Start with CinePost's home-video prices
CinePost publishes Standard Definition capture at $35 and High Definition capture at $75 under Home Video Tapes. The same entry lists creating a DVD from a captured file at $50 and creating a Blu-ray at $50. Those are the stated amounts, but the entry does not explain the charging unit, a duration allowance or tax treatment. Ask for a written total based on your actual tapes, requested files and any discs before deciding what to submit.
The website also carries separate prices for 16mm and Super16 film. Those film rates are not VHS prices and should not be used to estimate a cassette collection. If your family has both reels and tapes, describe them separately when requesting a quote so each format is accounted for. For VHS, ask what the High Definition option changes in the delivered file; a higher-resolution output does not by itself establish that an old recording contains additional picture detail.
ProRes or MP4 depends on the next use
CinePost's home-video entry offers ProRes or MP4 digital capture. Its broader website also names DPX and DNX among the codecs it works with, but that wider list should not be read as a promise of every format for a VHS order. Keep the conversation focused on the home-video options and ask what each delivery includes.
For ordinary family viewing, ask which MP4 settings will work on your intended television, computer or phone. If someone plans to edit the recording, ask whether a ProRes copy is appropriate and how much storage it will need. Explain both uses if you want an editing copy and a convenient viewing copy, then confirm whether both can be supplied and at what cost. A disc can be useful for a relative with a compatible player, while retaining digital files gives you another way to organize and copy the recordings later.
Make the tape handover easy to account for
Before contacting CinePost, give each cassette a simple number and photograph its label. List the format written on the case, any known recording date and a short description such as school concert or summer visit. Keep uncertain dates marked as uncertain. A numbered inventory helps you compare the returned files with the originals without relying on a half-remembered handwritten title.
Flag cracked cases, loose tape, visible mold or playback problems and ask whether the material can be assessed safely. Do not assume repair or restoration is included. Also ask about the expected completion date, delivery medium, file naming, return of the originals and any extra charges. CinePost publishes weekday contact hours as Monday through Friday, 10 to 6pm; confirm arrangements before taking irreplaceable tapes to the office.
Check the files while the tape labels are handy
When the converted files arrive, open each one and compare it with your inventory. Check the beginning, a few points in the middle and the ending, listening as well as watching. Look for missing sections, unexpected silence, incorrect filenames or a file that stops early. If something seems wrong, note the file name and playback time so your question is precise. This is a sensible receiving check, not a statement about CinePost's quality or correction policy.
Keep the physical tapes and store more than one digital copy in separate places. Preserve the original delivered files before making edited versions. Invite an older relative to help identify people, places and occasions while the footage is fresh in everyone's mind. A tentative date or a name attached to a recording can make it much easier to find years later.
Continue the family story in a private archive
After conversion, Memrial offers a separate private family archive for digital photos and home videos. It does not convert tapes and is not part of CinePost. You can invite relatives, arrange albums and add comments or stories. The free plan includes 2.0 GB of storage shared across the archive, with no card needed. Check your video file sizes against that allowance before uploading a large collection.
Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, helping relatives find memories by year even when a cassette only says summer in the 1990s. Live Watch Parties synchronize an uploaded home video, with the host controlling play, pause and seek while relatives nearby or far away use voice and text chat. The free allowance is 3 hours per month with up to 6 participants.
For a family reunion, Event Memories provides a secure occasion contribution link. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership; their photos and videos collect in the event album. Closing the link keeps the memories already gathered, so the occasion can remain part of the family archive afterward.