LONG PLAY
VHS
The family-archive workhorse: weddings, graduations, church days, school events and the tape nobody has played since 2003.
// SERVICES — VIDEO DIGITIZATION
VHS TO DIGITAL. RESCUE THE TAPE.
Turn VHS, MiniDV, Hi8, Video8 and Betacam tapes into modern digital files before time, heat, mould and dead machines make the decision for you.
Transparent starting rate: KES 500 per 60-minute tape. No mystery quotation ritual.
// 01 — WHAT WE DIGITIZE
Old tape. New files.
Send a photo of the cassette label if you are unsure. The label usually tells us the format, the likely duration and whether a specialist deck is needed.
DIGITAL TAPE
MiniDV
The early-2000s camera format behind countless first films, field reports and family documentaries.
8MM FAMILY
Hi8
The upgrade generation: sharper than VHS, often carrying the only copy of a journey, ceremony or project.
8MM FAMILY
Video8
Compact camcorder tapes with decades of birthdays, funerals, safaris and evidence of who was there.
BROADCAST
Betacam
Broadcast and production archives. Send a photo of the exact cassette label first so we confirm the right deck before you travel.
Other tape formats may be possible, but we confirm the deck before promising the job. Send a photo of the cassette label and any model number on the tape.
// 02 — HOW IT WORKS
The tape has to play before it can live.
Digitization is not scanning a cover or dragging a file. It is playback, capture, checking and careful naming — one tape at a time.
input: tapes + labels + your deadline
process: inspect → capture → check → name
output: watchable MP4 files + originals returned
Count & label the tapes
Start on WhatsApp: how many tapes, which formats and what is written on each label. Photos help us spot format issues before you travel.
Inspect before capture
We check shell condition, tape path, visible mould or snapped leaders, and confirm which tapes are safe to run. Blank or unreadable tapes are flagged honestly.
Capture in real time
A 60-minute tape takes at least 60 minutes to capture. No fake “instant digitization” promise — the tape has to play for the memory to survive.
Check, name & deliver
Each file is checked for playback, named from the tape label where possible, and delivered by the method agreed before the job starts.
// 03 — TRANSPARENT PRICING
KES 500 per 60-minute tape.
Start with simple arithmetic. Confirm the final quote after we know the count, recorded duration, condition and delivery requirements.
Quick arithmetic
digitization_estimate.txtLIVE
- TAPES
- 10
- STARTING RATE
- KES 500 / 60-MIN TAPE
- Starting estimate
- KES 5,000
Indicative arithmetic, not a binding quotation. Duration, condition, delivery media and unusual formats are confirmed before capture starts.
ONE FAMILY TAPE
KES 500
1 × KES 500
A SMALL ARCHIVE
KES 5,000
10 × KES 500
AN INSTITUTIONAL SHELF
KES 25,000
50 × KES 500
Bulk rates past 50 tapes are discussed on WhatsApp. Damaged, mouldy, unusually long or broadcast-format tapes are quoted after inspection — protecting the original matters more than forcing a flat price.
// 04 — WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Memories you can actually open.
The job is complete when the file plays, the name makes sense and the original tape is safely back with you.
01
MP4 FILES
Modern, widely playable files suitable for phones, computers, hard drives and future editing.
02
CLEAR FILE NAMES
Named from your tape labels where possible, so “ESTHER WEDDING 1998” does not become “VIDEO_047.”
03
PLAYBACK CHECK
Every capture is spot-checked for picture and sound before delivery. The point is not a file icon; it is a watchable memory.
04
YOUR ORIGINALS BACK
Digitization does not mean disposal. The tapes remain yours and are returned with the digital copies.
Handled like originals. Because they are.
A digital copy is a rescue, not a reason to be careless with the physical tape. Intake, labels, capture notes and return all treat the cassette as the only source until proven otherwise.
01Your tapes stay identifiable from intake to return — labels matter, so keep them on.
02Fragile, mouldy, chewed or previously repaired tapes are quoted only after inspection.
03We do not upload private family footage to the History Archive or anywhere else without your explicit request.
04If a tape is blank, we tell you. If the original signal is damaged, we do not pretend the digital copy can invent what was never captured.
// OPTIONAL — FROM FAMILY SHELF TO PUBLIC MEMORY
Some tapes deserve a private copy. Some deserve an archive.
If your recording carries Kenyan history — an elder's story, a family origin account, a vanished place, a community event — you can separately choose to submit it to the History Archive. That is opt-in, credited and never automatic.
// 05 — QUESTIONS
Before the tape rolls.
Straight answers before you pack the box.
// THE MACHINES ARE DISAPPEARING
Do not wait for the last working deck.
Count the tapes. Photograph the labels. Send the list. We will confirm formats, condition, timing and the safest way to bring the memories forward.