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Pixorial – Archive your youth

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I’ll hazard a guess that just about everyone has boxes of old non-digital movies or video lying about the place. Film of backyard barbecues, or you and your siblings fighting over ice creams in front of historical landmarks. All safely locked away on Super8 or VHS. The only real way to preserve this old footage is to get it converted to digital and the best way to share it is to stick it on YouTube or Facebook. But that’s all too much hassle, right?

Enter Pixorial, an online collaborative video service. Not only do they give you a massive 10GB of online storage but they also have a ship-and-convert process for all your ancient media formats. Just send them your old tapes and film and they’ll convert them to digital and stick them into your 10GB online account.

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From there you can then edit and remix your digital footage, add titles, captions and labels, all in a password-protected online library. You can share low-res shows you’ve created for free, or you can upload them to any other video sharing site if you so wish. Pixorial does not acquire copyright over your footage, it’s yours to do with as you wish.

The conversion process takes about 3 days, plus the shipping time, but you can use their GPS tracking option to be sure your precious footage is going where it should. Once digitised, your film (cassettes, reels) are returned to you, or recycled at your request. The films are converted to an online viewable format, with the option to purchase all your files on DVD if you like.

Prices start at US$0 for uploading 10GB of digital content which you can edit, collaborate on or just use for online viewing for 60 days. Prices for format conversion vary depending on the medium, but it starts at US$14.99 for 2 hours of tape, or US$6.99 per 50ft reel of 8mm or Super8 film. Unfortunately, media conversion is only available in the US at the present time. Oh and GPS tracking, that’s US$19.99.

[Photo from Flickr ]

You don’t need an A/V studio just so you can watch your old home movies. From 8mm film to HD content, with Pixorial you can view virtually any home movie format online. And, by providing our products and services over the Internet, we can continue to offer you more great options for video DVDs, downloads, gifts and keepsakes!

Tags: gadget, pixorial, video+conversion+and+sharing, online+video+storage

4 Comments

  • Noo! Don't let them throw away you family films, ever.

    Kodachrome movie film has an archival life of over 100 years. Pixorial, on the other hand, could vanish at any moment. Even transferring your film to digital tape or hard drive isn't a guarantee. It's doubtful you'll be able to read one of today's drives in a couple of decades without professional (and expensive) help.

    However, you should get digital copies of your films made by a well-trained professional. Old film offers surprisingly good quality when properly transferred and color corrected. Such work is not cheap.

    • I was as surprised as you James by that option but there you go. We have colour slide film from the the and 60s and the colours in the slides as just as vivid as if you took the photo today. Amazing stuff.

  • Most consumer video is not stored in proper conditions so they are highly susceptible to decay. Check out http://caffeineandaprayer.com/2009/07/07/home-mov

    Most conversion/digitization services return the media back to you. Pixorial does as well, I was able to recover some precious moments from my childhood and got myself a DVD as well just in case.

  • I just used iMemories for the very same thing, and they did an amazing job. You should check them out as well.

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