It's the scorching days of summer here in the south. Melting sidewalks make it a challenge to do anything aside from rush from one air-conditioned place to another. I get periodic bursts of energy when I am well hydrated to do some herd-culling around the ranch (not literally culling the herd - although we do have a bunch of new calves out here milling around!).
Boy #2 is the musician and sound aficionado, and he recently chastised me for hanging on to VHS tapes of our wedding video that have NO digital copy anywhere. "These aren't going to last forever, you know! You don't even have a VHS player anymore!" Both true statements.
I found a coupon from Legacy Box and decided to give it a try. The risk here was low, as I have multiple VHS copies of said video because each set of parents has died and passed on their copies to me. So if UPS did me dirty, at least I had another chance.
The kind souls at Legacy Box send multiple emails with your specific code on them to assure you that they do, in fact, still have your media in a secure fireproof, flood-proof, terrorist-proof location and will care for it as if it were their great-grandmother's original document of the Declaration of Independence. The lag time varies from 2-10 weeks, depending on your sense of urgency and/or willingness to part with your money. We've been married for decades, so a few weeks didn't matter to me to cough up extra cash.
After a few weeks, an email arrives with a digital download link and presto! My wedding was online. The quality is at the mercy of the original media quality (so sayeth my son whose career goal is as a sound archivist for national archives), so this is definitely not 8K wedding memories. But it's preserved for eternity. They even send you a thumb drive or DVD should you request.
How minimal is this?? I got excited and shipped off the children's births on 8 mm, so we'll see if that turns out and doesn't look like the Blair Witch Project Version 1996. I am grateful this service exists, as I have far too many types of media I can't even view anymore.
Of note, my audio archivist child commented that I should not toss the originals, as technology progresses and the reproductive quality may be improved in the future. I am undecided about whether they will, in fact, end up in the aforementioned recycle bin as they take up a lot of space. It is reassuring to know that if the tapes are a melted soup of pixels, I still have the cloud to refer to.
This is a drop in the bucket for most of us in terms of the volume of photos, videos, and albums we probably have in storage or in closets. It's a start, however, and a great way to preserve and enjoy those memories. Plus, show the kids we were cool back then and here is video proof! Happy Archiving!
*P.S. I am receiving NO kickbacks from Legacy Box - this mention is merely a service to you, minimalist friends, to aid you in your minimizing!
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