A footage-based rate across several tape formats
The published rate is $8 per hour of footage captured from your media for the listed video tape formats, including VHS. This is a footage-based figure, so counting cassettes alone will not tell you the cost. A long recording and a short recording may occupy similar-looking tapes. Ask how captured time is measured, how partial hours are charged and whether blank stretches are included when calculating the bill.
The website also lists audio cassette transfer at $8 per side of tape. Keep that separate from the video calculation: an audio side is a different billing unit from an hour of captured video. For a mixed collection, request an estimate broken down by media type, and confirm any taxes, delivery charges or additional work before committing. The published figures do not resolve those details.
Plan the appointment and the collection together
Hannah's House Media Service says meetings are by appointment only, Monday through Friday, 8:30-4:00. Its contact page adds that weekday meetings depend on the provider's schedule. Call 210-414-4300 to arrange a time and confirm the handover location. Treat the published meeting window as a guide to scheduling, rather than a reason to arrive without an appointment.
Shipping services are offered. If that suits your situation, ask about the shipping process, packaging and return arrangements before sending irreplaceable material. Also plan collection early: the preparation page states that projects not picked up after 2 months will be disposed of. Clarify when that period begins and arrange a realistic pickup or return plan. That policy is especially relevant if another relative will collect the project for you.
Choose the files before handing over the tapes
The pricing page states that DVDs are no longer offered. For this provider, the useful next conversation is about the current digital delivery options: the file type, how files are supplied and whether you must bring storage. Ask whether the files will play on your usual computer or television and whether they can be uploaded to a private family archive. No particular file format or delivery medium should be assumed.
Prepare a numbered inventory that keeps each tape matched to a short description, such as 'summer holiday, probably late nineties.' Mark uncertainty honestly. Set aside tapes with damaged cases, loose tape or signs of mold, and ask whether they can be accepted before attempting playback. Choose a small group of priority recordings if the collection is large. This gives you a manageable first decision without requiring every family member to agree on the whole collection.
Keep film reels and still pictures on separate lists
The website also describes Super Eight and eight-millimeter film transfer. Its published reel prices are $5 per three-inch reel, $10 per five-inch reel, $15 per six-inch reel and $20 per seven-inch reel, with music overlay included. Those are film figures, not VHS prices. If you have reels as well as tapes, identify each group separately and discuss whether music overlay suits the family material you want to preserve.
Pictures, 35mm slides and 35mm negatives appear in the scanning price list too. A mixed project can benefit from a shared numbering system: a photograph of a birthday might help identify the people and date in a video. Keep original captions and handwritten notes with your inventory, and ask relatives to identify unfamiliar faces before that knowledge becomes harder to recover.
From finished transfers to a private family archive
When the files arrive, open every one and check the beginning, middle and end for expected pictures and sound. Compare filenames with your inventory, note anything missing and keep the original tapes. Save a second digital copy in a separate place so that a lost drive does not become another lost family recording.
Memrial is a separate private family archive for digital memories after conversion. It does not convert tapes or form part of Hannah's House Media Service. Its free plan includes 2.0 GB of storage shared across the archive, with no card needed. Invite relatives, arrange photos and home videos in albums, and add comments or stories. Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, making it easier to find a recording by year even when its handwritten label is incomplete.
A Live Watch Party synchronizes an uploaded home video through the host's play, pause and seek controls, with voice and text chat for relatives nearby or far away. 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 contributed.