A staple at many family gatherings when we were children was the video camera. Whether it was your dad getting a video of your childhood birthday party, or your mom filming you playing on the swing, the camera wasn’t very far away. Many of us have fond memories of these times and would love to take a trip down memory lane and watch these home movies.
Unfortunately, many of these old videos just sit there collecting dust and taking up space. With technology quickly advancing, many of us don’t even have a VCR anymore to play them. Thankfully, there is a way to bring your home videos into the 21st century, and it is by digitizing them.
However, not having a VCR is far from the only reason to consider bringing them into the present day. With that in mind, this blog post is going to go over a few of the best reasons to digitize your home movies.
They Will Degrade Over Time
The first reason to make the switch over to digital is that your old movies will degrade over time. The film, which likely used a lot of chemicals to be developed, will eventually begin to break down. This could happen in a number of ways, it could get dry and crack, could begin to smell or the colors within the film could begin to run and blend.
As a result, you should look to digitize your tapes to prevent this decay from taking place. The magnetic properties of the tapes will also go eventually. The longer you wait, the worse it will generally get. Then the next thing you know, you try to play the tape, and it may show up as distorted or some parts may be gone entirely. So be sure to visit Just8mm or another trustworthy company to get your old home movies digitized before it’s too late.
It Makes Them Much Easier to Share
If you digitize your old home movies, it instantly makes them much easier to view and share whenever you want. You can send them in an email, open them on any device and it will take only seconds for you to start watching them. They can also be sent to family easily, and you can even copy the footage to a DVD or a USB drive and hand it out as a gift.
Trying to watch your old family movies together on tape involves not only having a VCR, but also having everyone over to your home at once. As you could imagine, this isn’t always practical or even possible, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic. With a digital version, it takes all of the hassle out of the equation. You could even share your silly home videos with social media friends and followers if you so choose.
There is a Far Smaller Chance of Them Getting Destroyed or Lost
If you keep your home movies in physical copies only, you run the risk of losing them or them even being destroyed. They could get lost when moving or transporting them, or could simply get lost in a pile of other old items you have laying around. If your home floods, falls victim to a fire or another type of disaster takes place, they could also be lost.
As a result, changing them over to digital video is the safer way to go. While digital videos can indeed get deleted or you can lose the computer, there are ways around this. If you back up the videos to an external hard drive, or store them in the cloud, they will remain safe and sound.
Also, physical home movies stored in a box in your basement will also deal with wear and tear. Unless they were stored in pristine condition, the movies will likely be dusty or have things dropped on them. High levels of moisture or humidity could also negatively affect the tapes. Digital home movies will remain in perfect condition for the rest of your life.
Preserving Your Old Memories
Old home movies often have a lot of importance in our lives. They give us a chance to not only remember the past, but also see it. Unfortunately, these old home videos will often degrade, be difficult to share or could get lost altogether. Thankfully, digitizing these old home movies can ensure your old memories are preserved forever.