Monday, February 19, 2007

Blimey! I need an Elmo TRV-16 (or, The Future of Tom's Vintage Film)

Many of you wonderful fans are probably wondering what's in those film cans pictures below...or simply what else it is that I have. The answer is dozens of things!
The only problem is that I have no feasible method of transferring 16mm film to video/DVD. Sure, I can send films out through the mail to other people but I would definitely rather not risk the majority of what I own being handled by any 'carrier'.
The answer to my problem would be an Elmo TRV-16. This is a machine that looks exactly like a projector except it transfers film to video using a built-in CCD camera and RCA output to a VHS or DVD recorder.
Check around for one folks, as I don't have a couple thousand to burn on eBay for this machine.
Below is a tiny sample of just one of endless things I can offer with transfer capabilities.

8 comments:

Charlie said...

Ill keep my eyes open! I'd love a disc of bray farmer alfalfa!

Mike Matei said...

you could project the films onto a wall and video tape the wall. since these are without sound you wouldn't have to worry about audio. it's not as good as a direct transfer, but it would work.

Tommy José Stathes said...

It's possible, yes, but not a professional transfer. I really have to do these films proper justice. ;-)

P.S. Many of these do have added music or SFX which add to the presentation (as opposed to finding music and cueing it to every single film

Craig D said...

Have you ever had ANY leads on this unit? I did a lazy Google search and found one in Indonesia for $699. Seemed pretty "iffy" to say the least!

You're right to want to do it in a "pro" manner! How did you put that YouTube clip together?

Tommy José Stathes said...

Yep, the things usually retail for around $2-$4k. And they're at best 20 years old!
I made that clip awhile back with my digital camera.

Craig D said...

LINK

You have room for one of these, right?

Here's a quote from near the bottom of the page: " For Film-to-Video transfer I use all professional equipment: For b/w films I get great results with an Elmo TRV-16G Telecine projector"

Maybe you can contact this guy. Perhaps he knows where to buy (or even lease?) one of these things.

Just a thought...

Tommy José Stathes said...

Actually, those pictures are of the TP...something you would have found in a TV station. The TRV is the size of a regular projector and uber convenient at that!

Chris Sobieniak said...

While this is already old news and you got yourself a fine Tobin TVT-16 model already, I wouldn't mind looking or something like that myself too if I can get a good deal on a used Elmo TRV-16G model