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Getting Old Media Converted to Discs

ChiScouter

Red Skull Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Member Number
1753
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376
I have old pictures and movies and slides dating back from my grandparents in the late 1920s that I would like to get converted to discs. I just saw an ad for Legacybox and went to their site and wow does it look like I could end up into this for several grand. I know that there are also places local that do this type of work. I am wondering about anyones experiences with national companies vs local?
 
I went through this about a year ago, and I didnt have anything complicated like you have. Just old family movies on VHS, and I dont have a vhs player anymore. I couldnt find a service that was priced reasonably. I ended up doing it myself. Found a DVD recorder/player, an old non-digital tv and borrowed a regular vhs player. Took me a little while, but got it done, and way cheaper than paying a service. Still have a bunch of photos in boxes and albums. Maybe someday I will scan them. but for now they will stay like they are.

If anyone is interested in the DVD writer, let me know. I wont ever use it again. I got the TV for free, so no use shipping something like that.
 
Why on earth would you be putting things onto DVDs these days? Hard drives are so much better and dirt cheap.
 
What are you going to put a disc into in 10 years? DVDs are gone. Most new computers do not come with a CD/DVD drive anymore. Scan and upload to DropBox or your own server.
 
HDDs lose data- magnetic storage degrades. Even SSDs drop stuff with use.

Look up M-disk. It's a DVD/Bluray type that is rated for 1000 years. It burns pits for data, rather than using ink.

Online is convenience, not archival. Ask Photobucket. Google Photos just yanked their "infinite free storage" policy too. Having your stuff stored in someone else's closet isn't secure.
 
Hard drives. Pfft. too many DVDs at this point. still waiting on a computer based storage system that doesnt cost an arm and a leg. DVD is still cheaper for me. I am NOT paying for cloud storage. Stupid. Besides technology marches forward. What format should I choose for computer storage? Music file formats keep changing, what are we on now.... MP52.7?

All I needed to do at this point was pull the information forward to a digital format and get out of the analog stuff. Mostly because the analog TVs are nearly gone. Sure you can spool it to a flatscreen, but not easily. That and my VHS tapes were starting to degrade from the years of storage.

I have seen many "revolutionary" data systems in my years. I used to have records, then 8tracks, then.... On the movie side, I went through a super8 before VHS. Technology will change again and keeping yer shit on the computer will seem antiquated.
 
Cloud storage is pretty much the norm now. I don't have anything stored on any of my devices. Literally have only the OS and whatever applications I might use on my local hard drives. If one of my devices fails, is stolen or gets broken then I don't lose a thing. If the cloud servers get busted so badly that I can no longer access my data, then I likely have far bigger problems to contend with than the loss of pictures, videos and documents that I pretty much never look at anyways.
 
Russell said:
Cloud storage is pretty much the norm now. I don't have anything stored on any of my devices. Literally have only the OS and whatever applications I might use on my local hard drives. If one of my devices fails, is stolen or gets broken then I don't lose a thing. If the cloud servers get busted so badly that I can no longer access my data, then I likely have far bigger problems to contend with than the loss of pictures, videos and documents that I pretty much never look at anyways.
Click to expand...

:lmao: I used to use Photobucket. Then I ponied up to upload to Pirate4x4.cum.

Now I back my phone up to Google Photos- until they change the ToS next April.

Convenience, not archival.
 
Photobucket is not the same as Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive. They didn't have multinational corporations using their service. It would be corporate suicide for them to make the kind of changes that Photobucket did. Photobucket paid for their insolence dearly with a huge loss of revenue.
 
We did this with pics, VHS and 8mm a few years ago. Glad it’s all on CD but we need to get it on SSD now. :rolleyes: CD’s are outdated.
 
Anyone have a decent photo scanner that will convert to something useful format wise in the future?
 
There are all kinds of purpose built scanners for converting old media. https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers...office-products/5728049011?tag=91812054244-20

Better than the memory box services? Dunno. I would think if you have just 1 or 3 of some format, the service may be a better option than investing in a scanner. If you have lots and lots of something, DIY is probably much cheaper. Find a used scanner or buy a new one, then sell it when you are done.

My sister used a regular flat bed scanner to digitize slides and photos and said it did a pretty good job. Film movies would be a different matter.
 
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