10 Reasons to Use Two Squares vs. the Competition for Film Conversion
1. Pre-Capture Care
We fully hand clean, lubricate, and repair your film splices before the capture process begins. This process guarantees the best quality as we convert old film to digital or disc-based formats. We return all your films to their original reels. Unlike some competitors, we never combine smaller reels onto larger reels.
2. Capture Quality
We use a full frame-by-frame film scanner to convert film to digital formats. This scanner captures full-resolution images of each frame of your films in high definition (HD). Two Squares capture and post-process film in its raw form. During the final stage in our process, we compress film to the DVD standard. We can also deliver your converted film into nearly any desired digital file format.
3. High-Quality Blank Media
Two Squares uses 8.5 gigabytes (GB) professional-grade DVDs that hold up to two hours of video. Most of our competitors use 4.7GB standard-quality DVDs that only hold two hours of video. We can also convert your film to Blu-ray discs if you prefer.
Using 4.7GB DVDs results in lower-quality video. These discs also use a compression format that leads to more quality loss. For instance, UltraLife Gold discs aren’t available in 8.5GB, resulting in poorer converted video quality.
4. Progressive Scan
When Two Squares transfers captured video onto DVDs, these discs are in progressive scan format. We never use the lower-quality interlaced scanning modes like many of our competitors. You’ll definitely notice a higher quality result with progressive scanning, especially with videos featuring lots of movement.
5. Hand-Adjustments During the Capture Process
As we convert film to digital formats, we watch in person as we capture them. Watching these films lets us hand-adjust lighting and contrast levels for films with excessively dark or light scenes, leading to the best possible final product. A trained eye will always provide better film adjustments than cheap software.
6. White Balancing
Two Squares uses properly white-balanced film capture devices to process your films. White balancing provides a more accurate representation of your film’s colors. Over time, color in your films can fade or shift hues. We offer hand-tuned color correction to keep your movies looking their best.
7. Removing Dead Space and Adding Menus
All films are edited by hand to remove dead space. We will also hand-select thumbnails and scene markers to create a custom DVD menu for your films – all included in our standard price.
8. All Work Completed In-House
When you choose Two Squares, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your treasured media never leaves our shop. From converting home movies to digital formats to capturing older audio, Two Squares does everything in-house. Plus, we’ve never lost a piece of customer media. Two Squares barcodes and tracks every piece of media throughout each stage of our processes. Customers can also speak directly with the person doing the work if needed.
9. Saving for 6 Months
Two Squares saves customers’ captured film files and projects for 30 days in case you have any questions or request conversion-related changes. However, Two Squares also saves customers’ final delivered files and disc images for at least six months in case you need copies or a replacement.
So, if you lose our delivered conversions, damage your discs, or want additional copies, call us. We can provide more copies for the cost of the discs (and drive if you’re local).
10. Low Prices
Our company is the most inexpensive in the Twin Cities area that converts film to digital formats. We also won’t send our customers film out of state or country (like some competitors). Two Squares charges $0.30 per foot with a $30 mastering fee per order/project for high-definition (HD) conversions. Our competitors charge $0.39+ per foot for standard definition (SD) conversions.
