Why Should I Convert My Video Tapes and Film?

There are a lot of concerns with the older film and tape format that make video transfer to digital formats a good choice. One of the most common reasons to convert your tapes and film is the fact that age plays a big factor in the life of your film and tapes. Video tapes (VHS, Betamax, etc.) are especially susceptible to aging and the condition of a video tape will eventually make the tape unusable due to deterioration. Once the video tape is unplayable, there’s virtually no way to retrieve your home videos. This will result in your video tapes and the memories they hold being lost forever. Film is more reliable at maintaining their condition but is still subject to the same concerns of aging, and can be damaged during transportation as well, leading to the same result of losing your home videos forever.

Another factor to consider is the fact that tapes and films require specific hardware and devices to be able to be played. With the medium becoming more and more uncommon as technology advances, video tape and film players and projectors become more uncommon as there is less of a demand for them and fewer companies will manufacture them. This may not be an issue for you now if you have a film projector or video tape player, but what happens if your device breaks? Finding another player may prove difficult and finding parts and people to repair a broken player is also challenging. If you’re unable to maintain a functional video player or film projector long-term, you’ll lose those home videos.

What are the Benefits of Video Transfer / Film Conversion?

There are many reasons why digital formats of home movies are ideal. Digital can be viewed on many platforms, such as TVs, computers, projectors, and anything that can play video through hard drives or storage devices. This also makes the footage easier to share and transfer to other devices, physically and virtually through streaming platforms. This takes out the factor of damaging your films and tapes through usage and transportation, as storage devices are much more reliable and streaming services don’t need a physical copy of the footage to be viewed. 

In addition, digital video conversion provides you with the opportunity to back up your home videos to keep them safe which prevents losing your beloved family memories due to disaster like a flood or fire. Digitized home videos can be easily stored and accessed from the cloud which keeps them safe.

Digital video conversion is also designed with modern technology to preserve the quality of your tapes and film. So, as technology evolves, it is much easier to transfer from digital to digital, rather than tape and film to digital while still preserving quality.

How do I Convert Betamax or VHS to Digital?

Now you’re confident that video transfer is the best solution for preserving your cherished home videos but need to understand your video transfer options. The good thing is there are a variety of methods, which suit everyone’s individual needs, and you can choose the one that works best for you. 

DIY Video Transfer

You can convert your tapes using a DIY process, by simply purchasing a converter that can transfer your tapes to an external device like a computer or laptop. A device like this VHS converter from Elgato works with your current VHS player and your device to transfer your tapes. 

This method is fairly simple and can be cost effective depending on how many tapes you have. However, be warned that this process can be very time consuming. You’ll have to spend several hours converting your VHS tapes over depending on how many tapes you have. In addition, you will need to ensure that you have enough storage capacity on your external device to be able to convert successfully. 

Transferring from VHS to your computer is also very demanding for your computer, this means that during the time that it takes for your video tapes to be converted, your device will be unusable for other tasks, which may not be ideal if it is your main workstation. 

Professional Video Transfer Services for Video Tapes

If you want to save yourself the time and effort and have a bulk amount of video footage to convert, you can use video transfer services such as those available at Annex Photo in Toronto to have your tapes converted effortlessly by professionals. 

By using a professional video transfer service, you won’t be burning up your own time manually changing video tapes during the process. Also, using a professional video transfer service frees up your personal computer to do other work. Additionally, video transfer services transfer all your home videos to external storage like a DVD or USB, so you won’t be crowding up the hard drive on your computer.  External storage of your videos also means easy sharing, playing, and transferring to other devices. 

Most importantly, professional video transfer services use the top-of-the-line video transfer equipment which maximizes and preserves your home video quality.

DIY Home Video Film Conversion

You can get a little more creative with converting film. 

You can buy a film converter like the Wolverine 8mm and Super 8 Film converter, but these can be pricey and the value you get out of it varies based on how much film you want to convert. 

Another method that is a little more creative is attempting to essentially re-record your film. There are a variety of different things you’ll need to be successful. You’ll need a video camera (or cell phone) that can record your film, as well as a projector screen or blank wall so that you can clearly project your film onto a surface. The next step would be to use the projector to project your film on the white wall while your video camera or cell phone records the projection. Although creative, there are limitations to this method, as the quality mainly depends on the video camera that you’ll be using, as well as the quality of the projection based on the surface that you will be projecting on. However, if you’re trying to save some money and the quality of the tapes aren’t a priority, this method could be useful to save you some money. It’s important to consider how many hours of video you’ll be re-recording to determine if this is a method that would work for you.

Professional Video Transfer Services for Film

Again, you can choose a professional video transfer service such as Annex Photo to have your film converted with minimal effort and be reassured that your film will be converted with top-of-the-line equipment. You’ll also avoid spending over $500 on a film converter and save yourself the time and effort in transferring the films manually.

Preserve Your Memories by Transferring Your Videos to Digital Today

So, what are you waiting for? The sooner you convert your film and video tapes to digital the better. The longer you wait, the more you risk losing your precious home videos to deteriorating quality.

If you choose a professional video transfer service, know that you have options, even if there is not one nearby. Annex Photo’s video transfer service is available to in the Toronto area for drop off and pick up. But if you are not in the GTA, the mail-in video transfer service is available to anyone across Canada. We’ll work with you to understand what type of video transfer service you need and you just mail-in those home videos!

Find Out about our Video Transfer Service