For parents who have everything, digitize the home movies they made of you growing up. Their VHS and camcorder tapes, film reels and photos come back as files the whole family can watch, plus a DVD or USB drive they can play on their own TV.
Gift forum threads on this topic circle the same problem: a dad who has everything and can afford to buy whatever he wants, a dad turning 70 who already owns the tools and the gadgets, a dad with no real hobbies who is hard to shop for. What none of them can buy in a store is their own home movies, back on a screen.
Home movies are the clearest example. Many families shot them on 8mm or Super 8 film, then on VHS, Hi8 or MiniDV camcorders. Those tapes and reels often sit in a closet because the player is long gone. Digitizing puts the footage back on a screen, in a format anyone can open.
Why this works as a gift for dad
A dad who has everything has usually bought every tool he wanted. He is not waiting on a sweater. What he does not have is a way to watch the birthday party from 1991, the Christmas morning tape from when the kids were small, or the school play recorded on a camcorder that stopped working years ago.
This is a job an adult child can take off a parent's hands: find the box, get an estimate, mail it in. The parent gets the footage back without doing any of the work.
Picking the right output for the person
Pick the output for the person who will watch it. A DVD with background music and chapters plays on the DVD player a parent already knows how to use. A USB drive works on a smart TV or a laptop. The shared Google Drive link, open for 90 days, lets everyone in the family download their own copy. One order can include more than one output, and extra DVD sets can be added for brothers and sisters.
If the order includes photo scans, a slideshow video can be added so the pictures play with music on the TV.
Gifts for a mom who has everything
In a lot of families, mom is the one who kept the photos: the albums, the shoeboxes of prints, the carousel of 35mm slides from before the kids were born. Prints and slides age too. Colors fade and shift, and prints in old albums can stick to the pages. Scanning them is a practical gift that is also a sentimental one.
iM Video Transfer scans both 35mm slides and photo prints. If a photo needs restoration work beyond the standard scan, you can call 330-574-8749 or email contact@imvideotransfer.com for a quote. Restoration is handled case by case and is not part of the standard order form.
Elderly parents who say they want nothing
Elderly parents often say they do not need anything, and they mean it. Keep the gift simple for them. A DVD with music and chapters plays on the DVD player they already use, with no new device to learn. A USB drive is an option if they have a smart TV.
One thing to know up front: old, moldy or damaged tapes and film may not come back perfect. Video and film are edited, color-corrected and upscaled, but results depend on the condition of the media. Tell the person that before the gift is opened, so nobody expects a brand-new picture from a tape that spent thirty years in a damp basement.
What formats can be converted
iM Video Transfer converts the formats below. For film, it handles 8mm and Super 8 only, and audio cassettes are not converted.
- VHS, S-VHS and VHS-C tapes
- Hi8, Video8 and Digital8 tapes
- MiniDV and Betamax tapes
- Mini DVD camcorder discs
- 8mm and Super 8 film reels
- 35mm slides and photo prints
Giving it as a Christmas gift for your parents
If the tapes are at your parents' house, you have two options. You can gather them before the holiday and mail them in yourself, then give the finished DVD or USB drive as the gift. Or you can buy a gift certificate at imvideotransfer.com/gift, give it at Christmas, and collect the tapes after. The certificate is printable, the code pays toward any order, and it is good for 5 years. For a dad turning 70 or a parent who is hard to shop for, a printed certificate with a note about the tapes it will bring back says more than most things in a box.
Turnaround is 2 weeks. If you want the finished DVD or USB drive to be the Christmas gift itself, mail the box early. If time is short, give the gift certificate instead.
How the order works
iM Video Transfer started in 2002. The work is done in its own office in Warren, Ohio, not sent overseas, and your originals come back to you.