With all the holidays past and the festivities over (for now), it’s pretty awesome that we live in the age we do, where you can use gadgets to capture it and share it online almost immediately. That’s pretty fresh.

The power of those memories are built on the yearly traditions that gather us together across the spectrum of generations. But what about all that analog content that predates having a digital camera on some device, somewhere on you, at all times?

Transfer it to Digital

There comes a time when you’re going to want to transfer those old photos, VHS tapes, and videocassettes to digital formats. During the holidays, people often wish they could share clips from past holiday moments, not to mention those family outings, performances, vacations, and first steps.

However, until recently, it was either too costly or too complicated for many people to scan and convert those old photos and videos by themselves.

Fortunately, some affordable options have emerged.

Scan Digital

If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, Scan Digital is a great option. You can send them EVERYTHING. Photos, albums, slides, and any type of video. They have EssentialTracker system to let you know exactly where all of your photos are in the process for door-to-door security.

Pricing

iMemories

Essentially, iMemories offers the same services as Scan Digital. You can send them anything, with the exception of photo albums, and they’ll digitize them for you.

Pricing

Do It Yourself

To transfer photos to digital, all you really need is a computer, a scanner, and the software. Many people have some of these elements, but perhaps not the high-quality scanner and ability to enhance and correct those old photos in the way they deserve. So, paying $0.49 per photo to have someone professionally digitize old photos might be well worth the cost.

To convert video, you’d need the VCR or camcorder to play the tapes, the right computer and software to capture it, and then a DVD burner to watch it on TV. Again, a bit too lengthy of a process for many, especially if you have a lot of content to convert.

However, this can be a much more affordable way to capture your video. For instance, Apple users can purchase an Elgato Video Capture Device for $81.25 that will import video from a VCR, DVR, or camcorder and allow you to export it from the device right into iTunes or iMovie. It even claims direct upload to YouTube, in case just digitizing it wasn’t enough.

For PC users, there’s the Diamond VC500 One Touch Video Capture Device which comes in at a very affordable $36.70.

You Get What You Pay For

While some of the prices on these video capture devices might make them sound like the way to go, keep in mind, we here at Gaucho haven’t tested any of these devices and that price doesn’t include your time.

Also keep in mind, that using a professional service is going to result in more professional results. If you have really old, fragile photos, then it’s really important to capture those to high digital quality and having the images corrected can make them much more enjoyable. The older those photos and videos are, the more precious they are, so, it might be worth spending a little bit more to make sure the job is done right.

On the other hand, if you just want to make sure you have a digital version or backup and aren’t concerned about the quality, you can probably do the job cheaper yourself. Especially if you have a pile of videotapes that you want to convert.