Forever Studio vs iMemories - Comparison and Buyer's Guide 2024

1. Final Verdict
2. Comparison Table
3. iMemories
4. Forever Studios
5. What Media They Convert
6. How Do They Work
7. Conversion Process
8. Digital Storage Options
9. Turnaround Time
10. Return of Original Media
11. Service Pricing
12. Customer Reviews and Ratings

Recently, a standout professional service has emerged in the market, competing with well-known platforms like iMemories. Forever Studios is a reputable company offering a wider range of services that stand out from the rest. For individuals seeking guidance on selecting the superior service, we have undertaken an extensive comparison of these two services. By thoroughly evaluating their distinct features and drawbacks, we aim to equip you with the necessary insights to make an informed decision about safeguarding your precious memories. Now, let’s delve into the particulars and determine which service could be your perfect match.

Final Verdict

After a careful comparison of Forever Studios and iMemories, it’s clear both services offer excellent memory preservation. However, there are differences that could influence your choice.

Forever Studios excels in restoring old photos and provides a local pick-up service in South Florida). Their process can be a bit complex, and their pricing is itemized, allowing you to customize what you pay for. They also have a slightly faster turnaround time.

iMemories

Trustpilot Rating:

4.5 /5

Visit Official Site

Read Full Review

iMemories stands out with its user-friendly website and order process. They enhance and repair all media as standard, without extra charges, and provide a comprehensive shipping kit for safe transportation. Their pricing is simpler and more inclusive.

Customer reviews are positive for both, but iMemories has more reviews overall.

In short, choose Forever Studios if you have old photos to restore and value quicker service. Choose iMemories if you prefer a user-friendly process, all-inclusive enhancements, and simpler pricing. Either way, your memories are in good hands.

Side-By-Side Comparison of iMemories vs Forever Studios

Service	Editors Choice iMemories	Forever Studios
Website Link	Visit Official Site	Visit Official Site
Shipping kit (box)	Yes	Yes
Free repairs (splicing) and enhancements	Yes	No
Average turnaround time	3-4 weeks	2-3 weeks
ONLINE REVIEWS
	4.5/5 4.6	4/5 4.0
	4.5/5 4.7	n/a
	4/5 4.0	4.5/5 4.5
	4.5/5 4.4	4.5/5 4.9
	4.5/5 4.4	4.5/5 4.9
WHAT FORMATS THEY CONVERT
Video tapes	Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, MicroMini, DVDs, MiniDVDs	VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, Mini Dv, Beta, Umatic, DVC Pro, DV CAM
Film	8mm, 16mm, Super 8	Super 8, 8mm, and 16mm
Photos	Photos, Negatives, Slides	Photo prints, Photos in albums, 35mm slides, and 35mm negatives
Digital media	DVDs and MiniDVDs	DVD, CD, Data & Mini Disks, SD, CF & Micro cards, Flash Drives, Data storage disks
Audio	N/A	Reel to Reel, Audio Cassette, Micro-Cassette
PRICING
Video Conversion Price	$14.99 per tape	Standard Formats $11 per tape (or $16 per tape with enhanced quality) Pro Format Tapes $25 per tape (or $30 per tape with enhanced quality)
Film Conversion Price	$14.99 per 50ft.	3” reels $11 for 50 feet per reel 4” reels $23 for 100 feet per reel 5” reels $46 for 200 feet per reel 7” reels $92 for 400 feet per reel For enhanced quality, calculate the film price with an additional $.10 per foot
Photo Conversion Price	$0.49 per photo	$0.35 per photo, slide, negative or $0.45 with enhanced quality
Digital media	$14.99 per item	Disks $15, Memory Card $25, USBs $25, Floppy Disks $15
Audio Conversion Price	N/A	Audio cassettes & Microcassettes $17 33, 45 & 78 records $17 1/4" Reel to reel $35 Pro format DAT tapes $35 For Enhanced Quality is additionally $10 per item

iMemories

iMemories, a highly regarded service, has gained significant popularity in the field of digitization, leveraging its 17 years of experience. With a strong online presence, the company has established as a frontrunner in the industry. Having successfully served over 1 million families, iMemories has earned the trust and loyalty of its customers.

Notably, the company takes great pride in its impeccable track record of never losing a single memory, which is a crucial factor for individuals who may harbor concerns about entrusting their valuable media for conversion. Furthermore, iMemories has been acknowledged as one of the most innovative companies of 2023, further cementing its commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements.

Forever Studios

Forever Studios, a stalwart in the memory preservation industry, has been earning the trust of customers in the USA since 2007. They’ve helped over a million customers change their old family memories into digital keepsakes that can be enjoyed forever. They are experts in scanning photos, transferring tapes, turning film into digital copies, and changing audio into a digital format.

At Forever Studios, they love fixing and improving old or damaged photos. They understand how important your memories are, and that’s why they also change your photo albums, home videos, and movie reels into a digital format. When you choose Forever Studios, you know that your memories will be looked after by people who really care about keeping them safe for future generations.

What Media Does Forever Studios and iMemories Convert

Let’s take a closer look at the media types and formats accepted by both iMemories and Forever Studios for conversion.

Both iMemories and Forever Studios cover a wide range of media formats, including various videotape types, films, photos, slides, negatives, and digital media.

How to Do Forever Studios and iMemories Work

Both Forever Studios and iMemories have simplified their processes to ensure ease of use for their customers, as online-based service providers.

To begin, you initiate the order placement on their official websites. Although there are some slight differences in the ordering process, which is to be expected, we found iMemories to be simpler and more user-friendly. With iMemories, you simply place your order and send your media to the service. They will then check the media and provide you with a free, no-obligation quote after. Once you accept it, the media proceeds to the conversion process.

Forever Studios follows a different approach. When placing an order with Forever Studios, you are required to select the number of media, enhancements, and digital storage in advance, and make the necessary payment. Their website includes multiple steps and displays a significant amount of information, which might be confusing for some users when placing an order.

After the order is placed, both services will send you a conversion box kit with all the necessary items, provided you choose to go with the conversion box kit option. However, it’s worth noting that both services offer alternative options as well.

iMemories provides the option for you to send your media using your own box. On the other hand, Forever Studios offers the additional convenience of local pick-up, allowing you to personally drop off your media at their headquarters. However, we highly recommend opting for their conversion box kits if you plan to mail your media.

Speaking specifically about iMemories, their box kit, known as the SafeShip kit, is commendable. It includes a crushproof box with a guide and customer card, a FedEx pre-paid shipping label, waterproof bags for packing your media, and shock-resistant cushions to ensure safe transportation.

Conversion Process

Once your media has passed the initial steps, it proceeds to the conversion process, where it is transformed from analog to digital format.

Forever Studios provides an option to convert and enhance your media. If you choose this option, they will apply various enhancements such as color correction, audio improvement, clarity enhancement, and optimized tracking. It’s important to note that opting for enhanced quality incurs an additional charge of, for example, $5 per videotape. If you decide not to choose the enhanced quality option, your videotapes will be converted to digital format without any additional improvements, maintaining the quality of the original tape.

iMemories takes a simpler approach by including enhancements and repairs as part of their standard process without any additional charges. This means that your media will look better than the original after conversion, as they apply enhancements automatically. Additionally, iMemories has the capability to professionally repair or splice broken videotapes and films without any loss of footage, ensuring that your memories are preserved in their entirety.

What You Get Back – Digital Storage Options

After digitizing your memories, the next step involves choosing the storage options for your digital files. Here are the differences between iMemories and Forever Studios:

iMemories offers four standard options: their iMemories app with included cloud, digital download of converted media for free, USB , DVDs or Blu-ray; also, you can choose a portable hard drive with 500GB or 1TB storage.

Forever Studios offer some similar options, which include a USB, a personalized USB box, a Forever Cloud 30-day download and a playable DVD. Additionally, you can choose a Forever cloud year membership.

Turnaround Time

At present, iMemories offers a turnaround time of approximately 3-4 weeks for order completion. Within this timeframe, you can expect to have access to your digitized memories through their user-friendly app, enabling you to conveniently share and enjoy them with your loved ones. It’s important to note that the actual turnaround time may vary depending on factors such as the size and type of media included in your order.

Additionally, during peak periods or holidays, there might be slight delays. iMemories regularly update their process time, allowing you to effectively plan and organize your schedule. It’s worth mentioning that some services may advertise faster turnaround times on their websites, which can be misleading.

Forever Studios, on the other hand, completes all the work within a slightly shorter timeframe of 2 to 3 weeks. They also offer a rush processing option for customers with specific deadlines for an additional $20. By selecting the rush processing option at checkout, you can ensure that your order receives priority attention and is delivered within the desired timeframe.

Will They Return Your Original Media Back

Rest assured, both Forever Studios and iMemories understand the value of your original media and will return them to you once the order is complete. In addition to receiving a digital copy of your media, you can expect the safe return of your original tapes, films, photos, or other forms of media.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that there may be additional shipping fees associated with the return of your original media.

Forever Studios vs. iMemories Service Pricing

Customer Reviews and Ratings

Taking the time to check customer reviews and ratings is indeed crucial, especially when entrusting your precious memories and heritage to a service provider. In addition to examining customer ratings on the official websites of Forever Studios and iMemories, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of feedback across various platforms, including Facebook, Trustpilot, Sitejabber, Yelp, and Reviews.io. This comprehensive approach allowed us to gather insights from multiple sources and obtain a well-rounded perspective on the experiences and satisfaction levels of customers who have utilized these services.