Count the tapes, then check their running time
The website publishes tape-to-DVD rates of $28.99 per tape for 1-4 tapes, $26.99 for 5-9, $24.99 for 10-19, $21.99 for 20-35, and $19.99 for the bracket labeled 36-50+. These online rates apply only to VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Sony 8mm, Hi-8, Digital 8, and DV-Mini. Other formats require a quote.
The duration condition is just as important as the quantity: video transfer rates are based on two hours or less of video per tape. Longer recordings are prorated, with the website saying those charges generally apply only when a tape runs at least 15 minutes over time. Treat this as a pricing condition to discuss, rather than assuming every cassette costs the same. Ask for the complete charge for your chosen output, including any applicable taxes and storage media. The listed DVD rates do not establish a digital-file price.
Choose a file as deliberately as a disc
Video to DVD lists MP4 H264, Apple ProRes 422, and AVI digital files alongside DVD conversion. It also says files can be supplied on a USB drive, thumb drive, or portable hard drive, with drive type potentially depending on the resulting file size. Ask which combination suits ordinary viewing, future editing, and the devices your relatives own.
For everyday family viewing, ask about an MP4 copy and test a sample on your intended device if possible. If editing is a priority, explain the software you plan to use before selecting a format. A disc and a file can serve different purposes; confirm whether your quote includes both if that is what you want. Also clarify whether you should supply a drive, how much space it needs, and how individual tapes will be named.
Make the Mission Valley conversation specific
The provider's website identifies its Mission Valley office at 3737 Camino Del Rio S., Suite 111, San Diego, CA 92108, and publishes Monday through Friday hours of 9:30am to 4pm. The published phone number is 619.220.8500. Before traveling, contact the office with your tape count and format list and confirm current intake arrangements and expected completion timing.
Give each cassette a simple reference number and photograph its handwritten label. Keep a matching inventory with likely contents and any known problems. For cracked shells, loose tape, or visible mold, describe the condition and ask whether assessment or repair is available. Avoid opening the cassette or repeatedly trying it in a player just to discover what is recorded.
Separate a mixed collection before requesting a quote
A family collection may contain more than VHS. Video to DVD also publishes full-sized and micro audio cassette transfers to USB digital audio, reel-to-reel audio transfers, LP record transfers, photo scanning, and slide and negative transfers. List these separately when making an inquiry so that audio, photographs, and video are each quoted under the right service.
Start with recordings that have the strongest personal value, especially if the labels are unclear. Ask relatives which birthdays, performances, or interviews they remember. Their knowledge can help you prioritize the work without having to identify every recording first. Keep guesses marked as guesses in your inventory.
Check the return before putting tapes away
When you receive the files, compare them with your inventory and play the beginning, middle, and end of each recording. Check sound, picture, and whether the ending seems complete. Raise anything unexpected with the converter while you can still identify the original tape. Keep the originals, retain an untouched copy of the delivered files, and make another backup in a separate place before reorganizing or editing your viewing copies.
Let relatives add the dates and stories
After conversion, Memrial provides a separate private family archive for digital photos and home videos. It does not convert tapes and is separate from Video to DVD. The free allowance is 2.0 GB shared across the archive, with no card needed. Compare that allowance with your files before deciding what to upload. Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, helping relatives find a memory by year even when nobody remembers the day.
For a family reunion, a Live Watch Party can synchronize an uploaded home video, with host play, pause, and seek controls plus voice and text chat for relatives near or far. The free limit is three hours per month and six participants. Event Memories offers a secure occasion contribution link: contributors sign in but need no archive membership, uploads collect in the event album, and closing the link keeps the memories.