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What does Pixar have to do with your home videos and photos? Everything, especially when it comes to preserving and safely storing your one-of-a-kind images and video files. 

You see, during the late ’90s when Pixar was working on Toy Story 2, they lost a great deal of data from the movie. Their back up had not worked properly, and no one knew until it was too late. Over 100,000 files went missing, which eventually led to a total rewrite. 

You don’t have the option to turn back the clock and re-write your family’s story or once-in-a-lifetime events. That’s why you need to digitize and transfer your precious photos and footage to the cloud for storage.

What to Look for in Cloud Storage for Photos

Copying your precious photos and videos from your computer to a cloud storage service is a good idea. Some of the things you want from your service are:

• As much free storage as possible – Most services offer up to 5 GB free storage. After that, you’ll need to upgrade and pay monthly or annually.
• Low monthly and retrieval costs – Retrieval costs can add up if you need to transfer often.
• Automated synchronization and backup options – Instead of having to remember to back up your files, some services do it for you automatically.
• Easy to share – Usually you only need to send a link to share files with anyone.

We recommend that you always try various services to see how they work, how easy it is to transfer your files, and if it meets your budget.

5 Reasons to Backup Visual Media Online

No one is immune from losing their visual media, whether amateur or professional.

“I’ve had hard drives fail throughout my career. I lost some historic moments from the first part of my career, and they’re gone forever.” – Ami Vitale, National Geographic Photographer

Before it’s too late, here are five valid reasons to digitize, and backup your visual media to the cloud.

1. Peace of Mind

Probably the best reason to back up is your piece of mind. Hard drives have a habit of dying when you least expect it. Phones and cameras can get stolen or fall into the water. Regular backups can lessen the trauma of those events, and you’ll know that at least your content is safe. 

However, even if we’re able to backup, we forget to do it. That brings us to reason #2.

2. Automatic Backups

Some recognized brands such as Apple iCloud, Google Photos, Amazon’s Prime Photos, and Dropbox offer automated backups. They sync with your devices to automatically backup your content for you.

Typically, you set the schedule, usually while you’re asleep. The cloud services sync with the cellphone, or computer to upload your latest data files, keeping them safe should your device become unusable.

3. Long-Term Storage

If you need to archive your photos and videos for many years, check around for the right storage plan. Long-term file storage can be very reasonable, but transfer fees can run up the bill if you need to access the files a lot. For example, as of August 2019, Amazon S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service) offers free storage up to 50 GB and free transfers of up to 15 GB per month. Over that, they charge $0.023 per GB up to 50 TB /Month. They have different plans depending on the amount of space you need.  

Data retrieval rates vary from $0.0025 per GB up to $0.03 per GB depending on your specific plan. Check with other services to compare prices, especially if you need a lot of access back and forth.

4. Accessibility from Anywhere

One of the most useful innovations of our time is the cloud infrastructure. Our data resides in more than one location, and we can access it anytime, from anywhere, so long as we have a connection. 

Accessibility is becoming more available around the world. It’s perfect for our mobile lifestyles.

5. File Syncing Across Multiple Computers

We take sharing and syncing data across computers and platforms for granted. You can upload your images or videos to a service like Dropbox, and anyone with the link can view it immediately from their device. 

We’re not recommending Dropbox for long-term storage, but it’s a great example of the ease with which cloud services can help us share our media. Use it in conjunction with a backup service like CrashPlan, BackBlaze, iCloud, Google One, or others.

Try Cloud Storage Services Before Committing

As with any new service or software, use their free trials to see how they work and if it will meet your needs. Upload and download some videos or photos to see the process in action. After a few trials, you’ll find the right interface that’s easy for you.

Digitizing Prints, Slides, Videotapes, and Negatives

Your most recent videos and photos are already digital, but what about the boxes full of videotapes, audio tapes, photographs, and 35mm slides stashed away in your closet? You’ll need a reliable partner to digitize all that media before you can upload and use a cloud service. 

Classic Memories specializes in digitizing your library of old print photos, videotapes, audio tapes, 35 mm slides, and other visual media. We scan and digitize your entire collection, then digitally transfer them to your cloud service, or an external hard drive. Contact us for a free consultation today.