a family s conversion of its total library of film, video s, photo s and slides, Cintrex offers an optional organization service which catalogs/organizes content according to the month and year of original capture; and then supplies, in both hard and soft copy, a notepad, excel spreadsheet, and adobe file of the hard-drive s contents as originally transferred. These specially made files can also serve as a repository for later edits or updates on the hard-drive s contents. Additionally, using our editing services, we can add customer-provided short audio and video introductory clips to the saved movie and video files, these clips providing an informational narrative for future viewers on the movie s significance. Competitive notes it s a unique service, and adds greater customer satisfaction to the purchase. If someone is going to spend $500 for the transfer of important media content, they ll usually be willing to spend another $100 to $200 to give the saved content greater value for later viewers or to make sure it stays a legacy treasure. LTO-5 Ultrium Tape Backup - For companies or corporations wanting to digitize their broadcast film and video tape libraries, we can do this for them, as well as, provide the digital files on LTO tape backup for long term archival storage. Metadata information for each video data file will include information on title, creator, subject, description, publisher, contributor, date, type, format, identifier, source, language, relation, coverage, and copyrights. Storage of customer content effective March 1st 2011, Cintrex began maintaining a soft copy of all dealer and customer finished orders on our storage network for a period of 90 days. This is being done to minimize possible loss from misplaced UPS shipments, or save time if customer wants subsequent changes made to their order, or if they want extra copies, when both the customer s original media content and transfer product have already been shipped to the dealer. We are saving the content on our storage network; in this way helping dealers and customers take care of their valuable collections. Cintrex utilizes D2D2T - disk-to-disk-to-tape backup, first saving customer files on the Network Attached Storage system, and then backing up the customer content files for long term preservation onto an LTO-5 3TB tape. Additional optional storage options will be offered for customers wanting longer term, permanent storage of their content. 1. Master copies of customer content will be kept on our storage network, also backed up with tape, so that customer will be able to use their content again for seasonal gifts such as DVD's and Memory Books, or for repurposing video s for marketing campaigns and sales training. It is planned that customers will be able to access their content when needed, either in real time, or within 24 hours of initial request. 2. Alternatively, master copies will be kept on Blu-ray disc, stored at Cintrex, and available for customer UPS shipment or network download, within 24 hours of initial request. Page 26

27 How to Sell Conversion Services Selling Transfer & Conversion Services is different from selling milk or scotch tape or T- shirts or gasoline. Not just any product will do. Our service products are not something the customer must have, but something the customer consciously chooses to purchase with discretionary funds. It s an emotional purchase for most customers. This type of sale involves customers that have specific needs in mind, not unlike someone buying a high-end camera or watch, and the purchase will only be made after correct answers are given, and those specific needs are met. Most times, customers will shop around before making their selection. They ll be very discerning. The top criteria for making the purchase involve quality product, customer service before and after the sale, peace of mind, desired features, optional extra s, ongoing support, and the value gained for money spent. Why are customers looking at transfer & conversion services? What do customers want? What is their budget? Customers are considering these service products because they want to save their past audio and video recordings, organize them, view or show them again, and share them with friends and family. Customers want a service provider who understands that their audio and video memories are priceless, that these media collections from the past are some of the most valuable collections that people own. Customers want good value for their money. Budget considerations ask upfront about the customer s budget range, what are they willing to spend for conversion of their valuable memories; many times they ll spend more for a superior service. Knowing the budget range will help later on as you decide which added features to introduce for the customer s benefit. In this sales transaction, it is important that you are sincere, that you know your product and company, and you speak with conviction and belief that you have the best value and right product for the customer. The retailer or dealer salesperson will have several goals in mind when discussing Transfer & Conversion Services: Meet customer needs with quality products, professional services, competitive prices Ask proper questions of customer to better understand expectations Look for ways to increase average value of each sale Look for ways to create repeat business Gain customer satisfaction to enhance store / dealer reputation Continue good PR and good word-of-mouth advertising Page 27

28 You provide customers peace of mind with conversion services. Increased customer satisfaction is gained when you outperform expectations. Asking questions is very important in order to better serve your customer. Most times the customer will know less than the salesperson about transfer services. If the customer doesn t know what to ask, then please consider asking the questions below as a way to start conversation and better understand customer needs. Questions to ask: 1. What do you want done with your film or video tapes or photo s or slides or audio tapes? Why are you making the transfer? What do you want to accomplish with this order? What is the special occasion? 2. Who is the transfer product for? Who needs extra copies? 3. What other tapes and film do you have to transfer? (ask for everything to increase sale value) 4. What type media do you want the transfer put onto? 5. How do you plan to show or listen to the transferred contents? What type media player or DVD or Blu-ray player do you use? What type TV or HDTV do you have? 6. What about data files, any interest in saving the contents as data files on a harddrive? 7. What type of hard-drive will you use for the transfer? What type video editing program do you use? What data file types do you prefer? What type of computer do you use, Mac or Windows PC? 8. What do you have for a long term plan to keep and protect the contents on the new DVD or Blu-ray Disc or Hard-drive? 9. Where do you plan to store and keep the new media, so to protect its contents? 10. When do you need the order completed? 11. How should the DVD and DVD case sleeve labeled, with what titles? 12. What onscreen titles do you want within the transferred contents? 13. What special editing might you want done? What background music should we add to the movie film or DVD slideshow? 14. What additional narratives would you want to add to the new digital movies? 15. What special information would you like us to add to the order for future reference? Additional information onscreen or on the hard-drive makes the content more valuable in the future 16. What will you consider a good deal? What will you consider a good transfer? 17. What about high-definition transfer, have you considered this for your film and High Def video tapes? 18. Who else would be interested in purchasing this service? Page 28

29 19. How did you learn about our conversion services? 20. May we have your referral? 21. What else can we improve upon to better your experience? Once you have answers to the above questions, it becomes a matter of knowing your product, and then crafting or designing the best solution. Please read the reference information and briefs within this handbook to become more knowledgeable on the products, and never hesitate to call Cintrex on if you have questions. Many times it is best to have an order form handy (see our section on filling out the order form) so that you can mark down or write the answers, and therefore have a ready summary information sheet for the customer to approve when you ask for the customer s business. Your summary or wrap-up to the customer Q & A interview process should incorporate the following information: Summary of understanding of customer needs, including timeframe and final desired product; gaining customer acknowledgement along the way on each major point important to the customer. If a due date is not mentioned, please set the expectation of 3 weeks to 4 weeks for delivery. If necessary for sooner delivery, please note that on the sales order. Rush orders can be accommodated, but it is important that rush orders are the exception, not the rule. Outline of what you will do to meet customer request; again gaining customer agreement on each major point in your proposal, meaning they agree that your service components or points address their need. Answer customer questions, or if answers are not immediately available, please call Cintrex on for help. Statement of benefits to the customer, and the advantages they gain doing business with your store for their particular order; let them know about the warranty that accompanies their order; gain customer agreement. Please see the competitive features or points about our different service offerings. Completion of order form. Closing the sale, asking for the order if the customer has been nodding in agreement throughout the review process, if the needed features and budget parameters have been met, use assumptive closes such as when would you like to pick up your finished product? or how many extra copies do you need?. Ask for the order and close the sale. If the customer does not agree to order approval, it becomes necessary to determine, via questions, what the customer objections are to the sale. As previously stated earlier, the top criteria for the customer in making this purchase involve need for quality product, customer service before and after the sale, peace of mind, desired features, optional extra s, ongoing support, and the value gained for money spent. It may be necessary to review with the customer how Page 29

30 your company addresses each of the criteria. However, at this point in the sale process, with the customer having already spent considerable time in review of their order with you, the objections are over price and affordability and value for money spent. Below are short statements that can help a salesperson help the customer overcome their own objections by appealing to the buyer s emotions or debt to family: I understand your concern; this is a significant purchase. Oftentimes our customers tell us that the most important thing about this transaction is their resultant peace of mind, knowing that they have saved valuable family archives for later revisiting by their family and relatives. Yes, it s an investment, a valuable investment that will be appreciated many times in the future. I understand your concern; this is a significant purchase. Life is an adventure, a journey, and representative of many experiences, some of which you or your family have already recorded. With this purchase you are making sure that others can learn from where you were, and where you went, by saving and modernizing these memories, these recordings of you and/or your family s? Yes, it s an investment, a valuable investment that will be appreciated many times in the future. I understand your concern; this is a significant purchase. These past film and video recordings are priceless memories, representative of precious past times. Modernizing them is smart investment because you help others remember or view times past, and rediscover past friendships and insights into your family. You are making sure that valuable memories are not lost. Ask again for the order. If you need additional pricing consideration from Cintrex on its wholesale prices in order to close a large order, please don t hesitate to call us. Establishment of next steps, including payment details, money down, etc. With receipt of customer order, the fulfillment process begins. The sale is not complete. We must collectively do the right things with the customer s older media so that the new transfer product is delivered on time, and exceeding customer expectations. This handbook s sections labeled Service Agreement and Filling Out The Order Form cover the order fulfillment process. Upfront work in organizing the customer s old media and putting down as much possible information on the order form will better ensure a successful transfer & conversion services product. Summary Selling Transfer & Conversion Services requires preparation and attention to detail in order to gain the customer s business. The customer is entrusting to the salesperson and retailer something of great value, and they want to know, want to hear that they are making the right decision, and the product that they receive will be the very best for the monies spent. Page 30

31 Filling out the Cintrex Order Form, online or at your shop Currently, we offer three ways to send in orders: Fill out the online order form at and it to us. Print off the website order form, and fill it out before sending it in with your order. Or fill out the triplicate order form we readily make available to our dealers, with white, yellow and pink copies. We have two (2) different versions of this order form, one with the Cintrex logo, and one with no logo (as pictured below). Please call us on if you need more order forms. We ll make as many as you need. Page 31

32 Important tips on filling out the order form: 1. Always put your dealer or shop name in the upper left corner 2. We kindly ask that you put the customer name in this section; we rarely call the end user customer, and when we do, it is at the request of the dealer. We are wholesale services firm, and we prefer you to work with the end users. Having a name and order # help us with providing you up-to-date status information. 3. Phone and information is good, especially if we need to work and edit decision lists back and forth to the customer rather than the dealer. 4. Check the boxes regarding the type of film, whether the customer desires standard definition (Std. Def) or high definition (Hi Def) transfer, and whether the new media is be Blu-ray, DVD, or Hard-drive (usually for data files) 5. Mark how many of each footage length reels are in the order; this is important because when we receive your order, we check to make sure we have everything in the order contents to match what is on the order form. 6. How many video tapes were supplied, and what type of new media is requested 7. Does the customer want titles or music with their order? Page 32

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34 8. Transfer prices are for film on 400 foot reels; All film on 50 foot reels will be spliced together onto 400 foot reels. All film will be cleaned then inspected free of charge. Large sections of completely black or clear film will be removed. 9. How many slides and photo s? All slides need to be individually numbered in the top right hand corner. The customer needs to look at each slide and have the shinny side of the slide facing them with the heads up and then write the number in the top right hand corner. Slides can be sent to us in slide trays, however, they still need to be individually numbered. There is always a chance the tray may be dropped and the slides mixed up, so each slide has to have a number written on each individual slide. If you have 100 slides number them 1 to 100 do not number them in groups i.e. Group 1-1 to 50, Group 2-1 to 50 they need to be numbered 1 to 100. Vertical slides do not fit the ratio of a TV screen so we will insert a black border on the right & left side. If the customer does not wish to number slides individually or put verticals at the end we will run the order with store approval. Please note on the order form that the customer does not wish to number the slides. Slide orders not numbered do not carry any warranty. Music can be added to photo sets. Please consult the Cintrex price list for suggested prices for copyright licensed songs and our unlicensed background music. Customer can supply the copyright licensed music with instruction sheet, or we can download the music from the web for a fee. Computer files or slides can be added with print order to make a custom DVD. Call for more information Vertical and other prints not fitting a television aspect ratio will be outlined in black. All prints should be numbered on the back. Print to video orders that have numbers on the prints will carry a full guarantee. Orders without each photo numbered carry no guarantee. All film, slides, and photos should be numbered with a permanent marker 9. Audio Tapes Mark down what types and how many of each 10. If we are going to return the transfer order on a customer provided external harddrive, then we to know whether to format the hard-drive for Windows PC or Apple s Mac, and what the serial number is for the customer hard-drive. (we want to make sure we give the customer back their correct hard-drive) Also, we always prefer either a clean, erased, empty hard-drive, or a new hard-drive. We do not want a customer provided hard-drive already filled with content, which Page 34

35 may NOT have been backed up. We don t like to record over any media with existing content. We sell new hard-drives, from 500GB to 2TB in size. 11. What data file types are preferred for the transfer? Standard is MOV, but we do support other file types, too. 12. Special instructions we want the transfer product to meet customer expectations, and we need your instructions to make sure we do it right. Include as many extra sheets as you need in order to give Cintrex all the instructions that need to be communicated. Examples of special notes to put inside the Special Instructions box are given below. What type background music we offer jazz, country western, instrumental, piano, soft rock, and there are music examples on our website What order or sequence does the customer want for transfer; most times customers prefer older films or videos or photo s transferred first, and we transfer oldest content first to most recent last. Page 35

36 If titles are wanted, what should the wording be for the titles, and where do the titles go in the transfer; at the beginning, before each individual reel or chapter, before each new video tape, etc. What is the due date? What do you need it back? If no due date is indicated, we return within 2 weeks after physical receipt of order. Does the customer want color correction? How many copies does the customer want of the transfer? What should be the label for the DVD surface and for the DVD case? 13. Limitation of Liability statement Cintrex does not lose or damage Dealers orders; however, there is a limitation of liability statement on our order forms that protects both Cintrex and the Dealers; it is important that customer acknowledges this statement with their signature. 14. Always ask the customer Is this all the film you have? Many times a customer will want to test the quality and service. Point out to the customer that the product is guaranteed to be the highest quality. This guarantee means that the quality is better than the competition and there is no point shopping the competition. We have been in the transfer business for since 1979 and have found that the average customer has over 1000 feet of film. When a customer brings in only 100 feet of film there is a good chance that they have more. YOU NEED TO ASK!!!!! 15. Always ask if they want EXTRA COPIES! Most people will share the family memories. Our duplication process uses high speed duplicators which will give better results than do it yourself methods. 16. TITLES always make a video look more professional and allow for special messages. 17. All reels, video tapes, slides, and pictures should be numbered in the preferred order of transfer. IMPORTANT NOTE the actual film reels themselves, not the film reel covers, should be numbered, as covers tend to fall off during transport. Any cans of film should be taped securely shut. 18. Make sure customer signs the order form. 19. If your customer has any requests or questions that you can not answer, please feel free to call us. WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU MAKE THE SALE. Our number is Page 36

37 Reference Cintrex Process for Media Conversion & Transfer of Content The transfer steps and processes are very similar for film and video tape transfer, and for the scanning and transfer of photo s and slides. Some of the initial ingestion tools may be different at the transfer stations because of the differing nature of specific media access, but once the digitized content is placed on the network, then the processes involve the same computer tools and data appliances, the same new access media and storage options, and the same business processes. The common steps in the process are: 1. Receipt of order and cataloging physical contents, including inspection of customer supplied contents for damage, and noting areas in need of repair 2. Cleaning, repairing, and prepping the physical media as needed to ensure smooth transfer and conversion 3. Assigning a sequence and order of transfer, so as to complete the job in as quick a professional manner as possible. Having a plan upfront saves time later on. 4. Playing and ingesting the captured content, using proper projectors and players (representative of the right era and technology) and collection points to capture the content, digitize and encode the content. 5. Placing captured content on our computer and storage network 6. Editing the Content, preparing content for Transfer, transcoding or creating correct file types to match requested output 7. Selection of proper new media, and transfer of captured, converted digital content to new media 8. Presentation and Packaging 9. Interim storage up to 90 days of customer content 10. Business Systems for order status, packing, tracking, updates, invoicing Detailed steps for the Conversion and Transfer Process 1. Catalog / record contents upon receipt of order s original media or content applies to orders received via USPS, UPS, FedEx, and to orders received via Internet or . Once an order is received, we catalog all contents into our order entry system, assign order numbers, produce a bar-code label and note the following in our order entry system: when contents were received, which employee is entering the data, record the number of physical pieces or soft data files received from the customer; condition of contents, discrepancies between completed order form and actual contents, record request due date or assign a due date, and move order into production queue. Please note that Cintrex has an informal Page 37

38 commitment of a two-week turnaround from date of order receipt to actual date returned to the dealer. Place the bar code label on a unique box to carry each unique customer order. The outside of the box is also labeled to list the dealer name, end user name, received date, due date, and special information concerning specifics for the order that are outside the norm (special due date, rush order, 16mm with sound, etc.) Our business system software allows all orders to be tracked once the orders are in the system. 2. Media Preparation Film Preparation - older films were made from cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate stock, while newer films are now made from either a cellulose acetate or polyester base. The film is coated with a light sensitive emulsion made up of gelatin, silver salts and color dyes (magenta, yellow, and cyan). As film gets old, and if not stored properly, it can become faded in color, shrink, become brittle, and have a vinegar smell as acetic acid is released from the film s decay. We inspect and clean and polish your customers' film, using a combination of heptane and isopropanol solvents, cotton cloth, and a trained eye. If the old film needs further restoration and handling before starting the film transfer, we have specialists that repair damaged film to help salvage as much film as possible. As standard practice we use repair splices to remove damaged film unfit for transfer, and also regularly splice film strips together to create film segments up to 400ft in length for placement on our production reels for use in our projectors. Video Tape Preparation we inspect and clean and repair video tapes and video tape cassettes. For VHS tapes and broadcast quality DVCAM, U-Matic, and DVCPRO tapes, we employ Tapechek industrial tape cleaning machines from manufacturer RTI. The Tapechek machine both cleans and inspects video tapes; the process removes dirt and loose oxide from the tapes that can cause poor video transfer, and also pinpoints problem or damaged spots on the video tape for further review and repair. We regularly add repair splices to video tape to replace crinkled, creased or tears in the tape, and also repair/replace cassette cases as needed. Video Tape Prep Cintrex disables the tapes capability to be recorded over, so as to not lose valuable customer content. Slides and Photo s clean photo s and slides as needed, as appropriate. Audio tape and records preparation Cintrex repairs 6,000 cassette players annually. We are expert at fixing machines, as well as, repairing cassette tapes, splicing audio tape, and preparing tapes for transfer. For vinyl records, the records are cleaned with a lint free cloth before transfer. Page 38

39 3. Determine order sequence for transfer Film - determine the sequence for the film transfer and determine the order of the resultant movie s chapters. We will follow the order form s instructions; or, if there are no special instructions, we will run & place film sequences based upon date labels on the film reels, or do it based upon film type, oldest to newest, running 16mm film first, followed by 8mm and then Super 8mm. Chapters are typically 20 to 30 minutes in length, this corresponding to the amount of film our production reels can hold while being played on our projectors. Production reels can hold 400ft to 800ft of film. After production, the film is transferred to 400ft take-up reels or to the customer supplied original larger reels, and these are all returned to the dealer or customer. When requested we can create individual film chapters from the original 50ft reels (3 minutes running time) rather than our 400ft take-up reels (25 minutes running time). We can also return transferred film back to the customer supplied original 50ft reels if specifically requested to do so. Video and Audio Tape follow the order form s instruction, use the dates on the individual video reels (oldest first), or when transferring a large library of multiple types of tape, and without any special instructions, we begin the transfer with the oldest type manufactured video tapes first, and then work forward in time to the most recent manufactured video tapes. Before beginning the video tape transfer, we time the contents on each tape to give us a sense as to whether we can combine multiple tapes onto new media later in the process. Slides and Photo s follow the order form s instructions, if no order is given we make best guess based upon the external information on the photo s or slides. We have the ability to scan entire boxes of photo s or entire carousels of slides in an automated matter to provide for faster ingestion or capture into our system. 4. Ingestion, the playing or accessing the media to capture the content Film - Run film through one of our projectors, either an Elmo for the 8mm and Super 8mm or an Eiki for the 16mm (we can run film containing audio/sound). These projectors have been modified to handle the large amount of film that is run through them each year. They receive regular maintenance to keep them running in top shape and to keep your film looking as good as possible. We have 16 projectors that we keep tuned for our production process. Our projectors project film at the equivalent of 20 frames per second (fps) for silent film and 24 fps for film with sound; and our capture / transfer process converts the presentation to the master standard of 30 fps (29.97), which has been designed for TV and broadcast films. Film - The projector's film output is projected into a Buhl Multiplexer. This machine is designed specifically for the film transfer process. The Multiplexer is a series of mirrors and lenses that take the light projected from the projector, filters it and redirects it, presenting a moving aerial image the equivalent of 7ft away from our capture camera. Page 39

40 Film - For image capture and scanning, we use professional broadcast HD cameras, each containing three (3) 2/3 CCD chips (charge-coupled devices) for imagers, working in conjunction with a sophisticated DSP set (digital signal processors). Our cameras imagers and processors are the very best for scanning and capturing the projected moving aerial image because of heightened light sensitivities due to improved optics, higher color sampling rates (4:2:2), and ability to scan and record high-definition pixel counts of 1280x720 or 1920x1080 resolution per frame at a rate of 30fps. The cameras are HD/SD selectable, meaning we can deliver either standard definition or high definition transfer of scanned film. a. Standard definition transfers are done in 480i recording, providing a 4:3 picture aspect ratio and 480 interlaced lines of resolution. This type picture is most common on old style TV s, before the introduction of wide screen HDTV s. b. Cintrex high definition transfers are available in either 720p or 1080i formats, both very suitable for wide screen presentation with a 16:9 aspect ratio. 720p provides a progressive scan of 720 lines of resolution with every frame, while in the 1080i interlaced video scan half the lines in one frame and half in the next. If no preference is expressed, we generally set the resolution to 720p because with a progressive scan video signal there are no jagged edge lines common with interlaced video. The HD 720p resolution produces a full scan of each film frame, and provides for better color and clarity. c. Note: our HD transfer offers up to 1080 horizontal lines of resolution in the finished presentation. Within the film transfer industry, there are available even higher resolution formats and transfer services that offer up to 2,000 to 4,000 lines resolution in film scanning. If your customers want this type product, Cintrex can offer to act as the middleman and outsource such jobs to a high-end film transfer house. However, for the vast majority of jobs, the pricing for our SD and HD film transfer products are more in line with the budgets of potential customers in the home movie or corporate markets. Video Tapes - Play the tapes with the appropriate consumer or professional broadcast grade video tape player or recorder; while ensuring that auto control tracking is in the correct position for optimum playback and capture. We have video tape player and tape deck recorders to play VHS and VHS-C tapes, all types of 8mm camcorder tapes, HDV and MiniDV tapes, U-Matic tapes, Betacam SP, DVCAM and DVCPRO tapes, and can rent access for reading open reel 1 tapes. Slides and Photo s We scan slide and photo s using several types of machines to provide for automated input, and typically scan at 400 dpi, unless requested that scans be of higher resolution. Audio Cassette tapes are played on cassette players, open reels on Ampex tape players, and vinyl records on a phonograph turntable with magnetic input cartridges Page 40

41 5. Placing transferred content onto our computer production and storage network. We have a Gigabit Ethernet LAN that networks together our film transfer stations (collection points with Apple imacs), our main editing workstations (currently 2 Apple Mac Pro Servers, each with 8 core processors, lots of RAM and Hard-drive storage), and a DROBO NAS (15TB of Network Attached Storage). We have three (3) Apple Final Cut Studio software licenses that we use for editing, compressing, authoring, burning copies, and saving customer content, and for networking processors together as needed for large customer jobs. Not all film and video transfer orders or jobs are put on our computer production network. 100% of all jobs requiring high definition transfer or data file formatted output for storage on hard-drive will go onto the computer network. But for jobs requiring standard definition output to standard DVD (MPEG2 file compression in a VOB container format), we will run a majority of this work through the broadcast capture cameras or video tape players directly to DVD appliances that do a real time conversion of information to DVD format and finalize the disc at the transfer point. After finalization, we place a soft copy of the disc image on our computer storage network for later retrieval if needed. 6. The transferred content can be delivered in different media and different digital file formats, via our Apple Final Cut Studio encoding software to capture, compress, and convert audio and video information so to fit the selected media (DVD, Blu-ray, and various hard-drives) and file types. If requested we can deliver multiple data file types and media types for the same order. Standard definition or SD film transfers are typically provided on a DVD-R. The Cintrex DVD format is a DVD-R with MPEG-2 compressed video and audio, wrapped within a VOB (video object) container format. This type of DVD is playable in 99% of the players in the USA. DVD s can contain up to 2 hours movie playing time, or up to 4.7GB of data. Two (2) hours playing time is the equivalent of 1,600 to 1,800 feet of 8mm or Super 8mm film, and up to 3,200 feet of 16mm film, or 2 hours of video, or up to 2,000 slides or photos. Our standard DVD s are Taiyo Yuden, 16x recording speed, with a white inkjet printable surface. This type DVD disc is recognized as one the best in the industry, and has an advertised storage shelf life of 70 years. As an option, Cintrex offers a Kodak Gold Archival DVD, with an advertised shelf life of 100 years; this DVD has an inkjet printable surface. We can also provide standard definition film transfer as a video data file format such as Apple s Quicktime.mov. Such files can then be put onto DVD data discs, external hard-drives, USB jump drives, etc. Cintrex is an Apple shop, so our most common transfer to data file is in.mov format; but we also support other formats such.mpg (MPEG), mpeg2,.mp4 (MPEG-4),.wmv (Windows Media Video), and.avi (Audio Video Interweave from Microsoft). If other formats are preferred, we ask dealers to let us know ahead of time on the order form or with a phone call. Page 41

42 High definition or HD film transfers are commonly put on Blu-ray Disc s or external hard-drives. Blu-Ray discs are used by approximately 15% of today's households, and are ideal for presentation on wide screen HDTV s. The Cintrex provided Blu-ray Disc or BD will hold up to 8 hours of standard definition (SD) film transfer, or 3.5 hours of high definition (HD) film transfer, or 25GB of data. Our BD disc format follows the standard UDF (Universal Disk Format) for readability in both standalone players and computer drives; and contains MPEG- 2 and H.264/MPEG-4 files, with the audio and video streams multiplexed and stored in a container format based upon the industry standard MPEG transport stream with the filename extension.m2ts. We are currently using BD s manufactured by Verbatim, 6x recording speed, single layer, 25GB capacity, and with a white inkjet printable surface. High definition data files will be in formats such as H.264.mov,.dv, or.mxf. These type files are uncompressed, large in size, and for those customers wanting to do their own editing with their higher-end, professional editing systems from Apple, Adobe, Pinnacle, and others. An external hard drive is the best storage media for customers large film transfer projects, and is available in storage capacities up to 3TB. Some families choose to transfer their entire family library of film, video, slides and photos; and a harddrive offers the storage size to fit the size requirements of such transfers. Hard drives must be properly formatted for the type of computer operating system that customers will use for file editing and viewing. Hard drives need to be set to either Windows NT File System (PC) or Mac OS Extended (Apple/Mac). Data files from SD and HD transfer can become very large in size, from 13GB to 25GB in size for a one hour film or video file. We include the following note with our Transfer Products ending up as Data Files: The enclosed.mov files are best viewed on QuickTime, which is capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture and sound. It is available for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows operating systems. Please download the latest Quicktime movie application from The.MOV files are compressed using the H.264 standard, which is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the recording, compression and distribution of video. If you re having trouble opening the.mov files directly from your DVD data disc or USB connected external hard drive disc, try instead the following steps: 1) Download or copy the.mov files off the DVD data disc and place them directly on your computers hard-drive; 2) Open up the QuickTime application; Page 42

43 3) Click on File, and open up the transferred or pasted file from its new location. 4) If still having trouble, please make sure as few as possible other applications are open when playing your movies, so that playback speed is optimum. 7. Proper multimedia file types and codecs (coder/decoder) are selected for the transferred contents' computer files. A file type is the wrapper of your video data file; it tells your computer which program to use to read the codec inside. Common types include.mov,.avi,.dv and.mpeg. Which file type is best really depends on what the customer is planning to do with the files. For anyone using a Mac the.mov files are the way to go, while for Windows users it really depends what program you are using; we are able to provide.avi,.wmv and.mpeg4 file formats for PC's. The codecs inside can vary as well, however we suggest MPEG2 for standard definition transfers, and H.264/MPEG-4 for high definition transfers. H.264 is the same quality compressor that Hollywood uses for their movies and can be read by most applications. Cintrex can also supply a dvcpro50 codec for.dv files, which are more common for commercial broadcast applications and files can be much larger. Another high definition transfer format that customers may ask for is AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). AVCHD is common on minidvd s and for placing high definition transfers onto DVD instead of Blu-ray disc. AVCHD s format has a file type of MPEG4 and the codec is H.264. Cintrex will transfer film and video into AVCHD format if requested to do so. 8. Editing Services - Further notes below give more information about our cleaning and restoration of old film and video tape to deliver the best economical transfer of customers Home Movies. We say economical because, most times, we are not transferring film destined for the National Archives or Library of Congress. Our transfer technicians and Apple Final Cut Pro technicians spend just the right amount of time in restoration and editing to achieve desired results, so the customer is pleased with the final result, at a competitive affordable price. For major restoration projects that are properly funded, we can spend as much time as required to achieve a satisfactory result. Dust & Dirt we expertly clean the film by hand and video tapes with machine before transfer so as to have a better final product and keep our equipment from getting dirty. Repair Splices we make repair splices with clear polyester tape to film, and with clear Scotch tape to video tapes, for areas that are torn, crinkled, buckled, shrunk, or blank to ensure a smooth continuous play during the film transfer process. Page 43

44 Color restoration - in the process of digitizing old film and video into a modern digital movie format, the faded film or video can sometimes be restored to full color with the use of digital color enhancement methods that amplify the faded pigment colors, but do not amplify the red pigments most common in old film. Color restoration can be quite extensive and expensive. If more than basic software filters are needed, we will charge for the service by the hour. Scratches in film we lubricate film to minimize scratches and can perform some computer edits to remove minor scratches. Fast Motion the older film may have the silent movie look with some scenes played in faster motion than the rest of the movie. The original movie cameras were most likely hand wound (or cranked) and camera operators varied in their skills as far as maintaining a reasonably constant crank rate so as to have a consistent capture of moving images. The clocklike motors in these cameras depended upon the tension of spring(s), some did not use batteries, and needed hand cranking to keep speed and spring tension constant at 16 to 18fps for silent movies, and 24fps for movies with sound. If movie camera tension was not properly set during filming, then the playback on projectors and subsequent digitization process can produce a silent movie effect. We can use our Apple Final Cut Pro software editing tools to correct this problem; however there is a fee for this service. Fix jitter and weave due to misalignment of film sprocket holes because of shrinkage or distortion Cintrex can employ minor still cam software techniques to minimize this occurrence; or restore scratched and damage areas of film by using parts of images in other frames. Flicker free transfer some transfer products may contain flicker, with film images getting lighter and darker, the after-effect of projection shutters not being timed correctly to the digital camera capturing the moving image. We don t have this problem with our transfer process. 9. Presentation and Packaging of Transferred Contents In addition to the final storage media for the transferred content, i.e. the DVD, or Blu-ray Disc, or external hard-drive, or other digital storage media..cintrex also supplies the following services, either as standard features in the transfer process or as optional add-ons: Movie Table of Contents (standard) a table of contents lists the chapters in the movie; these chapters created during our film transfer process, or made to match a dealer or customer request. Within the table of contents we can place a scene next to each chapter, this being representative of the contents for the respective chapters. Background Music (optional) ideal for silent films, Cintrex has purchased unlicensed (copyright free) background music for jazz, soft rock, instrumental (piano), and country western genres. We can also purchase licensed music and use this as background music when customers want something special. Onscreen Titles (optional) we can create special on-screen titles to match customer requests, these titles can be within chapters and can be input during or Page 44

45 after the film transfer process, sometimes to meet a later request by the customer. Printing of DVD surface titles and pictures (standard) based upon dealer preference or customer request, Cintrex will label the DVD or Blu-ray per instructions with special surface titles or captured images from the film transfer, or with dealer logo s. DVD and BD cases (standard) as standard we provide either clear jewel case (10mm), black plastic cases (14mm), or blue clear plastic BD cases (12mm), or something else as directed by the dealer and customer. Case Sleeve labeling (standard) Cintrex will label the DVD black plastic case s paper sleeve with a label to match the DVD or BD surface, print the dealer s supplied logo, and also print an image as requested. Setup of External Hard-Drive (optional) Cintrex prefers new or empty harddrives; we can reuse the customer supplied hard-drive, or sell a new hard-drive for storage of transferred contents. Within each hard-drive we supply a notepad in a common text format which can be used by the customer to record and update the hard-drives contents. Custom Editing Services (optional) we offer custom editing of film for tasks such as building collages, scene deletions, rearrangements, special effects, special introductory titles, closing credits, special animation, enhanced color correction, etc. Editing services are often ideal for special occasion presentations such as weddings, memorials, graduations, birthdays, video resumes, and so on. We have Apple Final Cut Pro certified technicians to complete this type work. Most times the process involves a minimum of 3 exchanges of content between dealer and customer before a final acceptable version of the film transfer is completed. A typical engagement might include us sending the transferred product back to the dealer with a time code stamp in one portion of the movie, accompanied with an edit decision list, or EDL. The customer will make the appropriate changes on the EDL, and then or deliver the EDL back to the dealer who then forwards it to Cintrex. Cintrex makes the changes based upon the EDL and customer comments, and then sends the completed job back to the dealer and customer for final acceptance. While this may involve extra work, the money and time are well worth it for the customers wanting this type of special editing. As example of our work, we recently digitized the contents of a 16mm film from Germany from the 1930 s that was on permanent loan to the St. Louis Art Museum. Though the film itself was in good condition, the color had faded and left a strong red hue to all images within the film. We transferred the digital contents with our HD camera, and used Apple s Final Cut Pro software tools to bring back a much superior movie presentation in which vibrant colors were present and human flesh tones restored. We received a nice thank you, and they used this film for presentations of an art exhibit at the museum. (Please note: At this time, we are not ready to offer 3D versions of our HD high definition transfer.) Page 45

46 Organization and Cataloging Hard-drive contents (optional) for a family s conversion of its total library of film, video s, photo s and slides, Cintrex offers an organization service which catalogs/organizes content according to the month and year of original capture; and then supplies, in both hard and soft copy, a notepad, excel spreadsheet, and adobe file of the hard-drive s contents as originally transferred. These specially made files can also serve as a repository for later edits or updates on or about the hard-drive s contents. 10. Temporary Storage effective March 1 st 2011, Cintrex began maintaining a soft copy of all dealer and customer finished orders on our storage network for a period of 90 days. This is being done to minimize damage from lost shipments, or save time if customer wants subsequent changes made to their order, or want extra copies, after both the customer s original order and transfer product have already been returned to the dealer. We are saving the content on our storage network; in this way helping dealers and customers take care of their valuable collections. 11. Business Services Fulfillment to enable shipment of finished orders back to dealers and customers work involving order status, creation of packing lists, invoices, and shipment information are performed at various workstations on the company network. Order status is updated constantly; we note on the completed order s packing list any restoration work done to the particular job, as well as any other oddities about the condition and type of film; invoices for dealers and customer are created from updated work orders, and shipment information including tracking numbers is ed to our customers. Page 46

47 Reference - Movie Film Media, its History & Types: The development of the motion picture camera in the late 19 th century allowed individual component images or film frames to be captured and stored on a single reel of film, and this led quickly to the development of a motion picture projector to shine light through the processed and printed film and magnify these "moving picture shows" onto a screen for an entire audience. When these images or frames were shown rapidly in succession, the viewer had the illusion that motion was occurring, and the exhibition of these moving film reels came to be known as "motion pictures. 35mm film is the basic film gauge most commonly used for motion pictures, and remains relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1892 by William Dickson and Thomas Edison, using film stock supplied by George Eastman. The measurement of 35mm represents the width of the film strip. 16mm film was introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1923 as a less expensive amateur alternative to conventional 35mm film format. 8mm film was introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1932, and Super 8mm film was introduced in mm and Super 8mm film types are still in use today. 35mm is the most common film in Hollywood for making movies, though the 2010 Oscar winner for best film, Hurt Locker, was filmed using 16mm film. Older films were made from cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate stock, while newer films are now made from either a cellulose acetate or polyester base. The film is coated with a light sensitive emulsion made up of gelatin, silver salts and color dyes (magenta, yellow, and cyan). It is this emulsion that captures the individual images, and after processed, yields individual frames in the film strip. A dark brown strip on one side of the film indicates the presence of sound, captured either as a magnetic or optical recording. Film is stored on either metal or plastic film reels. A 3 inch diameter reel holds 50 feet of film; a 5 inch diameter reel holds 200ft, a 7 inch reel holds 400ft, and a 10 inch reel holds 1,000ft of film. Cintrex is able to convert old film types such as 8mm, Super 8mm, Super 8mm with sound, 16mm, 16mm film with optical sound, and 16mm film with magnetic sound..all to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or to a data file for storage on an external hard-drive or other digital media. For customers wanting to convert their 35mm film, we can still handle this type order, but will outsource the job to a reputable high-end transfer house. Page 47

48 Reference Background information about Video Tape Media Video tapes were first introduced in 1951 by Bing Crosby Enterprises. A videotape is a recording of video (images) and audio (sounds) on to magnetic tape. Video magnetic tapes have been used widely both in the broadcast industry and at home to store material for later viewing on video tape recorders/players. The two advantages of video tape over film for the broadcast and home markets were time and money. Video tape provided the ability to record anything instantly, and then be able to play back the recording immediately or at any time in the future, with the images and sounds permanently stored on the tape. Additionally, the tape could be erased and re-recorded onto at any time. Film took time to develop, the emulsion chemicals on film stock were expensive, and once processed, the developed film could not be reused like video tape Magnetic video tapes are comprised of four (4) materials: 1) a thick plastic or mylar base, 2) a relatively thinner emulsion or oxide that can store magnetic information, 3) a binder to attach the emulsion to the plastic base, and 4) a dry lubricant to help in tape play. Most tape oxides are made of iron, also called ferrous oxides. Professional industrial grade video tapes, including the more recent digital tapes, incorporated ongoing improvements into the emulsion, binder, and lubricant components so that they lasted much longer under the stress of repeated use, much better than their home movie market counterparts. The emulsion on the professional grade tapes was made up of higher density iron or chromium oxide metal-formulated compounds, and the binder contained an alumina-silica metal particle coating, both improvements helped in information retention (retentivity) and resistance to demagnetization (coercivity). The added lubricants extended machine head life, and reduced surface roughness, minimizing noise. The oxide or metal-formulation coating on video tapes is strongly affected by magnetic fields. A very simple explanation of the video tape recording process is that small electro-magnetic fields within a video tape recorder or video camera magnetize the oxides on the video tape, leaving permanent magnetized tracks or imprints of information on the tape that can later be read or played back by the same type of machine that originally left the tracks. There are two (2) methods to making a magnetic tape recording, linear and helical scanning. The linear method arranges data in long parallel tracks that span the length of the magnetic tape. Multiple tape heads simultaneously write parallel tape tracks on a Page 48

49 single medium. This method was used in early tape drives. It is the simplest recording method, and is how audio was recorded on to audio reel tapes and audio cassette tapes. This method is also used for recording a control track onto video tapes. The helical scanning recording method writes short dense tracks across the width of the tape medium, not along the length. Tape heads (with electro-magnetic fields) are placed on a drum or disk which rapidly rotates while the relatively slowly moving tape passes it. Helical scan recording writes short dense tracks in diagonal manner. This recording method is used by virtually all videotape systems and several data tape formats. On video magnetic tapes, sound is captured in linear tracks while video images are captured in diagonal tracks across the same magnetic tape via a helical scan. Because a video image can have up to 500 times more information than the accompanying sound to a recording, a video tape recording can have 100 s more diagonal imprints in the same linear measurement of tape as compared to the corresponding sound track on the same tape. During the recording process a control track is also placed on the video tape. This control track provides useful information for later playback, including information on proper tracking for alignment between the video tape and the video players sensing electronics (audio and video heads), the speed of play, and file names and file types. Sometimes, video tape playback experiences white snow or white horizontal lines that disrupt both the video and audio play, and it becomes necessary to adjust the tracking mechanism within the video player so as to properly align the tape s control track and the video player s sensing electronics (or video heads). When you play with the "tracking" control on your VCR, what you are doing is adjusting the skew between the control track and the actual head position on the tape. Usually, this is not necessary, but if a tape is badly worn or stretched you may have to adjust the tracking. Digital Video digital video tapes were introduced in 1995, and information was stored on magnetic tape using block formats, written to tape in blocks via helical scan. Digital video introduced new characteristics and capabilities because of improved compression and data storage techniques. The blocks contained digital headers, payload, metadata, marker bits, timestamps, and real time transport protocols; and together provided for high definition playback off digital video magnetic tapes. If stored properly, a magnetic video tape can have as long a useful life as well preserved film. Nothing is permanent, but properly made magnetic tape stored in reasonable archival conditions has already lasted over 40 years. Video tapes become useless over time because of poor storage, unintended magnetic erasure, breakage of the container enclosure, and obsolescence of the equipment to access its contents. It is recommended that the following practices are used in maintaining serious tape libraries: Always rewind the video tape after use, so as to not leave any section of magnetic tape exposed to whatever environment it is stored in (cassette cases are not airtight or moisture proof) and being rewound prevents the tape from going slack and possibly being damaged during initial play in the future, sometimes after long storage. Page 49

50 The storage environment should ideally be "climate controlled", a cool dark place not subject to fluctuations in temperature, where humidity cannot damage stored video tape. Avoid dust and smoke so as to avoid getting video tape player heads dirty and then contaminating the tape s surface, causing dropouts and tape damage. Never leave VTR in pause or freeze mode; press the stop button instead so that heads are no longer in contact with the tape and cannot cause any tape attrition. Taking tapes out of storage every 3-5 years and "packing" them, i.e. fast forward and reverse the tapes all the way to redistribute the lubricant on the tape. Broadcast quality tapes have a higher grade of dry lubricant, redistributing this substance can better assure smooth alignment on the cassette reels. Use professional quality video tape cleaning machines that clean tapes to remove dirt, loose oxides, debris, and polishes tape surfaces for better contact; and can at same time inspect tapes to pinpoint wrinkles, creases, and damaged spots, so as to affect early repair or replacement. Provide regular maintenance to video recording and playing equipment, keeping internal systems clean for optimum performance. Magnetic tape continues to be a useful media for recording information in the broadcast industry; and the future of magnetic tape as a storage media for video data was lengthened with the introduction of non-linear methods for retrieving information off magnetic tapes. Page 50

51 Reference - Listing of Video Tape Types Below is a listing of various video magnetic tapes, including a picture and short description. Similar to what Cintrex is able to do for Film Transfer, we are able to ingest (read and input) contents of consumer and broadcast video tapes, and then convert and transfer the content to DVD or Blu-ray Disc or as data files on external harddrives or other digital media. DVD s are used in the transfer of standard definition content found on a majority of both consumer and professional type tapes; while Blu-ray Discs are used in transfer of high definition content on higher end consumer and professional tapes such as HDV, HDCAM, DVCPRO HD. External hard-drives are used for large file transfer jobs requiring more storage space and data file formats. Consumer types of video tape VHS the most common type consumer video tape; the Video Home System (VHS) tape was developed by Japanese company JVC and launched in It is packaged within a plastic rectangular shell (7⅜" 4" 1") and held together with five Phillips head screws. A single VHS tape can hold from 2 hours to 6 hours playing time, depending upon the original recording mode of SP (standard play), LP (long play), or EP (extra long play). BetaMax - is a home videocassette tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, The cassettes contain 1/2-inch wide videotape and were an early competitor to VHS tapes. VHS-C - is the compact VHS format introduced in 1982 and was used primarily for consumer-grade compact camcorders. Cintrex uses VHS-C adapter cartridges so that the VHS-C tape can be played within a VHS tape player. Camcorder 8mm, Hi8, and Digital8 video tapes 8mm video camcorder tape was introduced by Sony in 1985 and was continuously improved, resulting in the interim Hi8 video camcorder tape, and then the Digital8 camcorder tape in With the Digital8 tape, content was encoded digitally, and used a similar format as professional grade video recordings. Page 51

52 MiniDV and HDV recording tapes - DV is a compression audio and video format designed for helical-scan magnetic tape media, for the recording and playing back of digital video. It was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camera recorders, including Sony, JVC, and Panasonic. HDV is a format for recording of highdefinition video on DV cassette tape. This format was originally developed by JVC and then supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp. Most HDV camcorders use "small" DV cassettes also known as MiniDV cassettes. A standard MiniDV cassette provides one hour of recording. Large DV cassettes can deliver up to 4.5 hours of recording time. MiniDV s are still in regular use today for the transfer and storage of digital video. MicroMV - MicroMV was a proprietary videotape format introduced in 2001 by Sony. This cassette is physically smaller than a Digital8 or DV cassette. In fact, MicroMV is the smallest videotape format 70% smaller than MiniDV or about the size of two US quarter coins. Each cassette can hold up to 60 minutes of video. Professional Broadcast Video Tapes ¾ U-matic - U-matic is a videocassette format first developed by Sony in It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various open-reel formats of the time. The videotape was ¾ inches (1.9 cm) wide, so the format is often known as 'three-quarter-inch' or simply 'threequarter'. U-matic was named after the shape of the tape path when it was threaded around the helical video head drum, which resembled the letter U. Betacam - Betacam is a family of half-inch professional videotape products, first developed by Sony in All Betacam variants from (plain) Betacam to Betacam SP and Digital Betacam use the same shape cassettes. The cassettes come in two sizes: S and L. The format supplanted the three-quarter inch U-Matic format. In addition to improvements in video quality, the Betacam configuration of an integrated camera/recorder led to its rapid adoption by electronic news gathering organizations. Page 52

53 Betacam SP tapes were the first to use the newer composition of metal-formulation emulsion and strengthened binders to provider greater durability under stress of repeated use. Many library collections still use professional broadcast tapes as their preferred storage media for long time archival storage purposes. Betacam SX - Betacam SX is a digital version of Betacam SP introduced in 1996, positioned as a cheaper alternative to Digital Betacam. It stored video as MPEG-2 files. DVCPRO DVCPRO is a variation of DV developed by Panasonic and introduced in 1995 for use in professional broadcast news. DVCPRO tape recordings featured locked audio, with the audio sample clock (the digital time reference used in the sampling process) precisely locked to match the video sample clock such that audio and video outputs were always in sync to provide better quality broadcast recording and playback. DVCAM In 1996 Sony responded with its own professional version of DV called DVCAM. Like DVCPRO, DVCAM used locked audio, which prevented audio synchronization drift that could happen on DV recordings. HDCAM - introduced in 1997 by Sony, was the first HD high definition format available in a Betacam form-factor, and featured HD recordings with 1080i resolution at 24 frames per second. DVCPRO HD introduced in 1997 by Panasonic was similar to HDCAM, but provided HD resolution in 720p and 1080i at 24 to 60 frames per second. The form factor was the same as the DVCPRO tape cassettes. One last video tape format to list, and this is the oldest of all the tapes reviewed in this section - 1 inch Type C is a professional helical scan open-reel videotape format codeveloped and introduced by Ampex and Sony in It became the de facto standard for professional video and television broadcast industries until the introduction of Betacam, DVCAM, and DVCPRO video tape recording and play systems. Customers still bring in this type for transfer and conversion. Page 53