Many of us have camcorder tapes that were all the rage before the iPhone and its ilk took off, we used them to record holidays, birthdays and Christmases. All special occasions that hold very happy memories but what should we do with all these old recordings gathering dust!

It is true that recordings on old tape formats such as 8mm Video, Hi8, DV and VHS formats are getting on and most tape recordings are good for about 10 to 15 years before you need think about getting them transferred to a more modern stable format such as an MP4 digital file.

Camcoreder tape transfer.

Your old camcorder may have broken down and simply won’t play anymore, you could source another from the likes of Ebay or Gumtree and do the transfer yourself.

Or get a reputable company such as us to do the transfer for you.

As many of the formats are analogue getting a good transfer to digital without too much loss can be tricky. Without very good equipment it doesn’t make economic for the home hobbyist  to invest in professional players, good quality analogue to digital converters and a fast computer  to record the digitised signal.

Virtually all new laptop and desktop computers don’t have a digital firewire port anymore making even DV and Digital 8 harder to transfer.

Time is ticking!

Many formats are getting old such as VHS, Betamax, Video 8,  Hi 8 and VHSC and latterly the digital formats such as Digital 8 and Mini DV. The Sony Handycam Video 8 system being launched in 1985 is now over 20 years old and was quite an innovative format in its day with small easy to use hand held cameras providing good quality sound and vision for their time.

Top Quality Transfer

Achieving a good quality digital file made from your tapes should be a first step, these can be then be stored on a low cost portable hard disc, once the tapes have been “digitised” it’s then easy to have files made or edit them into a compilation of clips you can then store and playback on tablets, smart TVs or via YouTube or other social platforms like Facebook  that also allow video to be shared which is great when families are spread far and wide.

Cloud storage will one day replace most traditional forms of home storage and having digital files is the first step in that process.

Remember your old camcorder tapes won’t last forever so a digital transfer is a wise investment.

So there really is nothing stopping you enjoying and sharing those great moments from the past!

Chris Gillooly.