Separate the repair question from the conversion quote
In an older dated post, the business advertises audio and video tape repairs at £10.00 each, and audio and video tape conversion to CD or DVD at £15.00 each. These are two separate advertised services. The wording does not establish a combined repair-and-conversion price, so adding the figures together would not give you a confirmed quotation.
Treat those published figures as a starting point for a current enquiry. Ask whether they still apply, what a repair covers, and whether any additional charges or tax conditions affect your job. Describe each cassette's condition before agreeing to work: a broken shell, loose tape or a cassette that stopped playing gives the provider more useful information than simply calling it damaged. Ask about feasibility rather than assuming every recording can be recovered.
Confirm the cassette format before handing it over
Cassette Repair Service's published offer covers audio and video tapes in general. It does not name VHS in the quoted service description. Give the exact format printed on your cassette when contacting the business, especially if a collection mixes full-size video tapes with smaller camcorder cassettes. A photograph of the label and shell can help explain what you have without trying to play it.
Make a simple numbered inventory and keep the labels associated with the right recordings. Include any handwritten dates, programme titles or family names, even if they are uncertain. Avoid running a visibly damaged tape through a player just to identify its contents. Agree the handover method, likely completion time and return of originals before sending anything; these practical arrangements need a direct answer for your particular job.
Decide whether you want a disc, a file or both
Alongside its CD or DVD conversion offer, the website lists WAV, MP3, MP4 and other digital formats for audio or video content. That wording describes alternatives across different types of recordings, rather than promising every format for every cassette. Ask which video file option is appropriate for your tapes and how the files would be delivered. The £15.00 disc conversion figure does not establish a price for MP4 delivery.
Choose the output around how your family will actually watch or listen. A DVD may suit someone who still uses a disc player; a video file can be easier to copy, organise and upload to a private archive. If both matter, request a quotation for both. Ask about filenames and whether separate recordings will arrive as separate files, so a long compilation remains understandable once its original cassette label is out of sight.
Check the result while the labels are still nearby
When a conversion comes back, compare the delivered recordings with your inventory. Open each file, check the beginning and end, and sample several points for picture and sound. Confirm that the right label belongs to the right recording before renaming anything. Report missing sections or playback difficulties promptly, with the cassette number and the point in the recording where the problem appears.
Keep the original tapes and an untouched copy of the returned files. Make another copy in a separate place before editing or uploading. A relative may recognise a school concert, holiday or birthday more accurately than you can; collect those identifications while checking the material, but record guesses as approximate dates rather than turning them into certainties.
Turn converted recordings into an Exeter family's shared history
After conversion, Memrial provides a separate private family archive for digital memories. It does not convert physical tapes or form part of Cassette Repair Service. Its free allowance is 2.0 GB shared across the archive, with no card needed. Keep your separate backups and check file sizes when deciding which recordings to upload first.
Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, helping relatives find memories by year. A birthday film with an uncertain date can still sit near the right period. Invite relatives to add comments and stories that explain the faces, voices and occasion.
For a family birthday evening, Live Watch Parties synchronise an uploaded home video, with the host controlling play, pause and seek and relatives using voice or text chat nearby or far away. Free Watch Parties allow 3 hours monthly and 6 participants. Event Memories offers a secure occasion contribution link: contributors sign in but need no archive membership, their photos and videos enter the event album, and closing the link keeps those memories.