Kodak’s ‘Digitizing Box’ service saves precious memories stuck on old media

You might still have some old VHS tapes of home movies from the ’80s, but you probably don’t have a machine to play them on. And what about those old Super 8 reels gathering dust in the attic?

While it’s certainly possible to bring old analog media into the digital age, you need particular equipment, and more importantly, plenty of free time to get the job done. That’s why many of us never get around to it.

Sure, there are services out there that can take care of it, but the financial cost and organizing different types of media for different offerings might also put you off.

That’s why Kodak has just launched its Digitizing Box, a supremely simple — and reasonably priced — service for converting your old media into digital files for easy viewing.

“The Kodak Digitizing Box brings a modern version of Kodak’s yellow envelope back to customer doorsteps and aims to make the daunting task of digitizing aging media easy,” the company says of its new mail-based service.

It works like this: You start by gathering together all of the media you want converted, including videotapes (VHS, Betamax, VHS-C, and more), film (8mm and 16mm), pictures (prints, negatives, and slides), and audio (cassettes and reel-to-reel).

Next, count up how many items you have (25 prints equals one item) and order the appropriate pre-paid box from Kodak. The entire service costs $60 for three items, $170 for 10 items, $290 for 20 items, and $560 for 40 items. When the box arrives, pop everything in and send it off using the prepaid UPS shipping label.

A neat touch is Kodak’s promise to keep you updated throughout the process, which usually takes between five and six weeks.

“We know how important every home movie and photo is, so we keep you updated with an online tracking system,” the company says on its website. “Every item you send is bar-coded and tracked from start to finish and you’ll receive up to 12 emailed updates throughout our process. No one but Kodak Digitizing Box provides this peace of mind.”

You can receive your digitized content in a number of ways, including on thumb drives, DVDs, or as a digital download — the choice is yours. Kodak will also return all of your original media for safe keeping.

Kodak has partnered with AMB Media to launch the Digitizing Box. AMB Media already operates a similar service called Legacybox, though Kodak’s prices are more competitive.

If you’re looking for an easy way to save those family memories for future generations to enjoy, then Kodak’s new digitizing service is certainly worth considering.