4 Film to Digital Services to Preserve Memories
It’s amazing how far technology has come in our lifetimes. It’s hard to believe that it was only a few years ago you’d need a camcorder that you’d have to carry over your shoulder to record your own home movies. Nowadays, everyone is carrying a higher quality video recorder in their pocket wherever they go.
That’s part of what makes older footage and recordings so valuable today - they were special and unique. Today’s families will have no shortage of footage of their children growing up for example, whether for the older generations, that footage may already be gone or on an archaic format that you barely know how to use anymore.
If you can relate to this, it’s probably a good idea to have your film transferred to a digital format sooner rather than later. Let’s have a look at some of the more common format conversions in this day and age.
Mini DV to DVD
In the scheme of things, the mini DV is a relatively modern film format. The history of Mini DV is quite interesting. It dominated the market in the 90s and early 00s, and it was quite user friendly to transfer footage to VHS. Of course, videotape is also largely impractical nowadays and we actually see a lot of people wanting to transfer it over and throw out those old tapes.
The mini-DV was quite practical too and no doubt was used to film many a home movie. If you have a few mini-dv’s lying around, chances are you haven’t looked at the footage for years, just because it requires having the right cord, the right TV or VHS player in order to get it up on the big screen. Converting Mini DV to DVD saves you the trouble and ensures you’ll keep those memories forever.
Film to USB
Whether it’s VHS, super 8mm or anything in between, more and more people are deciding that transferring to USB or a digital format is the way to go. We’re coming to a point in time now where even DVD players are becoming rare - everyone is streaming or downloading their movies and it just makes sense to have your footage on the cloud or stored on a hard-drive. Film to USB transfer services enables you to do just that. It makes transferring easier and thus sharing.
Vinyl to CD
There’s something special about old vinyl records; going through them and putting them on is as about nostalgic experience as there is. No doubt you want to keep them in as good condition as possible. While you always have the option to repurchase the same music on a different format, some people choose to convert vinyls directly onto CD or digital. It means you can listen to them with that vinyl-esque sound without potentially scratching them up.
Cassette to CD
A later audio format that doesn’t likely hold quite the same significance to us is the cassette. Like the VHS, it was simply not designed for long term storage. It can easily be damaged even if left in a box in the attic. Chances are you have some priceless radio shows and recording that the kids made when they were younger. Converting these cassettes to CD or digital makes it a lot easier to listen to them, enjoy them and share them too.
If you’re interested in speaking to someone about preserving old film or audio, contact the expert team at Cineclair Productions today.
