Start with the slides you want to use again
Parrot publishes a price of $1 per slide, with a minimum order of $19. Its stated 2400 dpi scanning service produces JPEG images from 35mm slides. Those details make it possible to frame a specific inquiry: how many slides you have, which ones matter most, and whether you want individual images or a presentation.
The website describes a choice between CD-ROM containing digital image files and a DVD slideshow for a computer or DVD-R compatible player. These serve different purposes. Individual files are useful when relatives want to identify people, make selections or organize pictures into albums. A slideshow gives a sequence to watch. Ask how the images can be supplied for the devices your family actually uses, especially if nobody has a disc drive.
A photo presentation has its own price and purpose
A separate published offer is $3 per photo, including scanning, music, transitions, some effects, and opening and closing titles. That is a presentation package; it should not be read as a general price for every scanning job. Confirm the total for your chosen service, including any delivery charges or taxes, before ordering.
For an anniversary presentation, decide the order before handing over the pictures. A short list of names and approximate years can prevent the finished sequence from becoming a guessing game. Keep a record of that order yourself, and ask whether separate image files accompany the presentation. That preserves flexibility if you later want to use one picture independently.
Movie film and audio need separate estimates
The movie-film page lists an additional $20.00 per project to go to digital DVD, including all DVDs required. This is an added delivery charge, not a complete film-transfer price. The same page says empty boxes are returned and film is returned labeled in shrink-wrap plastic for storage. Those return details apply to movie film; confirm arrangements separately for any other originals.
For audio, Parrot describes recording the content into a digital file on CD. If your collection includes a recorded family interview as well as pictures, request a separate estimate and clarify how you will copy and play the recording. Organizing the work by medium helps avoid applying a slide, film or audio charge to a videotape.
Make the VHS inquiry specific
Parrot is a place to inquire about VHS, rather than a confirmed VHS provider on the basis of these published details. Describe the labels on your cassettes and ask whether the exact formats are accepted. Ask about the price basis, expected completion time, file delivery and return of originals in the same conversation.
Before handing over tapes, number each cassette and photograph its label. Note visible damage or known playback problems, and ask whether the business can assess them. Avoid trying to play a visibly damaged tape just to discover its contents. If digital files are available, discuss a format that works on your computer and can be uploaded to a family archive. A DVD viewing copy and an accessible video file have different uses.
Check the delivery before putting originals away
When the finished material arrives, compare it with your inventory. Open every image folder and sample each video or audio recording at the beginning, middle and end. Check that names, sequence and sound make sense, and raise missing items or playback problems promptly. These are practical checks for your collection, rather than promises about Parrot’s process.
Keep the originals and a separate backup of the digital files. Give folders understandable names, then invite a relative to help identify unfamiliar faces or places. Preserve uncertainty in the captions: an approximate year is more useful than a confidently wrong date.
Continue the family conversation in Memrial
After conversion, Memrial offers a separate private family archive for photos and home videos. It does not convert tapes and is not part of Parrot Video Services. The free archive includes 2.0 GB of shared storage, with no card needed. Relatives can add comments and stories, while Timeline uses exact or approximate dates to help find memories by year.
A Live Watch Party synchronizes an uploaded home video for relatives nearby or far away. The host controls play, pause and seeking, with voice and text chat alongside playback. The free allowance is three hours per month and up to six participants.
For a family anniversary, Event Memories provides a secure 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, so the occasion can leave a lasting collection.