Best media for distributing family movies?
 

I'm sure there are many answers to this, but I have about 60 family movies to distribute to family members (once converted from VHS). Each film is about 90 minutes

My struggle is with the choice of media.

Burn each to DVD?
Distribute mp4/mkv to each family on a thumb drive?
Host mp4/mkv from Google Drive and let them download on their own? (would be nice if there was a solid Roku/AppleTV choice for this)

I'm leaning toward the mp4/mkv options and letting each family member figure out how to cast or stream the videos, but having DVDs makes it easy to watch on a TV.

For those of you who do a lot of this, what is your recommendation?

Thanks
Kevin

You could always ask the members to get a consensus. Older folks will likely prefer DVD media, younger folks a download from a Web site or maybe MP4 on a thumb drive.

Sixty 90-minute videos represents a lot of data, even at VHS quality MP4. It may be worth editing it down to a reasonable length, especially if it is comprised of random backyard picnics and trips to the beach, to keep just the high interest stuff.

Some other considerations:
- Thumb drives due to small size are easier to misplace/lose than discs in a library case, and easier to erase accidentally.
- Streaming or downloading from the Web requires a decent internet connection, and that is not readily available everywhere, especially rural locations.
- You can get a lot of SD video on a Bluray disc - if people have players.
- DVD may be the lowest common denominator
- Older folks are often not as tech savvy with the latest medial distribution//viewing toys.

Once you have the video in restored format it is fairly easy to encode to various formats for distribution if more than one methods makes sense for your family.

DVD-R single layer.

"Younger folks" can convert it themselves, if they really want to watch it their phones, i-whatevers, etc. And odds are they won't care until they too are older. They may lose MP4 files before then: failed hard drive, accidental deletion, lost cloud drives (lost password, didn't pay bill, limited free space so dumped in favor of games/memes, whatever), etc. But discs are harder to lose track of.

The "older folks" don't really care how they watch it, just that it is convenient.

Those of us in the middle, neither oldest nor youngest, are savvy enough to rip to ISO for watching. We have HTPC DLNA networks. Some money and time to make it convenient. We'll store the disc in a box or drawer, and enjoy the digital copy -- all while feeling safer that a hard copy backup exists.

Your biggest issue with MP4/MKV is the lossy time-consuming deinterlace process. It's not worth it for the amount of content you have. If this was just a couple edited videos, sure, do both. But not for all of it. That's just insanity. You'll hate video by the time you chug through that chore of a project.

Thank you for the advice. DVD-R is certainly an easier path without the de-interlacing.

In my past life, I used TMPGEnc to encode and burn the DVDs -- is this still the right tool to use? Or is there something free that will do the job as well? I don't know that I've used TMPGEnc since version 4

First, be sure to pass on copies of the original captures and edited files in their "raw" form (i.e. before converting to your final distribution format) to several responsible family members as backups / possible future better restoration/editing.

Second, I'd start with posting a few on Youtube or other streaming site (which you can make private) a preview. Yes, you'll lose some quality, but anyone who wants better quality can ask for a copy on a distribution method of their choice (i.e. Video-DVD, flash drive, download, etc.).

Third, not to be negative, but I think you'll find the true interest in 60 videos @ 90 minutes = 90 hours of video is vastly overestimated. There will be certain common interests, e.g. Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, but beyond that I find (at least in my extended family) historical interest in Aunty, Uncle and cousins to be little to none, especially as siblings have their own families.

I'd suggest a highlights video of no more than 30 minutes and if there's interest in additional footage (is that still a correct term today?), make it available as requested.

Edit: When my Mom passed a couple of years ago, my sisters when through the boxes of hundreds of photos (as is typical after someone's passing) and sorted them out by family and era. Years prior to her passing, my Mom had distributed the majority of childhood photos of each of the married children to them (myself excluded because I lived with her until her passing). Out of the hundreds of photos remaining, I took 4-5 of myself in my youngest years and left the rest in charge of my oldest sister, knowing that after her passing they'll probably be discarded by her children.

An interesting point above. As I went though my parent's slides - most were meaningless to me, I did not recognize the place and in many cases the people. Same applies to the 8mm video my father shot of their trips. Maybe 10% has any meaning to me what so ever. An hour of Alaska glaciers calving ice bergs is, well, on par with watching paint dry, and 59.5 minutes too much.