The Best VHS To Digital Company Service - Buyer’s Guide

Is your house full of old VHS tapes and films from your wedding, family vacation, or just general things that you've recorded in the past?

Our precious memories are stored on old VHS tapes that degrade over time, and on top of that, the devices that can play them are becoming rare by the day.

The best way to deal with this problem is to convert VHS to Digital. Unfortunately, the process of doing this on your own is quite complicated, and you would have to buy additional equipment that can convert VHS tapes.

The best way to convert VHS to DVD, USB, or digital is to have a professional company service do this for you. But, how would someone know which service does this kind of work the best?

That's where we come in. We've found the Top 5 Best VHS to digital service on the market and found out which one is the winner, so you don't have to research all this on your own.

Without further ado, let's get started.

1) iMemories

iMemories touts itself as the original digitizing company.

They provide their customers a free quote when they ship their media. There are also free image enhancements when converting to digital and free UPS shipping, along with the free quote.

Another thing they are proud of is that they've never lost or damaged a single media that they've received. That is impressive, considering they have digitized millions of memories.

Their turnaround time is rather impressive. You can get your old media digitized in 2-3 weeks.

They have an app for iOS and Android where you view and share your memories with the rest of your family and friends.

Steps to take in order to have your old vcr tapes digitized by iMemories is relatively simple:

1. Pack your old media
   Search through your house for old VHS tapes, films, photo slides, negatives, DVDs and put them all together in a SafeShip Kit box and send it to them to digitize and organize.

2. Digitizing begins at their company headquarters
   A team of professionals will take your old media and carefully convert them into your preferred choice of format.

3. Finally, start watching with your family and friends
   Immediately start watching your old videos from their iOS and Android app or a USB or DVD.

You can choose between 4 ways on how you receive your new digitized media:

What will iMemories digitize?

iMemories will digitize:

• Movie Films - 8mm, 16mm, Super 8
• Videotapes - Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, MicroMini
• Photo Slides and Negatives
• DVDs and MiniDVD

iMemories Pricing

As of time of writing this article, iMemories was offering a Limited Time Offer of 20% on digital conversion pricing.

Conversion of Videotapes normally costs $14.99 but now it's only $11.99 per tape and the same thing is with Movies films which is $11.99 per 50ft.

Photos are normally $0.59 but it's now $0.47 per photo.

Click here to see if the Limited Time Offer is still available.

2) LegacyBox

LegacyBox is a digitizing service that takes your old outdated media and transfers it to a digital format for an easy viewing experience.

They have been digitizing memories for 10+ years. The company is located in the US where they have a 100,000 square foot production facility where they employ over 200 trained professionals.

LegacyBox takes their digitizing process very seriously. Each item they receive is hand-digitized by a team of trained technicians.

They have a great online tracking system that can send up to 12 emailed updates along the journey of digitizing your memories.

As with the iMemories SafeShip Kit, LegacyBox will also send you their LegacyBox Kit which you fill in with your VHS tapes, or any other media that they support.

Every Legacybox Kit comes with a prepaid return UPS mailing label for you to use when sending your old media

After you send it to them, they will start converting your old media to one of the 3 options they offer:

• Digital Access - One time download is $5.99 and the unlimited full-year download is $5.99/year
• Thumb Drive - also $5.99 (they don’t specify the GB size of the flash drive)
• Disc Set - DVD’s will also cost you $5.99.

What Old Media Will Legacybox Digitize?

LegacyBox digitizes Tapes, Film, Photos, and Audio.

For Tapes specifically they will convert: VHS, VHS-C, Mini-DV, Hi8, Digital 8, MicroMV, Betamax, and 8mm Video Cassette.

When it comes to Film, they will digitize: 16mm, 8mm, Super 8, and Regular 8.

For Photos, LegacyBox will make a conversion of: Prints, 35mm Negatives, and 35mm/126 slides.

And finally, for Audio, the service will digitize: Reel to Reel, Audio Cassettes, and Micro-Cassette.

Legacybox Pricing

They have 4 options which you can choose from:

• 2 Item Starter: This one is the cheapest option to choose and it costs $59.98. Convert up to 2 Films, or 2 Tapes, or you can go with 2 sets of 25 pictures to digital format.
• 10 Item Family: This one is $279.98 and for that amount you can convert up to 10 tapes or 10 films, or 10 sets of 25 pictures to digital format.
• 20 Item Closet: For $559.98 you can convert up to 20 tapes, or 20 films, or you can go with 10 sets of 25 images.
• 40 Item Trunk: This is the most expensive one and it will cost you $1099.98. With this package you can convert up to 40 tapes or films or 40 sets of 25 pictures to digital.

3) SouthTree Digitizing

The third option on our list is Southtree digitizing service. They have a 100,000 square foot building with the latest technology needed to convert your analog memories.

Southtree has more than 10 years of experience of preserving old memories. They have 200+ professionals converting your media with the utmost care.

As with the first two competitors here, Southtree also has their own box called Southtree Converter Box. You fill the box with your old tapes, photos, etc. and send it to them to digitize/convert.

The process of digitizing is done in 3 simple steps:

1. Buy a Southtree Converter Box, Pack it and then ship it to them.
   Included in the box are safety barcodes for every item you place inside and a prepaid return shipping label to UPS.
2. Southree starts digitizing.
   Their team of professionals will start working on your items, sending you emailed updates along the way.
3. You receive everything back.
   They will send you back all your original items including the newly digitized ones.

What does Southtree digitize?

Tapes: VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, Hi8, Digital 8, MicroMV, Beta, Pal to NTSC.

• Film: 16mm, 8mm, Super 8.
• Photos: Prints, Slides, Negatives.
• Audio: Cassettes, Reel-To-Reel.

What does Southtree digitize?

The cost of your memories being digitized by Southtree is cheaper than LegacyBox.

Here is the complete pricing for all formats:

• Tapes: $15 per item
• Film: $25 per item
• Photos: $0.25 per item
• Audio: $15 per item

4) Costco Digitizing Service

I never would’ve guessed that Costco would have a service like this, but lo and behold, here they are on this list.

The only noticeable difference between the rest is that they do not have a box of their own where you put your memories. Instead you find a box of your own and fill it with your old media.

The processing time is also longer, it will take 3-4 weeks for them to finish everything. They also email you when they receive your package and when they send it back to you.

The process of making an order can be made in 3 easy steps:

• You create an order on their site.
• Package it all inside a box and send it to them.
• Receive your new and modern digital media.

What does Costco digitize?

CostcoDVD will digitize Video, Film, Photos, and Slides.

When it comes to Video transfer they support:

• VHS and S-VHS
• Betamax
• VHS-C, S-VHS-C
• Video8, Hi8, Digital 8
• DV, DVCAM
• MiniDV, DVC

For Films They accept:

• 8 mm
• Super 8 mm
• 16 mm

Photos:

• 2’’ x 2’’ (minimum)
• 2’’ x 3’’
• 4’’ x 6’’
• 5’’ x 7’’
• 8’’ x 8’’
• 8’’ x 10’’
• 8’’ x 12’’ (maximum)

Slides:

• 35 mm (cardboard)
• 35 mm (plastic)

Each photo and slide is digitized into a JPEG format.

Pricing of Costco Digitizing Service

The pricing of Costco is a tad bit more complicated than the rest here. 

For Video conversion they charge $19.99 per tape when you choose to have it transferred to DVD.

When it's a USB it is $24.99 for the first tape, for any additional tapes it's $16.99.

If you choose DVD + USB you get the first tape for $29.99 and each additional $22.99

When ordering both DVD and USB don’t get them separately because it's more expensive. They offer a discount when you get them together.

They include videotape repair as well as a case replacement, you also have the option to download a digital copy of your videos from their MemoryCloud.

Film conversion will cost you $19.99 for the first 150 feet, after that it’s $0.13 per foot when transferring to DVD.

When it’s ordered on a USB it is $24.99 for the first 150 feet and also $0.13 per foot just like with DVD.

DVD + USB is $29.99 for the first 150 feet and $0.13 per foot.

Included: original audio as well as cleaning, splicing, scratch reduction and enhanced colors and of course the digital download.

Getting your photos converted will cost you $19.99 for the first 62 photos and after that it’s $0.32 per photo.

Transferring it to a USB is $24.99 for the first 62 photos and $0.32 per photo after the initial 62.

When you select DVD+USB it is $29.99 for the first set of 62 images and $0.32 after that.

For photos they only include enhanced colors as well as a digital download from MemoryCloud.

Slides on a DVD are $19.99 for the first 62 slides and $0.32 per slide after that. If you decide to get it on a USB it's going to cost you $24.99 for the first 62, and $0.32 per slide after the first 62 slides.

DVD+USB is $29.99 for the first 62 slides and $0.32 per slide after the first 62.

They include the same thing as with the photos, enhanced colors and a digital download.

5) Kodak Digitizing

And finally the last one on our list is the Kodak Digitizing. After looking at their website I realized something. It looks really similar to Legacybox and Southree.

After further investigation I found out that all three companies are owned by AMB Media LLC. All three companies operate from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

From the looks of it they simply branded their service under three different names with different format conversions and pricing.

What will Kodak digitize?

They also use the same classic mail-in model that they use with Southree and Legacybox.

Kodak digitizing does Tapes, Photos, Film, and Audio.

Kodak Digitizing Price

The company uses the same method of pricing as it does with Legacybox but a tad bit more expensive. Probably because they are using the Kodak brand name.

The 2 item box is $69.99, the 10 item is 299.99, the 20 item box is 599.99, and finally the 40 item is $1199.99.

Kodak digitizing offers 3 ways to get your converted items which are Secure Thumb Drive, Digital Download, and DVD’s.

Final Thoughts

When you're deciding on which VHS to Digital service you're going to get, you need to make sure it's the best one because they will be in charge of converting your precious memories.

When you are done reading this article, do your research if you'd like to. Then, compare their features and ask for a price quote from each of them, so you'll know for sure which one is the best VHS to Digital company service.