Why Do You Need To Digitize Your Old Videos?

Why Do You Need To Digitize Your Old Videos?

The Problem

You’ve got a treasure trove of family movies, spanning 50 years or more. It probably includes everything from your parents’ or grandparents’ 16mm or 8mm film reels to your own collection of VHS tapes – perhaps even the original ½” format.

Like many of our customers, you likely no longer have the equipment to watch these precious memories. Projector bulbs burn out, belts break, and VHS players are either broken or simply gone. So, what’s a home movie enthusiast to do?

We’ve talked before about digitizing videos, including how and where to convert your home movies to digital format. But today, I want to focus on something a little different: the personal, emotional benefits of digitizing your memories. Why is it so good for your well-being?

Memories Make Us Feel Better

While some individuals have traumatic pasts they understandably prefer not to revisit, I’m focusing here on the healthy, positive memories of a normal childhood or a happy experience captured on film or videotape by a loved one.

These lovely memories, preserved on film or magnetic tape, often differ from our recollections. We tend to selectively remember events, reconstructing them in our minds. As living beings, we’re influenced by our environment and our own self-interest.

Memories are intertwined with other feelings and experiences. For example, a five-year-old’s brain is still developing, yet they perceive their surroundings, the weather, the excitement of an event. These sensations all contribute to how we remember it later.

When we see that event on film years later, it can be different from what we remember. Is this good or bad? I believe seeing the event enhances the memory, bringing it to life in a new way.

Research has shown that Alzheimer’s patients can be stimulated by seeing old photos and videos, sparking brain activity and reconnecting synapses.

My point is that remembering the positive aspects of our lives helps us understand our past, rekindle the enthusiasm we once felt, and nurture that same joy in younger family members. Reliving positive memories is therapeutic. (See the article from the Library of Medicine for more on this.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6719713/

What Do We Have?

There may or may not be an avalanche of memories documented on your old media. The only way to make sure is to view them at home (if possible) or turn to a video tape transfer service. 

Digitizing your home movies can seem daunting given the number of tapes or films you have but once you decide to bite the bullet and get them transferred, you’ll be happy not only for yourself but for others that were a part of this slice of history. They will see the event and will remember it from their perspective just as you did. Sharing those thoughts while watching the media will open up a whole other discussion that you weren’t expecting. This happened to my younger sisters and me. After the passing of our parents, we watched and discussed the home movies from each other’s recollections and knowledge at that time.

This helped us to better understand our parents at that point in their lives and helped us to see what they were dealing with or experiencing at that time. Spousal relationship, parenting styles, job, and home life. Needless to say, an eye-opener for all.

Find a Video Transfer Service

When beginning the process to digitize memories you first must decide to do it yourself or to hire a professional video transfer service.

Recommendations are the best because someone has gone through the process before and will give advice on how or who to use and why. Word-of-mouth advertising is still the best referral. Thankfully because of our longevity in this business (nearly 30 years) we have transferred hundreds of thousands of media items for our clients. They are now our best salespeople with their word on the street marketing.

Aside from person-to-person referrals, you can find a local company to digitize old videos. Checking out their reviews online can give you a sense of satisfaction others have had with their services.

Some precautions to consider. Don’t wait too long to get your media transferred. News flash, It’s already too late but move decisively and get the conversions done now as the media continues to degrade every day. Make sure the transfer company has the experience and the correct equipment to make the transformation you are hoping for.

What to Expect

Speed of service and pricing are of concern in any transaction. In another blog, we wrote advice on the speed of service and pricing examples on what to expect so we won’t repeat ourselves here. Link to How To Convert Old Camcorder Tapes To Digital  

https://thevideoeditor.com/blogs/posts/how-to-convert-old-camcorder-tapes-to-digital

Delivery and Viewing Options

You don’t have to spend too much time thinking about what you want your old analog media transferred to. Every item whether it is photographs, 35mm slides, videotape, or 8mm home films should be digitized. Technically it means turning hard copy photos, magnetic audio and videotapes, and movie film into 0s and 1s (digital). These zeros and ones will not fade or discolor, it is locking in colors that won’t fade, have tracking issues, or pops in the audio. Digital is a much more stable option that is future-proofed. It will hold up and still be watchable in the future.

Once you have digitized your old analog media you need to select an output media. Either you want DVDs, a cloud link, or a USB thumb drive to store and watch your media. Some will choose all options but consider how you will be viewing your memories.

If you plan to watch your memories on a TV then maybe a set of DVDs will work for you. Update: DVDs as great as they are can get fingerprints and smudges on the disc that later could cause the playback to freeze or jump.

 If watching your films and old videotapes on a computer then a USB thumb drive will work and can handle all of your media and provide the easiest interface. With a USB you can also transfer to iTunes and then transferred and made watchable on tablets and phones. You can also plug your USB thumb drive into newer TVs. Simply switch the TV input to USB and see a menu list of all your media available.

A final option to consider for your delivery is a cloud link to Google Drive. Here you can share a link with others to view the media on a computer. Anyone with this link will also be able to download the media to their computer. Here at The Video Editor, we offer the cloud link for two months which gives you plenty of time to view and share with others before you must download the media to your computer or your private Google Drive for safe keeping long term.

Hopefully, we have given you enough information to understand why you should digitize your old videos along with the ability to choose a company that will assist you in getting into the digital age. Please refer to our many other blog subjects to keep you informed.