Do you have your memories, holidays, vacations, and special events recorded on VHS, camcorder files, slides, photos, or stored on your computer?
Some experts say a CD has a lifespan of two to five years. VHS tape may last a few years longer if it is stored properly. Photos are subject to moisture, sunlight, and damage from handling.
To protect the important moments of your life, consider transferring those images to a DVD.
You can do the work yourself if you have the talent, time, software, and equipment. Here are some software programs that may help you. I am not an expert or even knowledgeable about any of them.
If you are not ready to do it yourself, there are quality companies that can help you.
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YesVideo is one company that can handle the process for you. They have drop-off locations is retail outlets including Costco, Walgreen's, Ritz/Wolf, CVS, Bartell Drugs, and Rite Aid.
- On their website, enter your ZIP Code and get a list of the participating retailers near you.
- Select the retailer and location where you will drop off your originals.
- Work through the online form including the type of original material you have.
- Select the number of DVDs, a background theme, the title, and a musical theme.
- Then print out your form and take it with your originals to the store.
Timeless DVD can transfer video from Betamax, VHS and S-VHS, VHS-C and S-VHS-C, Video8, Hi8, Digital8, MiniDV, DV and DVCam, and MiniDVD (camcorder DVD).
They charge $40 for up to 2 hours of video from a single videotape, plus $10 for each additional videotape if the first is less than 2 hours long, or plus $20 if the videotape is longer than 2 hours. For title screens add $5, for songs add $5, for editing songs add $10, for scene selection menu add $20. Inquire about other options or special services.
They can also create a custom video slide-show starting at $60 with options to add titles, video, scene selection, songs, captions, and a CD of the restored photos in JPG format.
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An organized life is the result of many small steps.
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Comments
We've used Yes, Video. I definitely recommend getting those Super 8's onto something. Thanks for all the tips, Jackie.
I would definitely recommend YesVideo. They do a great job.
Jackie - thanks for a very helpful article. I've had very positive experiences with YesVideo (repeat customer). I recommend them highly.
My family used Timeless DVD to transfer our VHS, Mini DV, and 8mm tapes to DVD after reading this article. They were FANTASTIC! Great video quality on the DVDs and beautifully printed covers and discs. We didn't want the "drugstore" type service for our precious tapes and Timeless DVD was just the opposite--friendly and customized, plus they don't outsource like YesVideo does. I can't recommend them highly enough. Just one correction to this article, though: they only charge $30 to transfer two hours from one video (not $40). Worth every penny.
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