If you are wondering whether to convert DVDs to digital, Kayne’s story is a good place to start. She came to me with a CD of her wedding photos and a DVD of her wedding video. After 15 years of marriage, her computer could no longer open either one. Her children had never seen the video. In her own words:
“My wedding photos were still on a CD that I could not access with my computer anymore, along with our wedding video. My kids had never seen it (I got married 15 years ago!) so it was very fun to watch it.”
Her situation is very common. If you have a stack of home DVDs, now is the time to turn them into digital files, while you still have a way to play them. Here is how to do it yourself, when to get help, and what to do with the files afterward.
Why You Should Convert DVDs to Digital Now
The bigger risk is not the disc itself. It is the equipment. Most new laptops no longer have a disc drive, and DVD players are disappearing from living rooms. A disc you cannot play is as good as lost, even if it is in perfect shape.
Photo by Travis + Kathryn Castor
The discs do age too. Research by the Library of Congress and the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that many recordable DVDs should last decades in good storage. Life expectancy varied widely between brands, though, and heat and humidity shorten it. A DVD that spent twenty years in a hot attic or a damp basement may not read the way it once did. Scratches, peeling labels, and cheap discs add to the risk.
Can I Convert DVDs to Digital Myself?
Yes, if the disc is a home recording and you have a computer with a DVD drive. An external USB drive costs little. The basic steps:
Insert the disc and open it in your file browser. A video DVD has a folder called VIDEO_TS with files ending in .VOB.
Copy that whole folder to your computer first, so you have a backup before you do anything else.
Use a free program such as HandBrake to turn those files into MP4 video files, which play on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.
Watch each converted file from start to finish to check that nothing is missing or frozen.
Three situations make this harder. A camcorder or DVD recorder has to “finalize” a disc before other players can read it. If that device is long gone, you have a puzzle. Small 8 cm camcorder discs do not fit every drive. And scratched or aging discs often stop partway through, which leaves gaps in the video.
Store-bought movies are a different matter. They carry copy protection, and I do not copy them or recommend it.
What About Photo CDs?
Many families have their wedding or vacation photos on a CD from the photo lab. Most of these simply hold JPEG files, so copying them to your computer is all it takes. Older Kodak Photo CDs from the 1990s use a special format with files ending in .PCD. Most modern software cannot open it, so those discs need converting before you can see the pictures.
If you would rather not convert DVDs to digital yourself, you have three kinds of options. Some public libraries offer conversion equipment; Brooklyn Public Library, for example, has workstations for older media. Big stores and online services usually mail your discs to a lab, so your originals leave your hands for a while. And local specialists, like me, handle the discs in person.
Getting help makes sense when you have more than a handful of discs, or when a disc will not play. It also helps when you want the videos named, dated, and organized next to your photos, not a folder of files called VTS_01_1. Kayne got her wedding video and photos back ready to watch and share with her family.
Once you convert DVDs to digital, keep the files in more than one place. Keep one copy on your computer, one on an external drive, and one somewhere else, such as a cloud backup. My guide on how to back up family photos walks through the 3-2-1 rule, and it works the same for videos.
Hold on to the original discs too, at least until you have checked every converted file.
Ready to Watch Them Again?
If your DVDs, photo CDs or older tapes are sitting in a drawer, I can convert them and organize the results so your family can actually enjoy them. Read more about my video conversion services or contact me for a free consultation.
Written by Henk van den Berg, Certified Photo Manager based in Brooklyn. I help families digitize and organize a lifetime of photos, slides, and home videos, then set up a system they can keep using on their own.
