Transfer Video Tape to Digital to Future Proof Your Memories
If there’s one thing that’s true, it’s that time waits for no one. We grow up, get married, start a family, raise our children, and then go on to watch, joyfully, those children start families of their own. Through it all we have our memories of these precious moments, often preserved for the future by recording them.
But as time marches on, technology does as well. The vintage 8mm film cameras we grew up with soon gave way to cheaper, better ways to record family memories. Access to video tape recorders of all types starting in the 1970s means that recording family memories became easier than ever.
As recording home movies got easier with time with the introduction of digital formats, the piles of video tapes left behind by older recorders started gathering dust. Now, you’d be hard-pressed to find a working VCR to play those memories back on, but don’t lose hope just yet. You can transfer video tape to digital in order to future proof your memories for generations to come.
Why You Should Transfer Video Tape to Digital
If you still have a working VCR, you might be wondering why you would need to transfer video tape to digital in the first place. The truth is that while your tape player might be working just fine, all those tapes you have might not be doing so well. Just like the original filmstrips of classic movies you might have grown up watching at the theater can deteriorate and fade over time, so can the tape used in the cassettes you used in your home movies. Quality, color, and sound all fade naturally over time. Transferring them to a digital format can halt that process right in its tracks.
More than that, though, all those home movies sure can take up a lot of space, can’t they? You can easily end up with cabinets of VHS tapes just gathering dust in your den or basement — space that could be used for something else. This gets even worse if you decide to ever move to a new address. Are you really going to spend all that time, money, and energy packing up dozens of boxes of old video tapes when you can simply transfer them to digital, where they can be safe and accessible for generations to come? Something to think about for sure!
How the Transfer Video Tape to Digital Process Works
It doesn’t matter why you want to preserve your video tapes for the future — what matters is that you can. Maybe you can’t find a working VCR for love or money. Maybe you’re worried your video tapes are going to deteriorate over time. Or maybe you just don’t want to keep tripping over stacks of VHS tapes every time you go down to the basement. Whatever your reasoning, you’ll be glad to know that the process to transfer video tape to digital works.
The digitization process involves recording a copy of your home video in a format that won’t be subject to decay like a physical video tape. You can have converted home movies recorded directly onto DVDs so that you can play them in any Blu-Ray or DVD player. You can also record them to the cloud, making them accessible anywhere in the world you have an internet connection; upload these videos to YouTube, for example, and you can watch home movies from decades ago right on your tablet or phone.
The truth is that video tape to digital transfers work really well when it comes to preserving memories. However, you’re likely to need some extra help when it comes time to make it actually happen. There are two flavors when it comes to digital video tape transfers: you can do it yourself or you can have someone else do it for you. There are advantages to each method, which means the choice is yours. Here are the differences:
The DIY Method
Nothing gives you more control over your home movies than doing it yourself. You’ll need special equipment to accomplish this, though, starting with a computer and a working tape player. You’ll then need a analog to digital convertor an adapter cable to connect the two and specialized software to digitally record your home movies. You’ll also need to devote time to recording all these files by hand onto blank DVDs or to your computer’s hard drive.
The Professional Approach
The DIY method is great if you have the time and the expertise to set up and run the whole process. Yet if you’re the type of person that couldn’t program your VCR clock to stop flashing 12:00, this probably isn’t the best choice for you. Turning to a professional outfit that does all the work for you means you just have to hand them a stack of tapes and your credit card number. A few days or weeks later, you’ll get a (much smaller) stack of DVDs or a flash drive with all your videos on it.
The Final Word on the Transfer Video Tape to Digital Process
Let’s face it: all those video tapes you have aren’t getting any younger. Neither are you! If you want to preserve your family’s memories for the next generation and then some, you don’t want to rely on outdated, obsolete technologies. Meanwhile, digital video files can be stored on formats that are built to withstand years without becoming faded, degraded, or otherwise damaged.
No one lives forever, but your digital video is our best bet. Transferring video tape to digital formats is the best way to ensure that your beloved home videos will survive the test of time for your family, whether it’s your children, your grandchildren, or beyond.