For almost as long as movie technology has existed, people have been using it to record themselves and their families. The exact tools that people use to make their home movies have changed many times, but the intent is always the same: to preserve precious memories for years to come.

If your family is one of the many that has been making home movies for generations, then you probably have videos and photos in a variety of formats ranging from film to VHS tape to digital file. 8mmtoDVD.com can help you modernize your home video collection and preserve your old films, tapes, and photographs in convenient, long-lasting digital form. Now here’s a look back on the generations prior and the technology they used to capture priceless family memories.

The history of home movies goes back further than most people realize. As early as 1898, 17.5mm Birtac film for hobbyist filmmakers was available on the market. Birtac film was half as wide as a standard roll of 35mm film, and its frames were only half as tall, meaning that Birtac film used only 25% the length of film as 35mm. The camera also doubled as a printer and a projector, allowing the owner to save money on expensive development and projection equipment.

In the early decades of filmmaking, manufacturers introduced many different competing film formats. But in 1923, Eastman Kodak introduced 16mm film, which other manufacturers also began producing not long after. While it was cheaper than 35mm, 16mm film was still too expensive for the average consumer of the time period to afford. It wasn’t until the introduction of 8mm film that middle and working class Americans could truly afford to make their own home movies.

8mm film, sometimes called Standard 8 or Regular 8, was introduced to the market by Kodak in In addition to being smaller and more portable than larger types of film, 8mm contained 4 frames in the same area where 16mm would have contained just one. As such, 8mm cameras used 75% less film than their predecessors, making them much more affordable to the average American.

The first major innovation to 8mm film came not long after its initial introduction. In 1936, Kodak introduced Kodachrome color reversal for 8mm movie cameras, which allowed the cameras to record in color. And in 1965, Kodak introduced the Super 8 camera. Film for the Super 8 was packaged in easy-to-load cartridges, and also had larger frames than standard 8mm film, resulting in a clearer picture.

In the mid 70s, VHS and Betamax were introduced, and the two of them changed the home video market forever. VHS and Betamax were much more affordable than even the comparatively cheap 8mm, and had the added advantage of being reusable. By the end of the 80s, most Americans had video playback equipment in their homes, and many of them had captured hours and hours of family video on VHS.

Nowadays, a family’s home movie collection is likely to be scattered across the many formats that have been available to consumers over the last 50 years. But thanks to modern computer technology, everything from old VHS tapes to slide photos to 8mm film can be transferred to DVD and preserved in digital format.

Since 2002, 8mmtoDVD.com has been helping families preserve their generations of home movies. 8mmtoDVD.com’s service is quick, professional, and provides great results. Learn more at