Baby's first steps, the first day of school, or a 50th wedding anniversary — you've probably captured many memories with your camcorder. What will you do with all that footage? Will you play it back on your TV? Will you make copies to share with friends and family? Will you edit your files and archive them to enjoy for years to come? Below, we'll look at what you can do with your camcorder footage, and offer our suggestions and tips for getting the best results with your home movies.

Playing your videos on a TV

Reviewing your footage on a TV is simple enough — connect the camcorder to your TV with the audio/video cables that come in the box. However, these cables probably won't give you the best-quality connection, so you may want to invest in higher-quality cables. Many standard-definition camcorders come with a composite video cable, but also feature an S-video output. With an optional S-video cable, your home movies will look cleaner and crisper on your TV.

Using the best output on your camcorder will give you crisper, cleaner playback.

Selecting the right cables is even more important if you own a high-definition camcorder and an HDTV. In order to view the video you recorded in full high-def resolution, you'll want to use a component video or HDMI cable. Many of these camcorders come with a component video cable in the box, and also have a mini- or full-sized HDMI output for use with an optional cable. Using a compatible HDMI cable can give you a convenient single-cable connection to your TV, since it can pass both video and audio signals. (See specific camcorder models for more information about video output options — some cams feature proprietary outputs and will require a specialized video cable.)

New ways to share and enjoy your videos

With recent technology advances, it's become easier than ever to copy and share footage for all to see. Here are a few new ways to share your home movies:

The small Pure Digital Flip camcorder records web and e-mail friendly videos.

• Post your videos on a website. Video-sharing sites like YouTube™ and video blogs make it easy to post footage that your friends and family can view. Post clips of baby's first steps, your child's birthday, or that crazy family reunion you went to last year. You can use special software to compress your recordings for posting on these sites, or invest in a web-friendly cam that produces videos that are easy to upload to sites or e-mail directly to family.

Caption">Store videos on iPods and MP3 players for on-the-go sharing.

• Store footage on an iPod® or MP3 player. Transfer video clips to your portable player and show them off to family members next time you get together at the holidays. Putting videos on a portable player may also require special software that converts your videos to a compatible format. Some players can be connected to a TV for large-scale playback of your videos.

Copying and archiving your footage for yourself and others

You can use a number of different devices to make copies of your footage — from DVD recorders to your computer (if it has a DVD burner). Using a component-style DVD recorder, you simply connect the camcorder via its audio/video outputs. Then you can make standard-definition copies of your discs, tapes, or hard drive video footage.

DVD recorders like the Sony VRD-MC5 allow you to back up home movies without using a PC.

DVD recorders for camcorders are relatively new to the camcorder accessory market. These recorders are designed specifically to help people archive their camcorder footage. They're especially handy for folks who have a hard drive camcorder but don't have a computer with a DVD burner. You'll probably use the USB output on your camcorder to make a digital connection to these DVD recorders. Then, you can record your footage on full-size DVD discs for playback in most newer DVD players.

Some DVD recorders may only offer standard-definition recording. Others will allow you to copy standard- and high-definition video footage — a big plus for HD camcorder owners. You'll be able to downconvert your high-definition (HD) videos for playback on most DVD players, or maintain the high resolution of HD video files for playback on the recorder itself or a compatible Blu-ray Disc™ player.

Another archival option: use your PC and an external hard drive or online storage site
If you have a PC, you can attach an external hard drive to your computer and simply copy footage from your tapes and discs onto the hard drive. Hard drives have become much more affordable in the past year, so they're a great way to store videos, photos, and music. Saving files onto an additional hard drive lets you keep your computer's hard drive free for everyday needs. Finally, if you fill up an external hard drive with your home movies, you can unplug it and keep it somewhere safe, and connect a new one for your next batch of archives.

Online storage sites provide a great secondary backup in case of a house fire, theft, or other disaster that may cause damage to your tapes, discs, or PC. They let you store your files on a secure, remote server via an Internet connection, usually for a small monthly maintenance fee. When looking for a site, be sure to find a reputable name since they tend to have the best quality facilities for their servers. Be aware of any storage limitations the company has, and of what security measures they take to keep your data safe. It's also a good idea to read some customer reviews, if you can. Some sites, like Backup.com, automatically back up your data for you.

The importance of backing up your footage
It's unfortunate, but discs and tapes can break, wear out, or get lost, and hard drives fail eventually. So we recommend that you make multiple copies of your videos. Backing up your home movies on additional discs and to an external hard drive is a great way to ensure your memories will survive for years to come. We recommend against using your computer's hard drive to store everything long-term. Uncompressed digital video takes up a lot of space, and your computer's main hard drive is more susceptible to eventual failure. An external hard drive will allow you to store your videos without taking up unnecessary space on your PC. That way, if you lose a tape or DVD, or if your computer's hard drive crashes, you'll still have perfect copies of your son's first steps, your best friend's wedding, and other irreplaceable footage.