Keeping Your History from Fading

Some of your best memories have been captured on video; this article will teach you how to keep them from fading into history.

Remember your favorite vacation, fishing with your grandparents or learning to ride a bike? Vague memories may be all that you have left if the footage that captured those moments is deteriorating. You may be wondering, "What's the big deal? Why not just leave my home movies in the state they're in?" Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns said, "Home movies are, like snapshots, the DNA of our collective memory, the first inkling of history." And you never know when those mundane memories could take on unexpected importance.

Long before video, paintings were the most enduring way to capture images. But even they can fall victim to the ravages of time. The Last Supper, a famous 15th century painting by Leonardo da Vinci started to flake only 19 years after it was completed, and it has suffered from ongoing deterioration, almost fading from history. It took well over 400 years before conservators sealed the almost-unrecognizable painting into a climate-controlled environment. How long are you going to wait until you properly transfer and store your old footage?

This article will cover different formats and ways to transfer your old analog tapes (VHS, VHS-C, 8 mm video and Hi8) to a digital format, such as DV tape, DVD or hard drive. This will help keep your memories recognizable for generations to…