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The use of VHS tapes peaked in the 1990s with the rise of video camcorders. VHS tapes and VCR players were commonly found in appliance stores across the country and were growing less expensive by the year. In fact, it was common for TVs to have VCR players built-in – at least until DVD players took over at the turn of the century.
If your family owned a camcorder and recorded home movies throughout the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, you might have dozens of VHS tapes in your home. If you no longer have a VCR, watching these tapes might feel impossible.
Fortunately, we have you covered. Our team at Memory Fortress can help you with your VHS to digital conversion project. Use this guide to set a reasonable budget estimate so you can get a general idea of what this project costs.
Start by Counting Your VHS Tapes
The first step when budgeting your project is to get an idea of the scope of the work. Pull together all of the VHS tapes you have in your house and any others you would like to convert. If you want to complete this project all at once, reach out to other family members who might have home movies that they want to convert as well. You can ship us all of your VHS tapes and can save more on the project because of it.
Counting your tapes is an essential part of your VHS to digital conversion project because we bill on a per-tape basis (like most digitization companies). You can estimate your costs based on the number of tapes you have.
Check Our Sliding Scale Fees
At Memory Fortress, our pricing plan is simple: the more you need us to digitize, the less we charge to do the work. We have different thresholds for VHS to digital conversion and drop our prices more and more the higher up you go.
For example, we can digitize a single VHS tape for $20. However, if you need us to digitize more than 10 VHS tapes, the price drops to $17 per tape. Our prices keep dropping until you need to send us more than 100 VHS tapes, where we will only charge $14 per tape to digitize the content.
Take the number of VHS tapes you have and multiply them by the cost-per-tape that they fall into. This will give you a ballpark estimate for your digitization costs.
Choose the Best Format You Want Your Video Content
The VHS to digital conversion price is the starting point for your project. The next step is to make sure you are receiving your memories in the right format. If you would like your video in MP4 format, you will need to add $4 to each VHS conversion. For example, if you have 25 VHS tapes to digitize, the price-per-tape plus MP4 is $16 plus $4, or $20 per tape.
The MP4 conversion is completely optional. If you do not want to receive your memories in MP4 format, we can save your videos on DVDs. The first DVD is always free. Additional DVDs cost $9 per DVD and the number of DVDs you will need depends on the size of your project.
If you would like a detailed estimate of your project cost and the number of DVDs that you will need, don’t hesitate to call. You can reach our team at 678-675-0014 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Make Sure You Hit the Minimum Order Threshold
Our team at Memory Fortress can handle orders of all sizes, from large family projects to small VHS to digital conversion requests. However, we do have a minimum order threshold of $99.
If you are worried that you will not be able to hit that threshold, look for other media that you want to digitize. Our team can scan loose photos, digitize albums, and even convert slides. You can start with your VHS tapes and digitize all of your memories at one time.
If you are on a budget, know that you don’t have to pay for the entire project upfront. We only ask for $29 down and will send you a final invoice for the work once it is complete.
Plan for Shipping Costs
Your budgeting plan for your VHS to digital conversion project is almost done. The final step is to learn how much it will cost to ship your memories to our Duluth, Georgia offices. If you live near our offices, you are welcome to deliver your VHS tapes directly to our team – just call ahead first so we know to expect you. This eliminates your shipping costs entirely.
We recommend using professional shipping companies like FedEx and UPS to ship your VHS tapes. You can track your packages carefully and make sure they arrive at our offices safely. Your shipping costs will depend on your order size and weight.
There is good news as you budget these expenses: you only have to pay for shipping one way. We fully cover the return shipping costs to send your VHS tapes back to you. Each recording you send us will be sent back in the same shape as we received it. You can trust us with your memories.
Bonus: Ask About or Military Discount
There’s one more thing to check for as you budget your VHS to digital conversion project. Our team at Memory Fortress is proud to offer a discount to active-duty military members, veterans, and their families. All you have to do is call our offices when you place an order and let us know your status. We thank you for your service and are proud to protect your family memories just like you protect our country.
Start Your VHS to Digital Conversion Today
Now is the best possible time to your memories from VHS to digital format. VHS tapes break down over time, which means your memories could soon be lost. If you wait to start this project, you could put this video footage at risk.
Take the first steps to protect your memories by gathering your VHS tapes and estimating your order costs. This can prepare you to launch your project with a business you can trust. We are happy to help you turn your home movies into digital files or DVDs that will last. When you are ready, start your order.