One enquiry for VHS, camcorder tapes and discs
The range here matters if your family changed cameras over the years. Shirley VHS To Digital explicitly names VHS-C, 8mm camcorder and Mini DV alongside full-size VHS. The reference to 8mm is to camcorder tapes, so do not assume that it includes reels of cine film. DVDs and Mini DVDs are also listed for conversion to MP4.
Make a short inventory using the format printed on each cassette or disc. Give each item a simple number and record any handwritten title without changing the original label. A relative might recognise a birthday or holiday that means little to you; ask them before assigning dates. If a cassette is cracked, smells musty or has visible mould, describe its condition when enquiring and ask whether it can be handled. Do not try playing it to find out.
The two tape price bands to compare
The published VHS rate covers recordings up to 180 minutes: £17 per tape for 1-9 tapes, or £14 per tape for 10 or more. For VHS-C, 8mm and Mini-DV tapes, the stated limit is up to 90 minutes, with rates of £14 per tape for 1-9 tapes and £12 per tape for 10 or more. These are separate format-specific bands; the camcorder price should not be applied to a full-size VHS cassette.
For a mixed collection, request a total based on your actual inventory. Ask how the quantity discount is counted across formats and how longer recordings are charged. The quoted figures do not specify VAT treatment or whether USB media and cloud delivery carry additional charges, so include those questions in the same enquiry. There is no established completion time in these details: if you want the files for a reunion, state the date and obtain an agreed timescale.
Arrange the handover in Shirley
The website places the business on Marshall Lake Road near Sears Retail Park in Shirley, Solihull. Drop-off is by appointment. Its service page also says collection can be arranged and specifies no posting, making direct contact the practical next step rather than sending a parcel. Ask whether collection is available for your address and whether there is a charge.
Before handing anything over, keep your inventory and count the items together. Pack cassettes in their cases where possible, protecting loose discs from scratches. Identify any recording you would like dealt with first, but agree that priority with the business. The FAQ says original tapes are returned, so use the same inventory when collecting them and keep the originals after the transfer.
Choose how you will use the MP4 files
Shirley VHS To Digital states that it converts recordings to MP4 and transfers them to USB or the cloud. Think about the first place you will watch them: a computer, a television or a family archive. Ask which delivery method suits that device, how the files are named and, for cloud delivery, how long you have to download them. A USB option still needs checking against the playback requirements of your own television.
Once the files arrive, play the beginning, middle and end of each recording and check the sound. Match each file to your inventory so that a missing cassette or unclear filename is spotted early. Save another copy somewhere separate from the delivery device. Conversion makes footage easier to access, but one USB stick should not become the only place a family recording survives.
Let relatives add the dates and stories afterwards
After conversion, Memrial provides a separate private family archive for digital memories. It does not convert tapes and is not part of Shirley VHS To Digital. You can invite relatives, arrange photos and home videos in albums, and add comments and stories. Free sign-up needs no card and includes 2.0 GB of storage shared across the archive. Check the size of your video files before deciding which recordings to upload first.
Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, helping you find memories by year even when a cassette label only gives a rough clue. For a family reunion, a Live Watch Party can synchronise an uploaded home video, with the host controlling play, pause and seek while relatives use voice or text chat. The free allowance is three hours a month with up to six participants.
Event Memories offers a secure contribution link for an occasion such as that reunion. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership; their photos and videos go into the event album. Closing the link retains the collected memories, giving the gathering a lasting place beside the older recordings.