Saving Stuff (1950-present)

Our Treasure Tree is all about saving memories, obviously. It seems like ‘saving memories’ has never been easier than it is now with the technology we have. That we have other options beyond being like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation, huddled in the attic watching old 8mm films. If you remember, that didn’t end well.

The first home movies were availble to the general public in 1923 when Kodak released a 16mm movie kit for $335 – over $5k today. The camera was bulky, heavy, fragile, and had to be used with a tripod (at least). But home movies could be a thing.

The 8mm camera a lot of us grew up trying to avoid was released in 1933. It was smaller, cheaper, easier to use and view although it cost to get the film developed. The film, however, had a nasty tendency to catch on fire if it got too close to the projecter light.

In the 1960’s the Super 8mm came out, the camera got smaller, the film was in a cartridge, it was easier than ever to film those visits to Disney World. It seems like it was almost overnight before Betamax and VHS, then digitalization when personal computers began to rule the land, took over. Then the original giant floppy discs, the little, hard plastic, metal-tipped floppys, CDs, DVDs, to today’s tech.

Most families we know have memories scattered on photo albums, 8mm, Super 8mm, video and audio cassettes and tapes, CDs, and DVDs. That’s great but doesn’t address a few problems. It’s easy to lose pieces with every move and Spring cleaning. All that media doesn’t answer the question “Who was that really cool second cousin we spent the week with at Yellowstone when I was ten?”

All that media doesn’t answer the question “Who was that really cool second cousin we spent the week with at Yellowstone when I was ten?”

Here’s another thing – all that media is doomed if you just let it sit. You might look at the tape and plastic and metal and think, rightly, ‘That won’t ever degrade.’ The problem is what those shells contain will. Everything will fade just like an old photograph kept in the sun.

These are the life spans of memories on film, tape, and disk:

• 8mm & 16mm film – up to 70 years
• Magnetic data (tapes)Up to 10 years
• Floppy disk10-20 years
• CDs and DVDs5-10 unrecorded, 2-5 recorded
• Blu-RayNot certain, probably over 2-5
• Hard disk3-5 years 
• Flash storage5-10 years

About the 70 years (or more) for movie film – that’s if a reel is in optimal storage at 40 degrees in a sealed canister and not viewed at all. Every time a film is viewed it’s life span is dramatically reduced. Which sort of defeats the purpose.

Memories save on the internet, the cloud are there until there is no internet or cloud. If there is no longer an internet or cloud we all have a lot more serious issues than lost family memories.

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Living Library TM

The Modern Family Heirloom TM