A transfer enquiry for a mixed collection
The formats listed by Rich Video include VHS, VHS-C, Video8, Hi8, Digital8 and MiniDV, as well as 8mm, Super 8 and cine film. These are useful distinctions when sorting a cupboard of recordings: a small cassette is not necessarily VHS-C, and a film reel needs a different enquiry from a videotape. Copy the labels from each item rather than trying to identify everything from memory.
Its VHS transfer page also mentions photo scanning and slides to DVD. If photographs and slides belong to the same occasion as your videos, ask whether they can be included in your enquiry and quoted separately. Gathering the related material first helps you see the whole occasion, while keeping the format and cost of each part clear.
What the £20 starting price means
Rich Video publishes prices starting from £20 per tape and says discounts are available for larger quantities. This is a starting price, so use it to begin a discussion rather than calculate a final bill for every cassette. Fully authored DVD copies are listed as price on application. Ask for a written total covering your tape count, chosen output and any extras you request.
For a larger collection, identify the recordings you would most like to recover first. You might prioritise a wedding speech or an older relative telling a story, then work through less familiar tapes afterwards. Ask how tape length, blank sections and damaged items affect the quotation, whether tax is included and when the work could be completed. Those answers are worth settling before handing anything over.
Arrange the handover before travelling
Rich Video publishes a studio address at Houldsworth Business & Arts Centre, Houldsworth Mill, Houldsworth Street, Reddish, Stockport SK5 6DA. Its transfer information welcomes studio drop-offs but asks customers to ring or email for an appointment first. It also advertises collection around the local area; confirm whether your address can be included and whether collection adds a charge.
The appointment guidance explains that the team is often out filming. Reception drop-offs are advertised from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, with some Saturdays possible. Arrange the specific handover with the business, especially if you want to speak about the recordings. Number your tapes and keep a matching list, noting loose cases, broken shells or visible mould. Ask how damaged tapes should be handled instead of trying repairs yourself.
Choose an output you can actually use
The website mentions DVD or USB, and its transfer services page also describes digital files. For everyday family access, ask which file format would be supplied and check that it works with your computer and intended archive. A USB device is a way to receive files, while a playable DVD suits someone who still uses a disc player. Confirm what each option includes rather than assuming they are interchangeable.
Once your conversion arrives, compare it with your inventory. Open every file, check the beginning and ending, and sample picture and sound at several points. Keep the supplied copy and another backup in a separate place before renaming or editing anything. Retain the original tapes as well. Descriptive names such as a family surname, occasion and estimated year make the files easier for someone else to understand.
Let relatives help put dates to the footage
After conversion, Memrial can give the digital memories a separate private family archive. It stores photos and home videos; it does not convert tapes and is separate from Rich Video. The free allowance is 2.0 GB shared across the archive, with no card needed. Check the size of your videos before deciding how much to upload.
Invite relatives to add comments and stories, particularly when a place or person is unfamiliar. Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, helping you find memories by year even when the cassette label is vague. A rough year attached to a school performance is more useful than leaving it unidentified, and another relative may later remember the date.
Watch together, then collect the next occasion
Memrial Live Watch Parties synchronise an uploaded home video so relatives nearby or far away can watch together. The host controls play, pause and seek, with voice and text chat for the conversation. The free plan includes three hours per month and up to six participants. Pausing an old birthday video gives everyone time to identify the guests.
For a future birthday or reunion, Event Memories provides a secure occasion contribution link. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership, and their photos and videos go into the event album. Closing the link keeps the collected memories. This connects the recordings you have recovered with the occasions your family is making now.