Convert Your VHS Tapes to Digital, Before the Signal Fades.
The most common home tape is also one of the most fragile
VHS was the tape almost every family recorded on, and it was never built to last. We transfer your tapes to digital MP4 at roughly 12.5 GB per two-hour tape, monitored in real time, with blank footage skipped and never charged.
Get a Free VHS QuoteIn-house in Orange, CA since 2001. Over a million reels handled, never one lost.
$19.95
per two-hour tape (regularly $28.50). Any brand, any length.
Since 2001
Hollywood 's Choice
In-House Processing
Expert Technicians
Trusted with the tapes for Netflix's Lucy and Desi and thousands of family libraries · All video tape formats →
Why Your VHS Tapes Are on a Clock
VHS stores video as a magnetic charge on a thin ribbon of tape, and both the charge and the ribbon break down with age.
The magnetic signal weakens over the years, so colors dull and the picture grows noisier and softer every time the tape sits unused.
The binder holding the coating absorbs moisture and turns gummy. The tape sticks, squeals, and sheds its coating in the VCR. Once it sheds, that footage is gone.
Tapes kept in garages, attics, and basements grow mold that damages the tape and any deck that plays it. Caught early, most still transfer.
Working VCRs are getting rare. Digitizing now means you are not dependent on a machine that may not exist when you finally want to watch.
If a tape sticks or squeals, stop playing it at home; each pass can strip more coating. Send it in and we handle it with the right equipment. Read why your video tapes are fading
VHS Transfer Pricing
One flat rate per two-hour tape, no matter the brand. VHS is the one consumer format that often runs longer than two hours.
Tapes recorded in long-play mode can hold 4, 6, or 8 hours. A tape 2 to 4 hours counts as two tapes, 4 to 6 hours as three, and so on.
Delivery on flash drive (orders under 256 GB) or hard drive, and optionally on DVD: $5 per disc for disc-only orders, $15 per disc when a drive is also included. $50 order minimum. We skip blank footage and random recorded TV, and never charge for the empty parts of a tape.
Why Our VHS Transfers Look Better
We encode at roughly 12.5 GB per two-hour tape, far more than the ~1 GB per hour many warehouse labs deliver, so fine detail and color survive.
A technician monitors each tape as it captures and tries troublesome tapes in multiple decks, instead of running racks unattended.
We trim blank footage and random TV so your files are the memories, and you are never charged for the empty parts.
Your tapes are digitized by our own team in Orange, California, never subcontracted and never sent overseas.
How It Works
Getting your VHS tapes to us is simple, and your originals always come home.
Send it to us
Free local pickup across Southern California, a secure prepaid shipping kit by mail, or drop off at our Orange, CA counter.
We digitize it in-house
Each tape is captured in real time at low compression, tried in multiple decks if needed, and the blanks are trimmed.
You relive it
Get your videos as MP4 on a drive or DVD to share and stream, and your original tapes come back with them.
Which Tape Do You Have?
Not sure what you are looking at? Match your tape below and tap it for the details, or just send a mixed box and we sort and identify them for you.
Consumer and Home Formats
Professional & Broadcast
Low-compression MP4 or MOV files delivered on flash drive, hard drive, the cloud, or long lasting archival DVD.
Why families choose us over the "big box" mail-in services.
Prepaid boxes look cheap until you see what those prices leave out.
Legacy Digital
Big Box Services
Every tape inspected and monitored during transfer
Pay only for tapes that actually convert
Work stays in the USA, in one facility
Time-based correction on VHS & VHS-C
Tape repair for damaged tapes
Well-maintained decks with clean heads
Starting at just $19.95 per Tape
Cost to Convert Video Tapes to Digital
At Legacy Digital, our video tape conversion service expertly transforms your VHS, Super VHS, Compact VHS (VHS-C), 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, DVCAM, Betacam and Betacam SP tapes into high-quality digital files or DVDs. Time-based correction is included with VHS and VHS-C tapes where others charge additional fees. Using professional-grade VCRs and capture devices, we digitize each tape, maintaining the integrity and quality of your existing recordings, sometimes with improvement. Our process includes monitoring and adjusting for the best possible audio and video quality, sometimes requiring two or three reruns just to ensure the best possible output.
SALE: Starting at just $19.95 per tape
Using professional-grade VCRs and capture equipment, our process involves playing your tapes through time-base correction hardware into professional capture systems to convert them to digital. We carefully monitor tracking and video levels throughout, capturing your footage in high-quality digital formats. Post-capture, we edit out blank footage and unwanted static, so you never pay for blank tape. Finally, we deliver your digitized videos as MP4 files on a flash drive, hard drive, or DVD, ensuring your precious memories are preserved and easy to enjoy for generations to come.
| Running Time (Up to) | Regular Price | Sale Price |
| 0-2 Hours | $28.50 | $19.95 |
| 2-4 Hours | $57.00 | $39.90 |
| 4-6 Hours | $85.50 | $59.85 |
Starting at just $40.00 per tape
Using professional-grade VCRs and capture equipment, our process involves playing your tapes through time-base correction hardware into professional capture systems to convert them to digital. We carefully monitor tracking and video levels throughout, capturing your footage in high-quality digital formats. Post-capture, we edit out blank footage and unwanted static, so you never pay for blank tape. Finally, we deliver your digitized videos as MP4 files on a flash drive, hard drive, or DVD, ensuring your precious memories are preserved and easy to enjoy for generations to come.
| Type | Price |
| Betacam | $40.00 |
| Betacam SP | $40.00 |
* $35.00 per tape on orders of more than 25 tapes
If you are not happy with your transfer, we redo it until you are.Handled entirely in-house in Orange, California. Your tapes never leave our facility or the country.
"Thank you Legacy Digital for putting my cherished family videos to digital. You showed care and professionalism towards the film. Delivered on time as you promised. Now my family will have this stuff for years."
- Andrew G.
Google Review
"I just has an old VHS of our ship's decommissioning given to me and I had no idea what to do with it. Legacy took care of that (DVD and MP4) and were very friendly and professional. I would use them again and recommend them to others."
- D. O.
Google Review
VHS Questions
Below are the most common questions we get about coneverting negatives to digital format. If you have other questions, please give us a call. We're happy to answer them.
We use far less compression, about 12.5 GB per two-hour tape versus roughly 1 GB per hour at many warehouse labs. More data preserves detail and color that heavy compression discards for good.
VHS is the one consumer format that often runs past two hours in long-play mode. A tape counts as one two-hour tape per two hours of content, so a 6-hour tape counts as three.
$19.95 per two-hour tape at the current special ($28.50 regular), any brand. Longer tapes count as multiple two-hour tapes.
Frequently, yes, and you should stop trying to play them at home. Sticky-shed and mold get worse with every playback in the wrong deck. We have the equipment to handle affected tapes carefully. Caught early, most still transfer; send them in sooner rather than later.
MP4 files on a flash drive (orders under 256 GB) or hard drive. DVDs are available at $5 per disc for disc-only orders, or $15 per disc when a drive is also in the order.
No. We edit out blank footage and random recorded TV, and we never bill you for the empty portions.
Yes, a $50 order minimum, not counting drives.
Please call the office to inquire about our current backlog.
We are usually about 4 to 6 weeks out, but that depends on the season and current circumstances. Rush orders are available at additional cost. This will ensure that your order will be completed within one to two weeks depending on the size of your order. It is always difficult to say what exactly day your video tapes will be done.
Everyone’s video tapes are different and we take the time on every single order to make sure it is done right, even if we have to spend extra time and redo scenes until we are happy with them.
Please understand that you are hiring us because of the attention we pay to detail and quality, not speed.
As with all of our services, careful attention is paid to organization and detail. Once we receive your tapes, they are sealed in a container with your name on the inside and the outside of the container. Only one family gets worked on at any one time. Your project is managed by only one person from beginning to end, and only one project is being worked on at any one time. Before your project is started, the last one is completed and cleared from the area.
Most videotapes we see are well beyond the stated life of the tape when we receive them. All care and attention is paid to make sure we do not damage your tapes, but things can happen. It is possible that a tape you give us is poised to break the next time it is used, however, it hasn’t happened yet. If your tape does break in our care, we will repair it free if possible. You have nothing to lose. If they are not transferred to DVD, they will be lost for sure.
Usually Yes. It depends on what is wrong with the tape, but most problems with most tapes can be repaired. Cost is usually $15.00 for tape repair. We only repair tapes that we are hired to transfer to DVD. Tape repairs are only guaranteed to last long enough to get the video to DVD.
Your VHS Tapes Are Fading With Every Year in the Closet.
Get a free, itemized quote. We count every tape, tell you the exact cost, and your originals always come home.
Get My Free VHS QuoteOr call (888) 405-2685 · Orange, CA · In-house since 2001