You want to know what really connects family to one another? Memories. Through life, we all go through different experiences, adventures and seasons that all create a special memory down the road. When you think of your family memories, what do you think of? Your grandparents cabin in the woods, the millions of scrapbooks your mom has made for each occasion, the tub of vhs tapes in the attic that showcase your home run hit back in school?
No matter the memory, they are special! When looking to save and relive your home movies, photos, film or audio - what is the first "go to" solution? Do it yourself. We want to offer some sound advice before you tackle this project...because this task requires is more than you think...
This Takes Lots of Time
When looking to find a converter for DIY digitize your memories at home, you'll see words like "fast", "quick" or "no time at all!" The truth is, this will take time. When compiling all of your media together (whether that's tapes, film, photos, or audio) you have to consider the length of the tape, the amount of photos and the amount of recording for audio. A tape alone can hold up to 2-3 hours of content, which will have to play all the way through in order to capture your content through the at home converter.
So, 2-3 hours times (for example) ten vhs tapes, three 8mm tapes and four mini- DVs...You're looking at a lot of time. Not to mention all the time you take for your work schedule, picking up the kids, going to Community group every Wednesday, running your errands, studying for your online exam, etc.
Just be aware that if you convert your home movies to digital yourself, it will not have a fast turn around time.
Money *sigh* Get Ready
Don't be fooled as you search for your digital converter online. Although the dollar amount might look nice, there are some hidden fees they aren't willing to discuss.
In most cases, when digitizing your material, you have to purchase the outputs: DVDs, thumb drives and where are you going to store your content so you can share with family? Google Drive? Think of it this way, it will be difficult to send via email because certain formats can't exceed a specific gigabyte amount when sending by email.
If you upload it to google drive, you can easily share with your family, right? Yes! BUT, when using your personal account, you must pay $100 per month after exceeding storage size. That being said, you won't be able to upload your content there either. No worries, at Legacybox, we provide a google drive link just for you to use with the storage you need to share with your family members.
Once last note when it comes to money, if you accidentally break the converter (because it's so cheap) you'll have to purchase another, OR if you break your vhs tape (knock on wood) it will cost a pretty penny to repair. On average, it can be over $30 per tape to be fixed...
Mistakes Could Ruin Your Memories
As stated above, there is a high possibility you could damage or ruin your precious home movies. You might be a digitizing wizard or someone who know their analog media facts to a T and for that we applaud you. However, the majority of people aren't super equipped to handle their media properly when digitizing. That's not your fault!
It's not everyday you meet someone who knows the ins and outs of digitizing. That being said, you must be VERY careful with your memories. Tapes can be ruined, film can be ripped in half, audio can be erased for ever and pictures an be destroyed. Listen, we don't want that for you...we don't want that for anyone. Make sure your memories are safe and handled the right way.
How Will You Share With Family / Friends?
As we stated before, you'll have to buy your own outputs, digitize everything piece by piece to each item and hopefully have done it right so you can share with your family members. DVD burning can take up to 30 minutes to an hour depending on the length of the movie.
"DVD's and thumb drives are cheap though!" one might say. However, take in the account that you'll need to make at least five copies of each tape on five different DVD's for each of your aunt's on your mom's side (how much time would that take to digitize your tape again?), and 10 thumb drives for each cousin, 2 more dvd's for your parents and then purchase your google drive storage so you have enough room to share with your family and friends. Yep...that's a lot.
It's a Chore
Let's face it. It is what it is: a chore. You have a lot on your plate already and this task requires a lot of time, a lot of patience, room for error (but really, with memories, there is no room for error) and all of your focus / attention.
Listen, we want you to relive your memories as quickly as possible with the best quality available. With Legacybox, we can eliminate the DIY tension and tackle this special project for you. With skilled technicians, quick turn around time, multiple options to share with your loved ones, pre-paid shipping, a crush proof box and real time updates on your order...why wouldn't you want to save your memories?
It's easy - we promise.
Simply pick your Legacybox, fill your items, ship it off and in just a few weeks you'll have all your original content PLUS your newly digitized formats. See, easy.
