Your old family videos are simply your own memories waiting to become reacquainted with you, says memory enthusiast Larry Nelson.

During the age of the camcorder…I was the family videographer.  I doggedly captured every moment of our kid’s childhoods – baby’s first steps, backyard birthday parties and the first snowy morning of the season.  Years passed so did our video cameras – until one day our last one broke and it was never replaced.  Instead, video technology was enveloped into other cameras and my unique role had come to an end – or so it seemed.

I never forgot all those tapes.  Hours and hours of memories – all completely inaccessible!  They could only be played through a functioning video camera that was hooked up to a television.  In addition, the tapes were aging.  Unlike fine wine, I knew time would wreak havoc on audio and video quality.  It was these concerns that led me to begin investigating how to digitize our family movies.

By 2010, I had acquired the equipment needed to transfer video to DVDs and got busy with our family’s tapes.  In one video after another, events from our family’s life flickered across the screen and a thousand little memories flooded my mind.  It occurred to me what a fantastic gift these videos will be for my children as a way to know themselves even before the glint of their first memory.  I also thought that if I ever needed proof – hard evidence! – that they had a pretty darn good childhood, I’d present these videos in a court of law!

So also VideoSimplified was born, a business dedicated to helping families preserve and enjoy their precious movies.  Over the past three years, I have had the pleasure of helping dozens of families become reacquainted with their own family memories.  Since I also work as a history teacher, I am deeply convinced of the importance of preserving and passing along these videos to future generations.

If you have precious family memories locked away in old video formats that are no longer accessible – Seize the Day!  Have them transferred, get them digitized, put your memories on laptops and televisions.  Along with your family next holiday, invite your memories to dinner!

Larry Nelson is the owner of VideoSimplified, a high school history teacher and the proud Dad of two teens who have had a great childhood.