Legacybox

Legacybox is just what the doctor ordered: I have boxes of non-digitized photos and dozens of old VHS tapes that I have been meaning to convert to digital. Legacybox is a mail-in services that will digitize everything for you. Anyone tried this yet? Or a similar service?

13 Comments leave a comment below

  1. I haven’t looked at Legacybox in awhile, but I just saw Costco’s analog to digital conversion service today – VERY economical.

  2. I’d be curious what kind of quality they offer, there is nothing at all on the website talking about quality (at least in quantifiable terms). When I had my parents’ Super8 films converted, I really shopped around before I found someone who did the job right (scanning frame-by-frame at HD quality, color correction, etc.). The average Joe might find this service to be perfectly fine, but I have a feeling that anyone who spends their days working in digital media will end up disappointed.

  3. Michael — I’m curious what service you went with for your Super8 conversion?

  4. I really want to buy one of the machines or tools that convert VHS tapes into digital files yet I haven’t found one with good reviews yet. Anyone reading this have recommendations?

  5. Not as pretty, but I’ve used http://digmypics.com/ and they were great. I recommend them. It looks like they are a lot more economical, at $0.39 per photo vs $1.

  6. I’ve had a few Super8 movies from the 70ies and 80ies converted to .avi files by medienrettung.de who did a great job.

  7. As an archivist, I’m concerned about whether or not you get your originals back. I would never trust a DVD over a reasonably well kept film reel. Also, there’s no real consensus among preservationists about what are the best formats for long term preservation, so far gold CD-Rs have been most reliable for digital images, but moving images aren’t the same. Legacybox sounds like a good idea in theory, but I’m hesitant to think long term preservation is such a quick fix. I’m suprised Legacybox is so confident while most institutions still struggle with these questions.

  8. I used to work for a company that did these kind of conversions and my advice is: 1. check reviews for several different services; 2. Call and be specific if there are aspects of the service that are very important to you; and 3.What you are returned will be a reflection of how well-organized you sent it in. (I cherished the orders where someone had actually set up a folder structure and loathed just getting a grab bag of photos)

  9. I sent off my photos to Scan Cafe but I am still waiting to get the digital files back. i chose them because they had good reviews and a low price point, which was very important with the volume of images I had.

  10. I just tried a service like this in germany to have a bunch if old school Dias scanned. It is amazing, those pictures suddenly bring childhood memories to a new level and I keep on playing with it by giving my dad a paperfold-projector for his Iphone for Xmas and the link to the downloaf of the old pics and then we can have a diashow, a modern version of it…
    The service I used is called mediafix and they were really good and fast, I can highly recommend it for anyone in germany.

  11. there was a review on their facebook page. the customer was very pleased. Today Jan 1, 2015 there is 40% off. I’ve look at other websites that digitize film cartridge or reel set prices $17.99 for the 1st 2 hours and then its extra 17.99 for ea additional 2 hours. LegacyBox seems to have no limit for hours but rather by each item. The prices are attractive today. Freeshipping and they return your original items send you a box to put your stuff in that’s crush proof. However, there are no guarantees if they lose something but same goes for any of them,

  12. I used legacy box. I will never use them again. I am currently paying someone else to redo EVERYTHING they did. Nothing was edited, audio tapes were sent back with each side on a separate CD (unlabeled!), VHS was poor and converted in 2 parts (one with everything and one empty? !), and there’s more. The final straw is I have written them with my discontentment 3 times (and I called) and no response. So add to it poor customer service.

  13. A simple google search of legacy box produced this, and a number of complaints with the Better a Business Bureau. That changed my mind.