The Vidbox Video Conversion Suite just helped me uncover my long-lost acting debut (and finale).
When my dad recently died, we uncovered a video he had stored away marked “Desperado.” It turns out it was a 5-minute movie that I made with my brother and two friends back in high school.
We were bored one summer afternoon and said, “Let’s make a movie.” We grabbed our only cowboy hat, our only BB gun and only toy revolver, and drove out to a Western movie set in Malibu. There was no plot, no microphones (clearly) and it was about 100 degrees that day.
A week later, one of my friends edited it and set the movie to an old clip of the Eagles singing their Doolin Daltons/Desperado song. So enjoy my one-and-only acting performance ever from 1978 when I was 16 years old (video above).
Flash forward to today. I snagged an $89 Vidbox Video Conversion Suite for PC/Mac and simply hooked it up to my old JVC HR-VP58U VCR (yes, I still have one) and then connected the cables to my PC. The instructions could not have been easier to follow, including pictorial instructions to guide me through the process connecting the composite cables with RCA connectors into the VCR and then a single cable from the Vidbox to the PC with a USB connector.
Clearly this videotape has deteriorated over time. It is shining example of why it is important for you to help your clients protect their home video collections.
The device is compatible with VCRs (VHS, Betamax, S-VHS), camcorders (8mm, DV, mini DV, HDV, AVCHD), TVs, DVD players, game consoles, TiVo boxes, DVRs and cable set-top boxes. The system outputs in MOV, MPEG1, MPEG2, WMV or MP4.
So when was the last time you solicited your client base about converting their old videotapes to digital files? That was a common question to ask 10 years ago, but most integrators haven’t bothered to ask the question since before the Obama Administration.
So if you have an admin person in the office looking to fill time, having him or her converting your clients’ videos using Vidbox can make for some billable hours.
The only drawback I can see to this device is that it does take time. You literally have to play the video as it converts. It is not like burning a DVD. But if you are billing for that time, so what?
On top of that, it might open the door to potentially sell a hardware storage solution on top of it. I have now started converting other home movies of my kids. We also have a cabinet full of Disney VHS tapes from my daughters' younger days that will likely be converted some day.
