Before it's too late, make sure to preserve your family videos.

How to convert your valuable VHS tapes into digital format

A few years ago, I discovered a collection of old Super 8 tapes while cleaning out a cabinet. After digitizing the videos, I showed them to my mother, who was overcome with emotion upon seeing her late brother Harold Jr.’s wedding. Unfortunately, he passed away in a car accident just a week after the wedding.

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Precious memories are those that we hold dear, but how often do we revisit our old family videos? If they're on VHS, it can be a hassle. With each passing year, the tapes deteriorate a little more.

I deduced that Satish from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, wasn't the only person seeking assistance with digitizing old tapes on my national radio show.

Go the DIY route

To digitize your VHS tapes, you'll need a VCR or VHS camcorder. If you don't have one, consider purchasing one from eBay, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, or another local sales platform. Additionally, be prepared to spend a few hours transferring your VHS recordings in real time.

After that, you’ve really got two options:

Elgato offers a converter that digitizes video onto a computer. Simply plug it into your USB port and connect your analog video source using the provided cables. The bundled software will guide you through the process.

VCR — DIY conversion cards and professional services are both viable ways of digitizing your old VHS tapes. (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

You can easily digitize your videos using a handheld video-to-digital converter. No need for a computer or software. Simply connect the converter to your video source, insert a USB drive or SD card, and press the "Record" button. The LCD screen will display the digitization process in real time.

Have someone do it for you

These stores, including Costco, Walgreens, and Walmart, offer tape conversion services at a starting price of $20 per tape. This is a reasonable option for those looking to preserve their VHS footage on a DVD format, as well as receive a digital copy.

Rewritten sentence: Can you provide an alternative version of the input sentence that is the same length? There are services available that specialize in this, but they may be more expensive.

iMemories: Starts at $29.99 per VHS tape.
Legacybox: The starter pack includes up to two tapes or 50 photos, and now it's 50% off on their website!
Capture: Starts at $29.99 per tape.

Getting this all done takes time

To share old digitized videos with family and friends, I put them up on YouTube with a private link.

Bonus: Don’t forget old photos

When you need to digitize a print hanging in someone's house, I prefer this quick and easy method over scanning numerous pictures.

The PhotoScan app by Google is a free tool for both iOS and Android devices that scans your photos multiple times to enhance their quality by removing glare. It works on matte and gloss prints, as well as photos found within or outside albums.

VHS tapes aren't the only thing you should digitize – there are apps that allow you to near-effortlessly scan old photos as well. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

After capturing one initial photo, follow the app's instructions to take four additional shots. PhotoScan utilizes an algorithm to identify and crop the image, detect edges, adjust rotation, and align the perspective to display a frontal view.