Before You Throw Away That Old Tape...

I hear some version of this surprisingly often:

“We have a whole box of old VHS tapes, but we don't even have a VCR anymore.”

And that's usually followed by:

“So what do we do with them?”

My first answer is simple.

Don't throw them away yet.

Those tapes may contain something you can't recreate.

A child's first steps.

Christmas morning.

Grandpa's voice.

A school program.

A wedding.

A family member laughing in the background who isn't here anymore.

Unlike today's phone videos, many of our older home movies exist in only one place.

That tape.

Start by figuring out what you have

You don't have to tackle the entire box.

Look at the labels.

Do you recognize dates? Names? Holidays?

Pull out five or ten that you know matter.

That's your starting point.

Don't wait until you can watch them

One of the biggest reasons people postpone digitization is because they think they need to watch everything first.

You don't.

In fact, many families don't have working equipment anymore.

VHS tapes, camcorder tapes and film reels can be professionally digitized so you can watch them on today's devices instead.

I help families digitize VHS tapes, slides, negatives, photographs and 8mm film so those memories can be preserved and enjoyed again.

Once they're digital, don't stop there

Digitization solves one problem.

It doesn't automatically solve where those files will live.

Think about where you want the digital version preserved.

Can you find it?

Can your family access it?

Can you share it easily?

Will someone know what they're looking at 30 years from now?

Those are just as important as getting the video off the tape.

Add the story while someone remembers it

This is the step people overlook.

If Mom is still here and can tell you who is in that Christmas video — ask her.

If Dad knows where that old film was taken — write it down.

Names, places and stories turn an old video into family history.

You don't have to digitize the entire basement

Start with the memories that would hurt the most to lose.

One tape.

One reel.

One box.

Then keep going.

And if you're coming to the South Dakota State Fair September 2–7, stop by the FOREVER booth in Horizon's Hall and tell me what you've got.

You don't have to bring the tapes. You can take a picture though!

Just bring your questions.

I'll help you figure out where to start.