Simple, local media digitization with real people you can talk to.

When you arrive, we’ll briefly review what you brought and explain the overall digitization process. Most projects do not require an appointment, and our team will help guide you toward the best transfer and enhancement options for your project.

After you leave your media with us, one of our technicians will roughly count your items — such as tapes, pictures, slides, or negatives — and prepare an estimate. The estimate reflects the approximate cost of your project, although pricing may change if repairs, restoration work, or additional requests are needed.

Before any work begins, we ask customers to reply and approve the estimate. Once approved, the estimate is converted into an invoice and we begin processing the order. If we do not receive approval, work will not begin.

Yes. Unlike many mail-in services, your originals stay with our local Birmingham team and are not shipped across the country.

Yes. We regularly work with aging videotapes, old film reels, fragile photos, fading slides, and deteriorating audio recordings.

We transfer VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, Hi8, Digital8, camcorder tapes, 8mm film, Super 8, 16mm film, photos, negatives, slides, audio cassettes, reel-to-reel audio, DVDs, CDs, and many other legacy formats.

Standard transfers focus on preserving your media digitally. Restoration and enhancement options can improve color, stability, scratches, grain, audio clarity, contrast, and overall viewing quality.

In many cases, yes. Our upgraded enhancement options can often improve playback quality, color, image stability, and overall presentation.

Yes. We now offer simplified bulk transfer and scanning options designed for customers looking for affordable digitization services.

If you would like your files organized in a specific way — such as by year, event, or family member — we ask customers to sort and label the media themselves before bringing it in. Sticky notes or labeled envelopes work very well.

We can also help organize and sort media for you, however this service is billed at $95 per hour with a one-hour minimum.

Optional enhancement services may include video stabilization, tracking correction, color enhancement, scratch reduction, grain reduction, HD enhancement, audio cleanup, and volume balancing.

Basic repair and cleaning options are available for many projects. Extremely damaged media may require specialty restoration services.

Turnaround time depends on project size, media condition, and selected services. We’ll provide an estimated completion timeframe when reviewing your project.

We use professional-grade digitization and restoration equipment designed for high-quality archival transfers and enhancement work.

Yes. DVD and CD options are still available for customers who prefer physical copies, although we generally recommend digital files or USB drives for better long-term quality and compatibility.

Digital files generally provide better quality, easier sharing, easier backup, and improved long-term compatibility compared to DVDs and CDs.

Yes. Digital files can easily be shared with family members, uploaded to cloud storage, viewed on smart TVs, or shared on social media.

We delete completed order files from our servers after 90 days. We strongly recommend backing up your files to a safe location as soon as possible and storing your USB drive or hard drive in a secure place.

If additional copies are needed after the 90-day period, customers will need to provide the digital files originally delivered. Otherwise, the order may need to be transferred again.

Most customers review their digital files at home using their own computer or TV setup.

You are welcome to bring your own laptop or notebook computer to review files at our location, however we do not provide review stations or assist with setup and breakdown.

For your safety and ours, we do not accept customer-provided USB flash drives or external hard drives.

Once your order is complete, we’ll contact you with a final invoice. Payment can be made online or in person when you pick up your order.

We accept all major credit cards and cash. We do not accept checks.

Absolutely. Your original tapes, film reels, photos, slides, negatives, and audio recordings are returned after digitization is complete and the invoice has been paid.

Yes. If you no longer need your original media after digitization, we can handle disposal for an additional fee.

Many customers ask if we can name files using whatever is written on tapes, cases, or photo boxes. While we do our best, handwritten labels are often faded, damaged, incomplete, or missing entirely.

To make the process more reliable and organized, we use a custom labeling system. Your media is labeled with Image Hive stickers that contain the year, invoice number, and media number, making it easy to match your originals to the corresponding digital files.

Short custom file naming options may also be available depending on the project.