Do you have old VHS home movies that you haven't seen in years? They might be worth watching again! Here's an idea on how to preserve and enjoy these vintage memories, forever.

Ditch the VCR

As an analog player, the VCR is a tedious way to rewind tapes and view home movies. Not only do VCRs go bad, but they add more stress when they mangle the tapes and destroy your priceless VHS memories. Worse, no company makes new VCRs or provides repair parts.

Convert VHS to Digital

If you have old VHS cassette tapes lying around, chances are you can't remember what's on them. Why not convert them into a digital format so you can watch them whenever you want? There are plenty of ways to do this, such as using a VCR converter box or using a professional digitizing service.

Use a Portable Format

However you decide to convert your VHS to digital, make sure you copy the video for portability. Do not copy your VHS to DVD which further delays more problems. DVDs are a proprietary format, saved on media which will ultimately scratch, crack, and go unreadable by your devices.

VHS to MP4 Files

There are multiple portable formats for digital video, but the MP4 is the most popular. MP4 digital files can be played on all Windows, Macintosh, iPhone, and Android devices. They're easily shared with friends and family using the internet.

Store Memories on the Cloud

All physical media, even flash cards and external hard drives, will ultimately degrade. Save your digitzed home movies on the secure cloud, where data center redundancy ensures you'll never lose a single file. Consider paying a small subscription fee to maintain access to your memories, forever.

Written by Geoff Weber