I have a working library of pictures and music both are of over 40Gs. I categorized them and I can browse and pull out any one of them in any instant. I also have a working library for my movies and I think it is working well.

Yet, I do NOT have any system for my home videos. They are all in raw tapes that I video taped over the last 10 yrs and put it aside. I have about 60+ home video tapes. Each one is about 2 hrs. I have no idea what are those, and certainly I cannot pull out any one of those. It got to the point, I just dont want to use camcorder any more. Now I am preparing for a China trip and my wife is asking to pull out the camcorder... It is worse than pulling teeth. I wonder if anyone feel proud about your home videos, NOT movies, category system and would like to share. Free software or paid software or shareware does not matter, I just want those )@($& tapes categorized, so that i know where to retrieve them when need. I do not even know, whether I should all digitalize them and store it or just store in its raw format. Bottomline, I have no idea how to deal with video tapes organization.

TIA,

bun

Date + Event name or location does wonders
December 1996 Christmas
September 1999 Graduation Day
January 1995 Vacation in New York
etc
Hope it works!

You wrote directly on the tape or you give them a sequential numeral? I tried that in the past, does not quite work out. A tape sometimes may have more than one events, so, ....

Time+event is what I am using for the photo database, and it certainly works fine.

Excel or just MSWord and type them in? Would you recommend to digitalize them and store them like movies? I think that is easier to manage than raw tapes. If so, what GOOD software is easy to use? TIA,

bun

I txfr my tapes to my pc, then edit them with Adobe Premiere Elements. Once I've editted them, I create scene menus, then burn to DVD. I then put the scene listing on the inside of the DVD case. Make 2 backups, and presto.... organized home movies that people may actually want to watch.