Frequently Asked Questions
I am interested in Titles X, Y, and Z, how much are they?
Call us or fill out the Pre-Order Form. Prices depend on format. Make sure to specify the format you require for each title.
How long does shipping take? What is the shipping cost?
We can ship most titles in 2-3 business days via Federal Express.
Cost depends on the size of your order and is based on the Federal Express rates. In most cases, we prefer to bill your
company's Fed Ex account number.
What formats are available?
All standard broadcast video tape formats are available in both NTSC and PAL standards. BetaSp, Digibeta, DVCAM, DVCPRO, SVHS, and MiniDV are the most commonly requested.
Some titles are available in high definition on HDCAM or HDCAM SR.
What is the quality of the material?
In most cases, the source masters are high quality DigiBeta and BetaSp tapes transferred directly from the best available film prints making for
high broadcast quality features for your use. You will not find better any place else. The elements of certain rare archival footage are of varying degrees of condition and we always tell you up front what to expect.
How does a title fall into the public domain?
The work was either never registered with the United States Copyright Office or the renewal of the registration on the 28th year was not made.
How do we know that this material is really public domain?
All available titles have been researched with the U.S. Library of Congress and are public domain. As an international distributor, we could not sell them to you if they were not.
Many British, German, and French titles are only public domain inside the United States. If you are not familiar with how US copyright laws apply in your country please do your own due dilligence.
Titles from the 1980's are referred to as "non-registered" titles, which means that they were never registered with the Copyright Office, and as a result, can
be distributed like public domain titles.
What about the music?
Except for in very rare instances, the music, if part of the original program, is free and clear to use. RetroFilm sells only original versions of the programs (or original American versions of foreign titles).
Do you have xxx clip of xxx doing xxx?
Though we often sell to those in need of footage for various projects, we do not do clip research. The cost involved with
editing and time it would take to pinpoint your exact clip would be equivalent to the cost of the entire program. However, the cost of an entire program is usually less than it would be to pay a stock footage house for a 2-3 minute clip of the same material.
It is your job to know what titles have what you want in them.
With a purchase from RetroFilm you can have the footage you want and a master to keep which can be used at any time, now or in the future, with no extra costs or licensing fees.
You may use the second search box on our search page to type in a specific subject like the word "Irish."
What payment methods are available?
We accept check, money order, wire transfer, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
Checks are made payable to RetroFilm.
Contact Us for Price Quotes
Call: (310) 441-8305
Hours: Mon-Sat 9 AM - 6 PM Pacific
retro@retrofilmvault.com
