VHS and the smaller tapes beside it
The transfer page lists VHS, Compact VHS and Super VHS for transfer to DVD or USB stick. It also lists Mini DV, Hi8, Video8, Digital8 and Micro DV. Keep those names separate when making an inventory. A similar-looking cassette does not necessarily use the same recording system, and the service list is more useful when your enquiry names the format printed on each tape.
Write down the cassette label, any remembered occasion and the approximate recorded length if you know it. A photograph of an unclear format label can help frame a question without guessing. Number the tapes on their cases and keep a matching list, especially if several relatives are contributing recordings. These are preparation suggestions, rather than a stated requirement from the business.
Compare the hourly rates with the whole job
The published video prices are £7 per hour of footage for basic transfer to USB stick, £20 per hour of footage for premium video transfer on DV tapes only, and £10 per hour of footage for transfer to DVD. Additional DVD copies are listed at £3 each. The page also states a £5 minimum charge for any video service.
Those figures provide a starting point, but ask for a total based on your particular collection before handing it over. Clarify how partial hours, blank stretches and several short recordings are counted, and whether any tax or other costs apply. The transfer page explicitly says the USB stick is not included, so ask whether you should supply one and what capacity is needed. Do not treat the DV-only premium rate as a premium VHS option.
Choose DVD or USB around the people watching
Both DVD and USB appear in the published transfer options. DVD may suit a relative who already watches discs on a familiar player. For a family hoping to organise footage on a computer and share selected memories privately, USB files are worth discussing. Ask which file format would be delivered and whether it will work on your intended devices; the published USB option alone does not settle those details.
Also establish how recordings will be divided and named. One file per tape can be easy to reconcile with your inventory, while occasion-based organisation may be easier for relatives later. Ask what is available before assuming editing is included. If your ultimate aim is online viewing, check the chosen archive accepts the delivered files and estimate storage from their actual size.
Arrange the Hastings enquiry and check the return
The contact page gives Saxon Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN35 5HJ, and telephone number 07801 800649. Use that contact to arrange how tapes should reach the business and when they can be returned. Ask about the expected completion time and describe any cracked casing, mould or previous playback trouble before attempting to play a suspect tape. Transfer availability does not itself establish a repair or restoration service.
After receiving digital copies, check the beginning, middle and end of each recording, including sound and any point where the original seems to change scenes. Match files to your numbered inventory and raise missing passages while the job is still easy to identify. Keep the original tapes and make a second digital copy on separate storage. An archive upload should be part of a preservation plan, alongside another copy you control.
Let relatives add the context after conversion
Memrial is a separate private family archive for digital memories after conversion. It does not convert physical tapes and is not part of Keith Miles Video Services. You can invite relatives, organise photos and home videos into albums, and add comments and stories. The free allowance is 2.0 GB shared across the archive, with no card needed. Check your files against that allowance before planning a large upload.
Timeline uses exact or approximate dates to help you find memories by year. If a summer holiday is clearly from the late 1990s but nobody remembers the day, an approximate date gives it a useful place while relatives compare recollections. Live Watch Parties synchronise an uploaded home video, with host play, pause and seek controls plus voice and text chat for relatives near or far. Free Watch Parties allow 3 hours a month and up to 6 participants.
For a family reunion, Event Memories can collect new photos and videos through a secure occasion contribution link. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership; uploads go into the event album. Closing the link keeps the memories already collected. This lets an older transferred recording sit alongside the present-day occasion and the stories people bring to it.