Slovak Film Institute Installs DFT Scanity Scanner

The Slovak Film Institute (Slovenský filmový ústav, SFÚ) has installed DFT’s high‑end Scanity film scanner at its Bratislava facility, strengthening the institute’s capacity to preserve and digitise the country’s film heritage.

Established in 1963, SFÚ is Slovakia’s national film institution, charged with collecting, preserving and protecting the nation’s audiovisual heritage. Its archive holds around 80,000 film reels, encompassing all films produced in Slovakia. Considered a vital part of the country’s cultural legacy, these works are state‑protected national property entrusted to SFÚ for archiving and administration.

In 2011, Slovakia launched the ‘Digital Audio Visual’ project to digitise the nation’s film and video heritage and secure it for future generations. The large‑scale programme requires advanced technology capable of capturing both picture and sound elements, including music, video and film materials.

Following an extensive technical evaluation, SFÚ specialists selected DFT’s 4K Scanity system as the best match for their needs. Scanity can ingest film at real‑time 2K and 4K speeds while delivering outstanding image quality, even at high throughput. The system is engineered to handle fragile archival film gently, and its end‑to‑end workflow—featuring real‑time audio capture and infra‑red scanning—makes it well suited to demanding mass‑digitisation tasks.

SFÚ partnered with Slovakia‑based BoneheadZ, a specialist systems integrator, for installation, workflow design, systems integration and staff training. Ladislav Hodinka, General Manager at BoneheadZ, said: "This project has been a wonderful example of strong cooperation between the developer and the authorised reseller, resulting in a highly satisfied customer experience."