10/1/2006
By Fern Glazer
Don't let precious audio and video recordings become faded memories. Follow this sound advice to ensure future generations see and hear your family history just as you do.
You can look at old photos and read old documents, but nothing compares to actually hearing or seeing your ancestors in action. Sound recordings and moving images can profoundly connect you to your family history. But you'll never know if your voice really does sound like your deceased aunt Sylvia's, or if your great-uncle Louie played baseball like Babe Ruth, unless you pull your audio, video and film history out of storage and properly preserve it.
On a roll
Once you've gathered all your home audio, video and film, the first task is to figure out just what you've got. Kevin O'Neill of VidiPax (800-653-8434, <www.vidipax.com>), a New York-based media restoration company, says you're likely to come across these common formats: