An appointment and a storage device belong on your plan
VHS NOW publishes appointment-only arrangements and a time window of 4pm - 9pm. Those details make advance contact part of planning the handover. The published window does not identify particular days, so agree a date and time directly. Its website lists a phone number and an email address for contact.
There is also a practical instruction to settle before the appointment: you provide the storage media. The published choices are a USB drive, SD card, or files burned to DVD. Ask which option suits your collection, how much empty space it needs, and whether the device you already own is suitable. Bring a written inventory so your storage choice and the tapes handed over can be discussed together.
Choose an everyday copy or discuss a lossless request
The VHS NOW lab page describes encoding the raw capture into a standard digital format, typically MP4 using H.264, for broad compatibility. It also says that requested lossless output is encoded to AVI or MOV with no compression. These are different choices to discuss when booking, rather than a reason to assume every order includes several versions.
For family viewing, ask about a file that plays on the devices relatives actually use. If you want to edit the footage later, discuss the lossless option and the space it will require. A container name alone does not explain every playback requirement. Ask what software or device can open the delivered version, and whether a convenient viewing copy can accompany another output. Confirm any effect on the quote before choosing.
Match the transfer request to the tapes you have
The published lab description establishes a video transfer process, but it does not give a complete list of accepted cassette types in these details. When contacting VHS NOW, identify the labels on your tapes, including whether they say VHS or another format. Ask about each type before treating a mixed collection as one order.
Number the tapes and photograph their existing labels. Make a short note of known occasions, likely dates, and any recording you especially want to preserve. Keep unknown dates marked as uncertain. If a cassette has a broken shell, visible contamination, or a history of poor playback, describe that condition and ask whether it can be assessed. Avoid testing a visibly damaged tape yourself simply to estimate its length.
Agree the handover details before leaving originals
The instruction to bring storage media explains how digital files are delivered; it does not establish an originals-return policy. Ask how your tapes will be identified, when they will be returned, and how collection works. Request a current quote, any applicable charges or taxes, and an expected completion date for your specific batch.
On receipt, compare the files against your inventory. Open each recording, check the beginning and end, sample the middle, and listen to the audio. Tell the provider about a missing recording or an unexpected playback issue promptly. Keep the original cassettes and make a second digital copy on a separate device before relying on your first storage device as the only home for the footage.
Put names and dates around the converted recordings
After conversion, Memrial offers a separate private family archive for digital memories. It does not convert physical tapes and is not part of VHS NOW. You can add home videos and photos, organize albums, invite relatives, and collect comments and stories. The free allowance is 2.0 GB shared across the archive, with no card needed; check your files against that capacity before uploading a large collection.
Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates so you can find memories by year even when a tape label only suggests a period. A relative might recognize a birthday, a school uniform, or the people at a gathering. Add what you know and leave room for their recollections, rather than turning a guess into a precise date.
Watch together, then collect the next occasion
A Memrial Live Watch Party synchronizes an uploaded home video while the host controls play, pause, and seek. Voice and text chat let relatives nearby or far away talk through the recording. The free allowance is 3 hours per month with up to 6 participants, which can suit a shared viewing of a family celebration.
For a future anniversary, Event Memories provides a secure occasion contribution link. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership, and their photos and videos collect in the event album. Closing the link keeps those memories. That gives the archive room for both the older recording and the family occasion it helps inspire.