QuickFlics archives your smartphone videos to DVD
If you're tired of your videos languishing in cloud or small-screen obscurity, this service will deliver them on disc to your door.
Smartphones and tablets are great for shooting videos on the go, but then what? Do they just pile up, rarely viewed because the screen is so small? Or do you offload them to cloud storage, where they're even less likely to get watched?
QuickFlics is a new app/service (currently for iOS, coming soon for Android) that archives your mini movies to DVDs. It's a lot like Groovebook, which turns your smartphone photos into flipbooks, but for video.
The app is about as simple as they come. After creating an account (which does require a credit card, though you don't get billed until you upload your first batch of videos), you simply choose the videos you want for your DVD.
Each disc can hold up to 2GB worth of content, though a 4GB option is coming soon. (I'm not sure why this limitation exists, given that a standard double-layer DVD can hold 8.5GB. It might have to do with the time requirement to upload that much material.)
Another gripe: why DVD? Most smartphones and tablets record HD video, but DVDs top out at a decidedly standard-def 720 x 480. That may prove sufficient for, say, grandparents who don't own a Blu-ray player, but QuickFlics really should be supplying Blu-ray discs, not DVDs. Fortunately, that option is in the works.
The real head-scratcher here is that the service works on a subscription basis, charging $8.99 per month for one DVD per month. (You can order additional copies for $4.99 apiece.) You can cancel and resume your subscription at any time, but that's one more hassle to deal with. My feeling is QuickFlics should let you order on-demand and leave it at that. (As it happens, Groovebook uses the same subscription model -- which I also find vexing.)
On the flipside, stopping and restarting your subscription is literally a one-tap affair within the settings menu, so as hassles go, it's extremely minor.
Because the service is brand new, I haven't had the chance to see a finished product (turnaround time is typically three to five days, according to the developer), but I certainly do like the idea. And I'm told a forthcoming update will allow videos to be uploaded one at a time (instead of in one big batch) and will track which videos have already been uploaded.
So, yeah, there's a lot of promise here. But even as it stands right now, QuickFlics makes it pretty effortless (and affordable) to turn your smartphone videos into a DVD.