8mm Forum: 16mm sound

This is topic 16mm sound - Help Please in forum 16mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Pasquale De Marco (Member # 411) on May 26, 2010, 11:09 AM:

Hi Folks,

We have a customer that apparently has 16mm optical "wave" sound film. It seems that there are 3 types: magnetic, optical wave and optical with lines. Is that right ?

Are there projectors that handle more than one ?
Any suggestions for good models ?
Most Ebay offers just say "Optical" not which type.

I'm not a hobbyist, I have a transfer business.
I post here occasionally and you have always been helpful.

Thanks in advance !

Pat De Marco

Posted by Martin Jones (Member # 1163) on May 26, 2010, 11:13 AM:

The "wave" track is called "variable area" and the "lines" track is "variable density". ALL machines should handle BOTH happily if the sound optics are properly adjusted for alignment and focus.

Martin

Posted by Hugh McCullough (Member # 696) on May 26, 2010, 11:29 AM:

Magnetic sound is a brown stripe along the edge of the film. It is in effect a small tape recording.
Wave sound is called Variable area, and line sound is called Variable Density.
Both are optical sound,and both can be played back on any optical sound projector.
The difference between the two types is in the way the sound was originally recorded.
This makes no difference to playback.

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on May 26, 2010, 04:42 PM:

http://paulivester.com/films/filmstock/guide.htm
Here is a good link that shows the different types of sound tracks.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on May 26, 2010, 08:56 PM:

Pasquale - I'd personally recommend one of these Eikis, and the seller has several. It's possible to buy cheaper 16mm projectors but this is a good one that's more modern than most in circulation, so less likely to have had extensive usage. Easy to use and good features, too. I think it's the model without speakers in the fron case (although there's one in the back, so a buyer needs to have a separate speaker to use.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Eiki-ENT-0 -16mm-Projector-Optical-Sound-Great-Shape-/130388789600?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5bc70960

Posted by Pasquale De Marco (Member # 411) on May 28, 2010, 06:45 AM:

THANKS ! Great help as always.

Was 16mm sound predominantly magnetic or optical or was it evenly divided ?
Was there much family 16mm sound ?

We have not seen any "family" 16mm sound - only silent. The only 16mm sound we've seen has been "professional".

I'm guessing that all 16mm sound projectors have some sort of RCA-like output for an external speaker. Adrian, I will look seriously at that Eikis.

Thanks again

Pat

Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 1337) on May 28, 2010, 08:28 AM:

16mm optical sound is much, much more common than magnetic.

Apart from a few expensive cameras purchased mainly by TV news crews, sound had to be recorded on a separate tape deck then added later. Most amateurs did not bother with the hassle and extra expense.

Projectors can have many sound outputs, sometimes RCA, sometimes 1/2" Jacks, DIN plugs etc..

Posted by Paul Spinks (Member # 573) on May 29, 2010, 02:16 AM:

My 16mm print of "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman" is made up of two prints which have the different optical tracks. There is no noticeable audio difference when projected.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on May 29, 2010, 06:57 PM:

I'm not sure what a RCA-like output is but Eikis have standard jack sockets. It seems rare to find home movies shot on 16mm with sound, but a few of the projectors with magnetic sound have recording capabilities, so I presume that some of the buyers of these wanted them to record soundtracks on striped home movies.

I think it would be true to say that magnetic sound is superflous for the majority of collectors. I eventually wanted it because I decided to collect Scopitones (which are all magnetic) but I only have one other film with magnetic sound - and I didn't even know that it was magnetic until after I bought it!

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on May 30, 2010, 02:39 AM:

RCA is what we in the UK call phono.

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