I have two 88 mm Kodachome films of family events from the 1950s I would like to preserve. Anyone know of a company in the area they can recommend to transfer these to a DVDs?  Or is transferring to a DVD the best solution? I have read that DVDs don’t last. Totally confused on how to view and preserve these sentimental and important films!

Diane, I had this done two years ago at Adolph Gasser in SF (there’s one in the avenues, and one on 2nd street). They did a fine job—highly recommended.

Thanks, I will check them out. I found a website on the internet that said many film transfers to DVDs only last a few years and contain only half the pixels or whatever they are called of the original film so I am trying to research this and understand the best method. But I will go downtown and check Gasser out! Thanks!

I would definitely store the original films somewhere safe after the transfer, regardless of how good you feel the transfer is.  They’ll be an important backup and you never know what’s coming in terms of transfer and digital recording technology in the future.

Dub express is also a good transfer house in SF…www.dubexpress.com. They do all formats. You could also talk to Adams Video in Pacifica. He’d probably be less expensive than Gassers or Dub Express. I had a destroyed DV tape that he fixed for me a few years ago and then copied to DVD.

Keep in mind that DVD is compressed video. If you’re looking to preserve the resolution, you’d be best to put them to DV tape (like the mini-dv you use in a digital camera) just to keep them stored in an uncompressed up-to-date digital format and use the DVDs for viewing only. Barry’s suggestion of keeping the originals safe is important because the technology is constantly changing.