This review and giveaway was made possible by Double Duty Divas and YesVideo. I received the featured service free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.” 

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In 1995 my parents and I took the trip of a lifetime. With only two weeks notice we were notified that we would be traveling to Russia — to adopt my baby sister.

What I didn’t know while we were preparing to leave, was that this trip would change my life forever. Not only would I no longer be an only child, but it would also influence my world view as well as make me appreciate what I had so much more.

While in Russia my parents, as well as the other families we were traveling with (who we have remained close friends with) took lots and lots of videos. These videos were not only video of the children at the “baby homes” but also of our sightseeing experiences. I remember showing these videos to friends and family after we returned.

It has been 19 years since those videos were taken (just saying that makes me feel so old!), and the technology has changed so much since then. I’m pretty sure that unless you go to Amazon or Ebay that you can’t even find one of those adaptors to play the tape. In fact, because we don’t even own a VCR anymore, I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the videos in years. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I watched them.

Those videos are so important to my family and I because they are something that we want to preserve so not only can we watch them, but so that my and my sister’s children, and even our grandchildren can watch them.

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That’s why when I had the opportunity for YesVideo to transfer the tapes to a DVD, I jumped at the chance. The process is relatively easy and when you are done, you have a wonderful keepsake that you can enjoy for years to come.

When I watched the DVD for the first time, all sorts of memories came flooding back including:

The first time I met my sister.

Russian folk dancing.

Our visit to Red Square.

Or when we arrived back in the United States.

Watching these videos brought back so many wonderful memories.

I admit I was a little nervous about sending the videos through the mail for fear that it would get lost, especially since they are irreplaceable. My fears were unfounded, however, as I got my original video and the DVD back with no problems.

The process itself is very easy too. You pack your videos in one of YesVideo’s easy ship kits, take it to your nearest UPS store, and in a few weeks you will receive your original tape and the DVD back in the mail. You will also be able to view the videos online so you can email them to friends and family or even post them to Facebook.

What I love though is the fact that you are able to import the files from your DVD into iMovie or other video editing software so that you can make compilations and do other fun effects to the video (like edit the part out of the video of my 11 year old self dancing).

In an era where technology can become obsolete so quickly it’s a comfort to know there are companies like YesVideo that can help preserve your memories for generations to come.

To learn more about the YesVideo transfer process, you can connect with them via Facebook or Twitter.

Do you have lots of old home movies that you would like to convert? If so, you are in luck! YesVideo is giving me the opportunity to give away a $50 gift card which can be used for their video conversion services. The giveaway ends 11:59 p.m. EST on July 29, 2014. Just enter through the form below.

 
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6 Comments

  1. What a wonderful story. I am so pleased that you shared it with us – and that you were able to “upgrade” your home videos to the latest technology. The speed with which technology changes may make our lives easier (or maybe not, depending on who you ask) – but when it makes the videos and picture files we used to record memories obsolete, it can be crushing. A service like this really is great.

  2. I would love to preserve my daughter’s first few years of life! We recorded them on an old videocamera.

  3. Don’t edit out the dancing of your 11-year-old self.
    I’ll give this to a friend who has some old tapes that would be great to have on DVD.
    Thanks for the contest.

  4. Thanks for the giveaway…we have an old VHS tape of an appearance on a talk show from the ’80’s when I was in college that I would like to save to a DVD.

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