If you've still got a stack of VHS tapes gathering dust in a Brighton loft, you're not alone. Those tapes hold precious memories: birthday parties, seaside trips on the Palace Pier, family gatherings in Regency Square. But VHS degrades over time, and the players to watch them are becoming harder to find. The good news is that digitising those tapes is easier than you might think.
How to Get Your VHS Tapes Digitised in Brighton
There are two main routes: using a local transfer service or doing it yourself with a capture kit. Whichever you choose, act soon, because tapes left in a damp loft or a hot cupboard can deteriorate. Sticky tape syndrome, where the binder breaks down and makes the tape stick to itself, is a common problem. Mould can grow on the tape surface if humidity is high, and the plastic casing can become brittle with age. To avoid these issues, store your tapes upright in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. If you have tapes that haven't been played in years, it's worth giving them a gentle rewind and fast-forward once before playback to loosen any sticking.
Using a Transfer Service
Several businesses in the Brighton area offer VHS to digital conversion. They typically charge per tape, and prices vary depending on the provider and whether you want extras like editing, chapter markers, or custom menus. You can compare options using the provider checker on this page. Most services will return your files on a USB drive or via a download link. Turnaround is usually a few weeks, but some offer express options for an extra fee. If you have a lot of tapes, this can save you hours of hands-on time. Just label your tapes clearly and note any special memories you want included. Some services also offer cleaning of your tapes before transfer, which can help improve quality.
DIY with a USB Capture Kit
If you have a working VCR and a computer, a USB capture card is an inexpensive solution. You can buy one on eBay or Amazon for around around £20. Our step-by-step DIY guide walks you through connecting everything and using free software to record the video. It takes a bit of patience, but you can do it at your own pace. Make sure your VCR is clean and the heads are in good condition. Test with a tape you don't mind losing first. The quality of the capture depends on the source tape, so don't expect HD results from an old VHS. But for preserving memories, it's perfectly adequate.
What to Do With Your Digitised Videos?
Once your tapes are digitised, you might be tempted to just save the files on a hard drive and forget about them. That would be a shame, and a missed opportunity. Those files can easily end up as lost as the tapes were in the loft. The problem is that digitised files alone don't bring the memories to life; they just sit there, isolated from the rest of your family's story. You might share a couple on social media, but then they're scattered across different platforms, and the context is lost. Your relatives probably have their own old photos and videos that could complete the picture.
Bring Your Family Together with Memrial
Imagine having all your family's memories in one private, permanent place, not scattered across phones, hard drives, and shoeboxes. Memrial is a private family memory archive, like a social network for just your family. You can upload the videos and photos already on your phone, pin dates to build a shared family timeline, and invite relatives to add their own old photos and videos. So those digitised VHS tapes join the same timeline as your uncle's holiday snaps and your grandmother's photo albums. No more asking around for who has which memory; it's all in one place.
With Memrial, you can watch old home videos together in synced Watch Parties, even if your family is far apart, everyone sees the same moment and reacts together. Faded or black and white footage can be brought back to life with Colourisation. And you can tag the people in every memory, so no one is forgotten. You don't need to wait until your tapes are digitised. Start now, for free, from your phone. You are the archive owner with full control. Your digitised tapes can join later. It's the shoebox of scattered family memories, finally in one place.
Ready to Preserve Your Family's Story?
Start your free Memrial family archive today and give every memory a permanent home.