As I get older my memory is getting progressively worse. It was never very good to start with but it seems to be getting worse.
I have always made videos and decided that I should try to save my home video archives. Just films of my children and family members, many of whom have now passed on.
My mother is in the late stages of Alzheimer's and can remember things from years ago but forgets what happened just 30 seconds ago.
It is a terrible condition because it robs us of who we are.
We are in many respects the sum total of our memories.
I bought a cheap little video capture device to see if it would work.
I wanted to get the videos off of my old Sony Handycam camcorder.
It worked perfectly. I've just uploaded it to my YouTube channel and thought you might like to see it as you may want to do this yourself.
The video quality is very good and it outputs in a range of formats:-
MP1-4
DVD
AVI
etc
I found the DVD output gives the best quality. My memories at least be archived for the future.
My children and grandchildren (6) will be able to look back at themselves and me.
Glad you posted this because my wife and I are trying to figure out how to transfer these
proof that #oldtimers have a lot to teach us.
Exactly right!
Somehow my reply to @xtrordinarypilot is under you Paul. lol You'll figure it out I'm sure.
It's a cheap and effective solution.
I guess a lot of us were not thinking how valuable these old home movies would be when we threw out the video players. Some kids don't even know what a VCR is?
They are gold dust. Recordings of a time just before the the web was in everyone's face 24/7. There was a time before and It's been captured in these tapes. Can't wait to see your videos.
That was a great post.....I have an old camcorder and kept my old tapes so I will definitely check this out. I loved your video.....I'm so glad that you were able to retrieve the contents. These are precious memories that can't be lost. I actually laughed when your vehicle was being chased by the water buffalo (?) and they kept coming and coming. What an experience for you and your family! Thank-you for sharing this information because I am all about past memories and preserving it. Have a wonderful Sunday!.....Cabbagepatch
Thanks @cabbagepatch it was a great relief to be able to recover these tapes. There are some great moments on them. I'll do some more videos when I get a moment.
First, I am sorry to hear about your Mother having Alzheimer's. That must be so sad for both of you. I really enjoyed watching your video and thanks for this great information. I have old slides that I would like to save. We sure are #oldtimers! HaHa!
Thanks for popping in. I suppose the only saving grace about my mum's condition is that she is totally unaware of it herself. It is a terrible condition to be in and everyone feels helpless. Good luck with the slides lol
My pleasure! I love your posts. :) I was relieved to hear that your mom is unaware of her condition and I can't imagine what you are going through. My best wishes for you and your family.
It is very difficult for everyone. What we need is a cure, as this condition is becoming an epidemic here in the UK.
Really? I had no idea. A cure would be wonderful. I believe that there are many cures for many things that they are not telling us about. Sad...very sad.
As the population ages the disease is hitting more people and even younger folk are being hit by it too? It's a bit odd to say the least.
50 years ago it was almost unheard of?
Looks like that device works good.
I'm pretty impressed with the quality in general. This isn't a great example because we were on Safari and so it's a bit jerky and zoomy but it's my first go at putting them together. Most of the rest of the videos are solid copies and crystal clear.
I'll do some more examples now I've figured out which format works best. It was pretty simple after that.