Old VHS tapes are not made to be played on repeat until the end of time. Due to their magnetic charge, they tend to have shorter lifespans than other formats. As NARA – the National Archives and Records Administration – explains it: Magnetic-based audio and video media may be one of the least stable formats found in archival holdings, depending on age, type of tape, and how it has been stored … Magnetic tape, especially videotape, is susceptible to dimensional distortions that interfere with playback. 

ARS Video’s video transfer services help you access the precious memories you’ve saved without damaging the tapes. While larger institutions such as Costco or Walgreens offer their VHS conversion services to convert VHS to digital, your videos represent your memories and your history—both of which deserve special consideration when deciding where to take your tapes. Costco for example, unknown to most customers, does not do their video digitization process in-house but farms-out their work to another company off-site. ARS Video concentrates on converting VHS video tapes to digital – as well as other video formats such as VHS-C, Hi-8, miniDV, and BetaMax. This is our specialty, not just an add-on service. 

Choosing ARS Video for Converting VHS to Digital Video

The technology used to record home videos has undergone many advancements and changes over the past few decades. Many people still own old VHS tapes, as well as cassettes, 8mm film, Betamax, VHS-C, and camcorder tapes, and it isn’t easy to find machines that can still replay those formats. Often, the content on these tapes is more valuable now than when it was originally recorded. Fortunately, these memories are not lost to time; they simply need to be converted into a format that can be saved onto a hard drive and played on your computer or modern television. Enter media digitization!

A.R.S. started as a labor of love, much like many of the videos we convert for our customers. Our family-owned company started after we bought a video conversion machine in the late 1980s. We quickly used this digital converter to start a business that modernized memories as a part-time business. To this day, we take the process personally, whether we are converting 8mm tapes, or, more commonly, VHS tapes, to digital files that can be viewed on computers or televisions and even uploaded online for viewing on tablets and phones where ever you are. Converting VHS to digital makes access and playback simple and enjoyable for all viewers!

Why Trust ARS Video to Convert Your VHS Tapes to Digital?

Customer Service has always been central to our business and we stay on top of our game by keeping up with the most modern technological advancements. Today our equipment is capable of transforming video formats such as VHS, VHS-C, Super VHS, S-VHS-C, Hi-8, and BetaMax into high-definition digital files. We can also transfer videotapes from standard definition to high definition. Once the transfer is complete, each customer is provided with a flash drive formatted to be easily used on a computer or television, as well as returning the original video format to you. If you still prefer a digital copy in DVD format, we can provide it in addition to a USB drive.

Costco VHS Transfer Services

Many well-known organizations offer VHS Transfer Services, each with their own process. Costco, for example, has a service that will convert VHS to digital DVDs – this is an outsourced service to a third-party company. Accordingly, Costco mails VHS tapes to Georgia to be converted and returns them to customers once they have been shipped back to their store. Much of Costco’s conversion process is done offsite.

Walgreens VHS Transfer Services

Having VHS tapes converted at Walgreens is also a unique process. Some stores have photo and video kiosks, but they aren’t available everywhere. Most often, it takes between three and five weeks before you receive your new DVD. Like Costco’s conversion services, they often ship the original tapes offsite.

Convert Your VHS Memories with ARS Video Today

Conversion services for VHS tapes and other video formats are limited across the country. Many organizations that provide digital conversion services can’t work with older video tapes if they are too outdated at all.

You want to keep close tabs on your memories and family history. Chances are, this is a big reason you are taking the time to convert your old VHS tapes to digital in the first place – so that current and future generations can enjoy home videos of their relatives. You don’t want to risk your tapes getting lost, and you want to be able to keep tabs on the process with a digitization company that cares about the service they are providing, the way that you care about your recorded memories. At ARS , we are determined to make your experience worthwhile, and our customers strongly appreciate the conversion & transfer services that we provide.

Contact us today so that we can get started protecting your precious memories, or visit our process page to learn more about how we convert VHS to digital formats. We look forward to using our skills and technology to convert your VHS tapes to digital format for the long haul of the 21st century!