How it works
Most VHS conversion services treat your tapes like batches. We treat them like the irreplaceable home video that they are.
- 1
Place your order online
Choose how many tapes, which quality tier, and whether you want originals returned. Pay securely — we charge your card up front. Cancel anytime before shipping.
- 2
We email you a QR code
Within one business day, you'll get a QR-code shipping label by email. No printer needed — the carrier scans it from your phone.
- 3
Ship in one stop
Default (free): pick up a free Priority Mail flat-rate box at any post office, pack your tapes, show the QR at the counter — no printer needed. Or pick the UPS Ground prepaid label at checkout (+$8, often a day or two faster) — pack your tapes in any box you have, apply the label, drop at any UPS Store or Access Point (CVS, Michaels, Staples and 20,000+ others). Round-trip tracking + insurance up to $200/box are included.
- 4
We inventory on arrival
When the box arrives, we open it on a clean, padded surface, photograph each tape, and log it in your account. You get an email with the inventory photo within 24 hours.
- 5
Digitization
Each tape goes through calibrated capture equipment. We don't use bulk batch converters — every tape is monitored. We watch for issues like dropped audio, tracking errors, or fragile sections and adjust mid-capture.
- 6
Quality review
Every converted file is spot-checked before delivery. Premium tier gets a full frame-by-frame review and light editing (titles, trimming dead air).
- 7
Delivery to your private library
Files appear in your TapeRevive dashboard. Only you can see them — we use Row Level Security and signed URLs. Stream, download, share with family via expiring links.
- 8
Originals: return or recycle
By default we ship originals back ($8 flat). Or choose 'Recycle for me' — we partner with a certified R2 e-waste processor (VHS contains chromium) and email you a disposal certificate.
What happens if a tape can't be recovered?
Sometimes VHS magnetic media is too degraded to read. If we can't recover usable footage, we refund that tape's charge in full and notify you with a brief explanation of what we tried. No questions asked.