Memories are valuable and stay with you forever in the form of pictures and videos. Nowadays, we have a variety of tools and gadgets to record and store precious memories. But the old memories stored in outdated tapes and film reels may not exist forever due to their limited life. Yes, the outdated VHS tapes and 8mm films cannot hold your memories for a lifetime as they can deteriorate with time.

Also, the cameras and gadgets on which they were recorded are no longer available today. So, people are required to convert their memories into a new updated form that can be used and stored for future decades. There are only a few ways to convert your old pictures and videos into the latest digital format. Let us know about all the methods to digitize your memories into DVD.

Use a DVD Recorder
You can convert your old videotapes into a digital video using a DVD recorder. But other than a DVD recorder, you also need a video player to play your videotape. There are a variety of videotape formats that evolved over the years and decades with improvement in video technologies. Each format required a special video player device for playing it. The video players for VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, and Mini-DV were different. So, you need the right video player to play your outdated video and connect it to a DVD recorder.
Old types of video players and DVD recorder are hard to find as they are no longer manufactured. So, you can search them on websites like Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace. As the demand is low for these devices, they are usually available at very reasonable prices. Also, you will need the right cables to connect the outdated video player to the DVD recorder. As you play your videos, they will be recorded on the DVD recorder in the digital format.

Convert using a computer

To use this method, you need an analog video capturing device that comes with the software. The device will help you to connect your computer to your video player and load your videos directly to the computer. Install the driver software of the video capture device on your computer. You can connect your video player to one side of the video capture device and the computer’s USB cable to its other side.
Once you capture and load the video into your computer, you can easily convert it into digital files using software and burn it on a DVD. A video capture device is available online but you need to search the software which may take time. So, whatever device you buy, make sure its software is available.
Record it again

If you don’t find any equipment to convert your old memories into digital videos, you can use a direct method to convert them. All you need to do is connect a projector to your old video player and project the movie to a clean white canvas or screen. Then set a video camera in front of it so that you can record a full view of the screen. Record the video in your camera and save it into a DVD either directly or using a DVD burner software. Just keep in mind, that this method is more fun, but it won’t offer you a very high-quality video resolution. So, you should use this method only if other methods don’t work for your project.

Hire a professional service.
If you don’t want to bear the hassle of buying and using video conversion devices, you can simply hire a professional service to convert your memories into digital videos. If you are located in Los Angeles, you can hire Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC for your project. However, people in other locations can hire a professional video digitization service to convert their precious memories into a DVD.

Convert directly
If you have an 8 mm film that you want to turn into a digital video, a film to video converter tool will help to do it. Load your reels into the film to video converter machine and it will convert the footage directly into your memory card. The equipment might be expensive and cost you between $300 to $1000, but the investment will be worth it to preserve your precious memories if you have a vast collection of those 8mm reels. Professional services like Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC also helps you with 8mm film to DVD conversion Los Angeles.

Final Thoughts
These were the tops ways to convert your home videos to DVD. You can store your converted videos on your computer, phone, or external storage device. Also, you can use a DVD burner software to record your videos on a DVD disc to play it on a DVD player. If you don’t want to try any method, it is best to hire a professional service and get your videos ready in digital format within a few minutes.

With every new year, technology has been changing our lives for the better. Technology has been shaping our past, present, and future by updating itself quickly. With every single week or month, there are new updates for apps and hardware.

What we thought of the best a few months ago is now outdated. We need to update our gadgets and software almost every year to keep ourselves updated with the changing technology, and videos are no exception.

Wikimedia

The videos we made decades ago or even years ago may hold our family’s precious moments, but they are stored only in outdated tapes and formats. As the devices, tapes, and video formats are much outdated compared to the present technology; they are also vulnerable to damage.

As the gadgets on which they were recorded or played are no longer available or functional, the records of our memories are under the risk of damage and becoming extinct. The only way to preserve them is to convert them into the present-day digital formats. Let us explore all the reasons for which you should digitize your old videos for good.

Digital videos are safe and easy to save

Anything can go wrong with the videos stored in outdated tapes and formats. It is important to save your precious moments in a safe format so that you can use them anytime on any device. The video cassettes also require much space in your cupboard are vulnerable to damage due to environmental conditions such as heat and moisture.

After digitizing them, you can store your videos in a memory card or hard drive, or even on your smartphone. Digitizing the old VHS and Betamax videos is also a way to declutter your space from old video players and tapes.

Easy to send and share

Elders always want to pass and share their memories with their children and even grandchildren. Many of us may not have seen the faces of your great grandparents. The reason might be the lack of video recorders or their availability during that time. Digitizing the pictures and videos is a great way to pass on the memories from generation to generation.

Digitizing your VHS videos is also a great way to share them with your family, friends, and anyone else. So, digitization does not merely mean storing your images and videos in the latest format, but you can also share them anywhere. You can upload them on social media with a larger group or community.

No need for bulky recorders or video players

The video recorders and players were large and bulky in the past decades. If you are above 30 years of age, you might have seen bulky video cameras and video cassette players during your childhood. The present-day camcorders are compact, and you can even record videos with your phone. By digitizing your videos, you no longer need those bulky video players like VCRs. Also, digital video formats are playable on multiple devices like TVs, computers, and smartphones.

Cloud Storage

In earlier times, when there was no digitization, our parents and grandparents used to store their pictures and videos of camera films and video cassettes, respectively. If any of these storage devices get destroyed, there were no options to retrieve the pictures or videos. However, in the present era of technology, there are plenty of storage options. One such wonderful option is cloud storage.

Companies like Google, Microsoft, and many others offer cloud storage services that enable you to store your pictures and videos on their services by creating an account. Some of them are free, while others charge you for a premium account. Cloud storage is one of the safest options when it comes to storing your precious memories.

How to digitize pictures or videos?

Digitization of films, negatives, or videos is a complex process and requires specialized skills and experience in the field. Therefore, it should be done only by professionals having the right expertise and years of experience. Never ask a newbie or inexperienced professional to digitize your videos, as it can put your memories at the risk of loss. It is best to hire professional services like Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC, to digitize your pictures or videos.

Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC is one of the best video stores Los Angeles CA that offers digitization services for all formats of films and videos. No matter which format you want to digitize, they offer digitization solutions for all. You can choose to store your memories on DVD, Blu-ray, and hard drives.

Conclusion

As we live in an era where everything like toys, phones, automobiles, and computers are using digital technology, this is the perfect time to digitize your memories. Converting your precious memories into safe and secure digital formats is the best way to pass them to present and future generations.

It’s a fact that all the media formats become obsolete at some point in time. DVDs seem outdated, but they are still valuable for many reasons. The first DVD player was launched in November 1996 by Toshiba. The first DVD was made available in November 1996 in Japan and so on in different areas of the world. By June 2003, the DVD rentals and sales outranked those of VHS.

Best Buy and Circuit City, two of the major VHS retailers in the US, stopped selling VHS tapes in 2002 and 2003. After two years, in June 2005, many other retailers, including Wal-Mart, announced to phase out VHS tapes to sell the popular DVD discs.

If we see the media in the present time, all the audios and videos are available on online streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon. With an internet connection and streaming service, you can watch videos and enjoy your favorite music anytime, anywhere.

Also, with the availability of streaming services, you don’t need to download or store your favorite movies or music. So, the question arises, whether DVD players and discs are still worth buying or not? Let us look at some facts before looking into the answer.

Do you own what you pay for?

As physical media is becoming a thing of the past, we are running through an interesting problem. The problem is that whether we download or stream media, we need to pay for it, but we cannot own movies anymore. You pay around $12 every month to watch a selected package of content or $15 for access to a particular movie on a website.

It means all you get for your money is access to digital audio or video content that can change or disappear at any time. Ultraviolet’s failure is an example of the fact that access to digital media can vanish at a moment’s notice.

Buying a DVD is still a great way to own a movie in digital format. Moreover, as you own a disc, you can watch it anytime on your DVD player. Although a few stores are selling DVDs, you can still find them and get the DVDs of your favorite movies. If you compare the price of the DVD with a specific movie online, you will find a DVD disc cheaper than downloading online.

Movie-Watching Experience

The online streaming of movies may offer a 4K resolution that is more than the DVD quality, but it all depends on the speed of your internet. At times, the internet speed becomes sluggish, and you may not get the quality your pay for. The movies may also pause multiple times if the internet speed becomes too slow. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the movies will always be available on streaming platforms.

Rare Movies are not available online.

If you are a fan of international movies, the age of streaming may prove a curse. Streaming platforms seldom provide rare movies or arthouse films. Even if they make them available, they do so for a limited time. So, even if you pay to watch the movie online, you never know when it may disappear, and you will no longer watch it again. Therefore, buying a DVD of legendary movies is the best way to own and watch them any time you want.

Convert your old videos into DVD

If you have your family videos or party videos in the old VHS, hi 8, Betamax, or any outdated format, you can convert them into high-quality DVD format and store them on a digital disc. The present-day streaming platforms don’t offer you such services for your own videos. If you want to convert your old videos into a digital format, you can contact a professional service provider. Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC offers digitization services for pictures, films, negatives, and old video formats. They are one of the best digitizing service providers in Los Angles. People looking for the best digital video store Los Angeles can contact Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC to get their pictures and videos into a DVD format.

Are DVD players worth buying?

If you still think about whether the DVD players are worth buying in today’s era of online streaming, the answer is ‘yes.’ If you want to watch and stove movies on a digital disc, you need a DVD player. People who already have a DVD player don’t need to buy it, but if you don’t have it, you can buy it without worrying about its worth. DVD players are valuable gadgets that enable you to play your favorite movies and memorable videos at any time. A good quality DVD player from reputed brands costs you around $45 to $50 on Amazon.

Conclusion

These were the benefits of DVD players and discs, and there is no loss of having them. So, as you understand the value of DVD players and digital discs, you can buy the DVDs of your favorite movies and own them forever. Also, it is beneficial to convert your family videos into a digital format from a professional service provider like Digital Video and Film Lab, LLC. Having the DVDs of your favorite videos enable you to watch them anytime and recollect some old memories.

S-Video is a colour video format that consolidates the three YUV video signals into two channels. It utilizes a round connector interface, and cable that transmits video luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) flag independently. S-Video alludes to a technique for analog video transfer that keeps the color and B/W parts of the video sign isolated until it arrives at the device like TV. This is the reason the video quality of S- Video. It has lots of uses like connecting DVD players, computers and video cameras.

S-video innovation isolates the video signal into two segments for luminance and chrominance. S-video can transmit a sharp image picture to the playback gadget since it parts the signal over two wires rather than one.

How S- Video works

Y is the luma signal, which conveys the luminance. This is the black and white elements of the video that also incorporates horizontal and vertical synchronization pulses.
C is the chroma signal, which conveys the chrominance that incorporates both saturation and color elements of the video.

Super VHS (Video Home System) it is an upgrade to VHS videotape standard that offers an improved chronicle and picture quality. S-VHS tapes are almost similar in appearance to VHS. Super video produces sharper images than composite video as the video information is carried in two signals namely the chroma (colour) and luma (luminance) and provide wider bandwidth thus helps in offering better picture quality.

The Compact Cassette format (reel to reel recording tapes), was developed in 1935, that was huge and inconvenient that’s why they were only utilized in studios. Improvement of tape was represented in 1963, with top-notch sound by Philips at Berlin Radio Show in Europe. Due to their decision to license the format for free, Philips’ Compact Cassette became the mass leader. The large scale manufacturing of Compact Cassettes began in 1964 in Hanover, Germany. Pre-recorded music tapes were propelled in Europe in late 1965. Pre-recorded cassettes made a new appearance just after the two years of cassette tapes invention.

The Fall of the Audio Cassette

Following its top in the late 1980s, the market for tapes dropped in both Western Europe and North America. The ascent of CD’s made cassette tapes shipments dropped by 7%. In 2001 it secured under 5% of all music sold. Technology made it possible about an item that is in the end supplanted by some other more prominent product. Audio Cassette carried small but powerful life as they changed the manner of listening to music in our cars and once made a better experience than before.

Convert VCR tapes to DVD and make it easy and possible to preserve your memories in a convenient way with Digital Video & Film Lab using professional equipment.

An analog videotape format introduced by Sony originally developed in Japan. Betamax was first introduced in US market in 1975. Betamax was very less utilized by customers but still somewhere used by professional TV Production. The cassette utilized ½-inch tape, with an underlying limit of 1-hour initial time.

During the 1980s and mid of 1990, VHS caught the home video recording when VHS and Betamax format became competitive. Betamax was acquainted with the UK in 1978 and held a 25% piece of the pie in 1981, yet by 1986, it was down to simply 7.5%.

One reason behind its failure was VHS Technology was introduced to all sorts of manufacturers and it could be bought from JVC, Philips, Panasonic, while you could only buy Betamax from Sony. The competition among them brings down the price of VHS. That’s why VHS was less expensive and offered far longer recording time than a Betamax tape could.

The format war was effectively lost by Sony when they themselves began producing VHS. Although Beta was providing superior quality and VHS, decent quality in cheap as possible. In the US, Sony continued to produce Betamax until 1993 and in Japan until 2002. The last Betamax machine was made in 2002. Nowadays DVD popularity fades the use of cassette tapes for video recording. Transfer your old Betamax to DVD where we ensure 100% playback guarantee & 100 Year archival endurance.

Ever thought why this generation moved to DVD from the very precious VHS tapes? As VHS was the only way of recording personal memories at that time, it ruled the world for more than two decades and once seen as a threat by the television industry, it went out of mainstream limelight around 2008. The only reason for its extinction was DVD and here we have 6 solid reason to prove why getting VHS converted into DVD is the best way to secure your memories for future generations.

# Extensively Long Life
DVDs can last over 100 years, providing ultimate protection to your favourite content. Passing the same to your children becomes easy and highly reliable. VHS degrades over time and has a small life span of around 5 years. This makes DVDs 20 times better than mummifying your favourite VHS tape or transferring its content from one to another after short intervals.
# Data Security from Electric/Magnetic Fields
Data from VHS tapes could be lost if it meets with a strong magnetic or electric field. As they are magnetic tapes, change in weather also affects the quality and lifetime of the product. DVD stores data optically and makes it safe against various laws and forces of nature. This means you can easily use DVDs at all places where weather is not that reliable or changes frequently.
# Zero Depreciation in Quality
DVDs either work or they are scrapped. There is no chance that you will get signal noise while playing your favourite movie through DVD, even after it has completed a decade of its recording. In case of VHS, you will face distortion or loss of quality very easily when time moves on. When you will be ready to gift your memories to your grandchildren, relying on a DVD is the best way in present scenario.
# Time Saving
DVDs are copied at a much faster pace when compared to VHS. Spreading content through DVD is easy and highly time saving affair. You can burn DVDs at different speeds and make unlimited number of copies without losing the quality of content inside any of them. They are even rewriteable and covers all the benefits that were once specific to VHS.
# Interactive Layouts
You can insert different interactive layouts in DVD formats. The menus are clickable and you can shift from one scene to another with just one click. This helps differentiate scenes and even let you start from your favourite point any number of times. VHS does not have such chapter point provision with them, making them feel pale before DVD for sure.
# Low Cost
At present, buying a DVD or a player that plays the same is more cost effective than VHS and VCR. Easy availability of parts makes them good for extensive use whereas VCR parts are mostly hard to find and once damaged, one needs to be lucky enough to find a replacement.

The world moves one step forward every day and no one here wishes to stay seated at one place. Do you know it’s possible to carry every bit of your loved memory in your pocket all the time, that too without carrying any special kind of memory device. Can you name the tech behind this miracle? Its cloud storage. You can virtually carry everything you and your family recorded in last 5 decades, that too with just almost no empty space on your phone. Here, you buy some space online and store everything there for all time easy reach. But first, you need to get your 8mm films, 16mm films or vhs tapes converted to a digital format.

Things are quite simple as you can choose a professional 8mm film to dvd and digital converter (also available for other older formats), create a collection of your valuable files and upload them accordingly. Unlike physical damages to vhs tapes or even video discs, cloud computing makes it easier for someone to get a detailed view of his/her past. Here are some simple steps to follow and enjoy one always available database of sweet and emotion filled memories.

• Search for all available vhs tapes, 8mm films, 16mm films or any other kind of storage that could have been used in your family.
• Reach for your reliable digital lab and ask for broadcast grade equipment for successful conversion.
• Bring back your memories with added menus, titles and dates for the best ever experience.
• Make one digital collection under specific folder names and save them on your hard drive.
• Use your favorite cloud computing network to upload all of them for all time availability.

This works very well where internet connections are strong and reliable. People have shared their entire lifetime achievements online and that even makes sharing much more easy than any other medium. All that begins with the mood to get your old tapes converted. Actually, 8mm as well as 16mm film to dvd and digital conversion has became a necessity these days. Finding compatible players is one problem while other comes with its degrading quality with each passing day. These magnetic storage options are quite vulnerable to damage and need extra care than modern day stuff like dvd or card storage.

Choose or refuse is solely a personal decision but moving forward with technology can help you save memories for much longer duration than it was possible before the introduction of the concept of virtual memory. Folks at Digital Video Lab / preservetodvd.com are highly committed to their job as they can help you preserve all of your stuff in any of the possible way. Do remember to keep all the physical copies safe or at least set one password recovery wayout that is easy and accessible to your next generation. Happy memories!

Whenever someone thinks of transferring the memories from an old vhs tape to dvd, every recommendation will fall in the professional equipment category of film transfer. Many think that this is one DIY practice but beware, things get fishy as soon as you start the same on your side. Just in case you have not heard of the side effects, let me explain two different terms in the world of film recording and transfers. What most people do is ‘straight transfer’, a term coined when one use a regular consumer grade 8mm film to dvd or 16mm film to dvd and digital conversion equipment.

Another term is professional broadcast grade equipment, used in case a service provider has used highly specialized recorders to extract every bit of information in the highest available quality. The latter has the ability to shock everyone with such extreme levels of sophistication of matter inside the old tape that going for straight transfers would never be a choice again. Here we have few solid points to prove why professional services are highly recommended over straight transfers.

# Pure visual and aural experience
When using professional grade equipment for film to dvd transfer, the amount of noise experienced gets minimized to bare negligible level. Noise reduction further clears the way for better dialogue and music quality, helping you enjoy memories in a better way than regular 8mm or 16mm films. Picture quality through professional equipment in enhanced and balanced in a better way.

# Minimal compression
The biggest benefit of using professional service for 8mm film to dvd and digital conversion is its highest quality of settings for lowest possible compression. This makes a pro made dvd good for bigger displays and better sound systems while straight transfers will provide the same quality on small as well as big screen.

# Precise authoring
Professional broadcast grade transfers have no chances of error in any sort of authoring on the disc. One can effortlessly divide the dvd into virtually infinite chapters and all of them have playable separate spaces on the screen. Inserting background music and visual effects was never that easy and still impossible under straight transfers.

# Tailored to perfection
Not just one gets authoring option under professional services, the tapes are transferred after removing all the dead frames or time gaps between the stories. One gets the option of adding timestamps to all those separate frames. Navigation menus are decided well before transfer as need of the customer is highly respected in professional services. Unlike odd transfers that freeze at some frames, pro services are pretty smooth and consistent all over the disc.

In fact, the easiest way to differentiate between both is the use of additional frames inside your original video. Discs made through straight transfers will not even have a welcome note on your screen. Will you let your precious memories risk their quality under such conditions? I guess the answer is a big no!

As technology keeps on progressing, we’re constantly switching out the old for the new. There have been so many different tape formats and shifts of technology over the years, it’s not easy for anyone to keep track of the model names or equipment needed to play their old videotapes. Hopefully, I have kept track of videotape formats that will help you figure out exactly what kind of tapes we have or had.

First of all what is a videotape?

Videotape is magnetic tape devices which are used for storing video and mostly sound in addition. Information can be stored in the form of either an analog signal or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) or, more commonly, videocassette recorders (VCRs) and camcorders. Videotapes can also be used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram.

Now let’s talk what types fall under videotapes:

Learn about different types of videotapes formats as follows from which some of the formats disappeared into history.

Microcassette
These cassettes were Introduced by Olympus in 1969. These were smaller than a standard audio cassette. These cassettes were used for voice recordings and home answering machines. Microcassettes were broadly utilized for dictation and messages in a pocket-sized gadget. They were additionally used to record messages in some telephone answering machines.

Audio Cassette
These cassettes were developed by Phillips and released in 1963-1964. These were the most popular audio recording medium for consumers until the development of CDs.The Compact Cassette position, when at first released, did not offer dependable sound quality and was promoted for recording voice.

VHS and VHS-C
VHS (Video Home System) tapes are viewed with VCR (Video Cassette Recorder). VHS-C tapes are a compact version of a VHS and were created to facilitate the design of smaller camcorders and can be inserted inside VHS shell-adapter tapes to allow for VCR compatibility. VHS is utilized by home consumers, and also to a limited extent in television.
VHS tapes record up to 200 minutes in SP mode (or 600 minutes in EP mode) while VHS-C tapes can record 40 minutes in SP mode (or 120 minutes in EP mode).

Hi-8/8mm
These 8mm and Hi-8 tapes measure the same dimensions and come in the same cassette casing. Hi8 is the successor to the original Video8 format and is an analog format. The length of the recording of 8mm tapes is 120 minutes in SP mode and 240 minutes in LP mode while Hi-8 tapes display both their running time with a range from 30, 60, or 120 minutes of video in SP mode. 8mm and Hi-8 tapes both are compatible with Hi-8 or Digital-8 cameras, with the assistance of a wire connecting the camcorder to a TV or VCR, or can be transferred to a VHS tape for VCR compatibility. Now preserve your special moments by hi 8 to dvd conversion at Digital Video & film Lab, LLC.

MiniDVs
MiniDVs was the first digital format available to customers, this has become the most popular type of videotape format. MiniDV tapes can record 80 minutes in SP mode or 120 minutes in LP mode. MiniDV can likewise be utilized to store different types of information with the help of appropriate format. MiniDV tapes can hold about 13GB of information along this way. Play these tapes on the camcorder and connected by a wire to a TV or computer.

MiniDVD
This disc having 8 cm (3 in.) in diameter. These are-recordable 8 cm discs are commonly used in DVD-based camcorders. Depends on the variant, these discs can offer up to 5.2 GB of storage space.

MicroMV
These were a proprietary videotape format introduced in 2001 by Sony. -Physically the smallest of all videotape formats, 70% smaller than a MiniDV cassette. Each cassette can hold up to 60 minutes of video.

3/4 U- Matic
These were developed by Sony and released in 1971 as a professional videotape format. It was among the first video formats to have the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various open-reel formats of the time.