You probably already know that your boxes of Super 8 and VHS videos are quickly deteriorating. Time, extremes of temperature, and moisture in the air are not helping the situation any. So how do you go about preserving those old videos and films for future family generations? In my article I will guide you through the first three simple steps to prepare your tapes for digital transfer.
As many of us home moviemakers are realizing many of our collections of old Super 8 movies and VHS tapes are disintegrating (only slight exaggeration) very quickly. How can we solve this painful problem? Well, whether you want to do it yourself or go to a digital transfer house to do it, you eventually need to convert all of your older analog media to digital if you want to save it. To do this you need to plan and organize your media before you go any further.
First, think about where in your home you can place all of that film and video where they will be safe from environmental harm. Remember, the location has to be cool and dry. Videotapes should always be stored vertically (like a book) and kept away from any magnetic fields like those produced by computers and televisions. Periodically, forward and rewind your tapes to prevent uneven stretching. This can buy some time – or maybe at least make you feel better while you plan for your next step.
Next on the agenda is to group all of the lower priority items separately from all the higher priority items. You will need to figure out what event is on each piece of tape and film. If you can’t figure it out from your notes on the film or tape, then look at your original film under a bright light or pop the cassette into the VCR to find out. Make a list that includes all pieces of your collection so you can number them in terms of your priority and appropriately plan to have the top of the list converted first.
After you pick what you want to convert to digital first and then separate these from the lower priority items, you can now send them to a professional transfer house and have them converted into files that you can edit on your home Windows or Mac computer (or Linux if you are a Linux follower). If you do it this way, you will be able to see all of those great times again and again on DVDs that you can make after you edit the digital files you had transferred from analog. You will just be able to pop them into a player, pull up a chair, and watch them on your own TV.
I hope this information provides you with what you need to begin your journey to transfer your home movies to digital. Good luck!
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