A clear starting price for different tape types
The Memorybiz lists VHS transfer at £15.00 per tape as a digital download, with an extra cost for DVD or USB. Its Video 8, Hi8 and Digital 8 listing also gives £15.00 per tape for a download, as does MiniDV. These are separate format listings with the same stated price, so a collection containing both full-size VHS cassettes and small camcorder tapes need not begin with a guess about whether those formats are offered.
Use those figures to frame an enquiry, then confirm the total for your particular collection before handing anything over. Ask whether recording length changes the charge, whether any minimum applies and how tax is treated. The published figures do not settle those questions. If a tape has a broken casing, visible mould or a history of getting stuck in a player, describe that condition and ask whether it can be handled before attempting playback yourself.
Cloud download, DVD or USB: choose for the viewer
The tape page offers a digital file via the cloud with that price included, a DVD set or a USB stick. It also says physical copies come in a fully customisable case. A case may make a physical copy appealing as a present, while a download gives you files to organise and copy yourself. DVD and USB cost extra, so ask for the complete price of the option you want.
Before deciding, think about the equipment your relatives actually use. Ask which file type the digital download contains and whether it will play on your intended computer or television. If you choose DVD, check the recipient has a suitable player. For a cloud download, ask how long access remains available and save your own copy promptly. Receiving a file is only the beginning of keeping it accessible.
The tape price list separates the download price from optional physical copies: a DVD set is £4.00 extra per order and a USB stick is £10.00 extra per order. Tape repair is listed separately at £5.00 per tape. Ask which extras your collection needs so the final quote covers the whole job.
Keep a mixed collection clearly separated
The Memorybiz also advertises 8mm cine reel transfer, photographs, 35mm slides and negatives, and audio tape and vinyl record transfers. Each of those broader service categories is advertised as starting at £15. Those starting figures are not per-VHS-tape prices and do not establish the cost of scanning a particular number of photographs or transferring a particular reel. Request a separate quote for each kind of material.
An inventory will help you explain the job without relying on memory. Give each tape a simple reference number and copy its label into a list, preserving uncertain dates as uncertain. Keep photographs, film reels and audio recordings in their own groups. Ask how originals should be packed, how handover and return will work, and when the work could be ready. The listing places The Memorybiz in Hailsham; arrange the details directly before travelling.
Review the transfer with someone who remembers it
Once you receive the files, compare them with your inventory and check the beginning, middle and end of each recording. Listen as well as watch: speech and background sounds can help identify the occasion. If something appears missing or a file will not open, record the filename and approximate point where the problem occurs before contacting the converter.
A relative may recognise a holiday location or place a birthday within a year or two. Add that information as a note rather than silently turning an estimate into an exact date. Keep the original tapes, keep an unchanged copy of the returned files, and make another backup in a separate place. A USB stick used for everyday viewing should not be the only surviving digital copy.
From downloaded recordings to a private family archive
Memrial is a separate private family archive for photos and home videos after conversion. It does not digitise tapes and is not part of The Memorybiz. Its free plan includes 2.0 GB of storage shared across the archive, with no card needed. You can invite relatives, organise albums and add comments and stories around recordings you have uploaded.
Timeline lets you use exact or approximate dates to find memories by year. For an undated seaside holiday, an approximate year can provide a useful place to start while relatives contribute what they remember. Live Watch Parties synchronise an uploaded home video, with the host controlling play, pause and seek and relatives using voice or text chat nearby or far away. The free allowance is three hours per month with up to six 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 retains the memories already gathered. That gives newly converted footage somewhere to sit alongside the photographs and stories the family adds today.