When it comes to analog home movies, most of them are completely obsolescent these days. Nobody owns a VCR anymore, around a third of the population has never seen a home projector, and some threw out their DVD player years ago. Technology has come up with some pretty cool stuff--cute little dog filters on Instagram!?--but it’s also left a lot of things behind.
The great news is the same technology that has made your VHS tapes slightly less useful than a “Daytona 2020” coaster can also carry you into the digital age. That’s right, you can digitize your home videos without crawling antique shops for a MiniDV player. Yay!
When it comes to digitization, you actually have a few options. Some are good, some are bad, and some are really, really bad. Here’s the list.
Talk to Legacybox.
If I’m being honest, you can probably stop reading this article after this tip. Just send your old home movies to Legacybox. It’s easy, affordable, they take great care of your stuff, and the quality of digitization is unmatched. Sending your old home movies to Legacybox is as easy as packing a box. No hassle, no stress, just total digital living. Much better than...
Buy some digitization stuff.
If you’re a tech junkie, you’re more than welcome to purchase some digitization equipment yourself. You’ll need to get the special machines to read your old home movies, and then you’ll need to spend hours putting all of your old tapes and films through the computer. I know I don’t have that kind of time. Also, by the time you buy the equipment you need, you won’t even save money versus Legacybox. The math doesn’t even check out.
Relive your bootlegging days.
Did you ever bring a camcorder into the movie theater to record a janky copy of Tim Burton’s Batman? Yeah, me neither. Well, if you were the type to set up your camcorder at the theater and inexplicably shake it the entire length of the film, then you’ll love this method. You’ll grab your VCR, if you have one, and you’ll record your old videos on your cell phone while they play on your TV. Technically this is an option to digitize your old home movies, but is it really?
Make your kids figure it out.
Your kids are smart with tech, right? Sit them down in front of the computer and see if they can figure it out. Spoiler alert: without the right equipment, they’re not going to be able to do anything. If you choose this option, you’ll basically have to spend the same amount of money as #2, plus your kids will start to despise you. I’m personally not into that kind of strife at home.
Just talk to Legacybox, OK?
I’m going to repeat myself here; just talk to Legacybox. Digitizing your home movies on your own is a huge time, money, and energy sink. You’d have to get the right equipment, learn some new editing programs, spend tons of time sending your old home videos through the digitization equipment, then you’ll have to burn DVDs or write all those freshly digitized files to some physical backup. Is it really worth it? I say no. The smart move is to send all of your home movies to Legacybox and have them digitize everything for you. Again, it’s affordable, easy, and much less time consuming than any other option out there. Just call them already!
Making old home videos digital by yourself is not an easy process. You need special hardware, you need more time than I personally have to spare, and you need a bunch of patience. Very few projects in my life are worth dedicating all of my free time to, and I can say for certain that digitizing my old home movies myself is not on that list.
Just call Legacybox. They’ll digitize all of your hold home movies in a jiffy, and you’ll be enjoying all of your old memories in the comfort of your pajamas on your smart TV. It really is the smart (and in my opinion, only) choice.
