I found out about Legacybox from an ad when I was looking online for the best companies to convert VHS to digital. I reached out to them to ask about their services and prices. They told me I needed to use their kit to send in my tapes. When I spoke with Cassandra, a customer rep, he explained that I couldn't use my own packaging; I had to use their box, which I had to pay for.
When I visited their website, I saw that Legacybox didn't let me send my own DVDs or USB drives; I had to buy them from them. I used a coupon code, "GLORY," which lowered my total bill by 20%. But I still had to pay $9.99 for a thumb drive, even though it usually costs $4.99 in stores. On top of that, I had to pay $9.99 for shipping. Overall, I spent close to $50 for converting 2 sets of VHS tapes and the shipping.
In my next review, I'll break down the costs, turnaround time, and how their customer support handled everything.
I had two VHS tapes: one was our wedding anniversary and the other was my wife's birthday. For the total conversion at Legacybox, I paid $49.99. This included $9.99 for shipping, $3.99 in taxes, and an additional shipping fee. I was under the impression that shipping was free, which wasn't the case.
Comparing this to Costco, where I also checked the cost for conversion, it was $20 per tape. At Costco, I didn't have to pay for shipping or anything else. Without the coupon code at Legacybox, the pricing doesn't seem worth it to me.
Due to the costs involved, I feel that Legacybox is already at a disadvantage compared to Costco.
Two days after ordering, my Legacybox kit arrived. It came with instructions to pack my two VHS tapes and send them off. Legacybox said it would take 6-8 weeks to convert them, longer than Costco's estimate of 7-12 days. My wife and I packed the tapes and dropped them off at a UPS store.
The kit included a prepaid shipping label and barcodes for tracking each item. Once Legacybox got the box, they started digitizing my tapes.
I tracked the box as it traveled from California to Tennessee. It took about three days to reach the factory. Honestly, my wife and I were quite nervous about the package getting lost, but we felt relieved when it reached its destination. They emailed us to confirm that we had sent two VHS tapes for conversion.
To give you an idea of how long it took, I placed my order on March 8, got my box, and sent it back by March 10. They started working on it on March 20, and by April 2nd, I had all my new digital files and the originals back.
After just 12 days, I received the Legacybox package back, which was much faster than the 6-8 weeks they said it would take. It was packed professionally with bubble wrap inside. I noticed they used a new box and didn't reuse the one I sent with the original VHS tapes.
Inside the Legacybox, I found both my original tapes and the converted ones. To my surprise, one of the converted tapes had a red sticker saying they couldn't convert it due to mold or a broken tape.
I don't understand why they said there was mold or broken tape. My original VHS tape worked fine on my old VCR. They emailed me saying their technicians would try to fix it, but it doesn't seem like they really tried, even though they have over 200 technicians. They mentioned giving me a credit for the files they couldn't convert, but I didn't get a refund or a coupon for the tape they couldn't convert.
I took the tapes to a local store in Fontana, California, and used a standard Panasonic VCR with clean heads to test them. Surprisingly, tape #2 that was marked as unconvertible played perfectly fine when transferred digitally.
However, there were occasional static issues, which is common in such transfers. Overall, we got clear pictures from the tapes. I was able to get them converted at the store for just $20.
I watched the converted file on my computer using the VLC media player and was really disappointed. The video keeps jumping around and is not stable. They said on their website that they use advanced technology to convert these tapes, but the video quality is fuzzy and not steady, which doesn't show they know much about high-tech stuff.
I'm not happy with how my tapes were converted. The process was slow, and the video quality wasn't good enough. The conversion had a very slow bit rate, and I'm disappointed with the final result.
I planned to upload and share the video with my sister, but both YouTube and Vimeo rejected it because of the variable frame rate. Besides that, the video wasn't even worth uploading and sharing with family due to its shaky quality. I tried using other video editors to see if I could get a better result, but I had no luck.
I found other people on YouTube who also had problems with the VHS tapes they got from Legacybox. Their videos were shaky or unstable, and sometimes the audio didn't match the video. So, it seems I'm not the only one with these issues.
At this point, I'm going to ask for a refund now and consider other options, like doing it myself or using a local video store.
I contacted them asking for a refund, and after a few days, they reached out and gave me a full refund. I really wanted to work with the company, but as you can see, I didn't like their quality.
Based on my experience, I wasn't happy and likely won't suggest their service to others. Instead, try local stores or digital converters on Amazon. If you use mail-order services, send copies, not originals, especially for important tapes. Test less critical tapes first to check the quality. Be cautious of online ads for mail-order video tape conversions; do research on YouTube and other places before deciding.
Here are the pros and cons I'll share with my readers based on my experience:
Pros:
Cons:
Honestly, some people might have better experiences with Legacybox, so I can't say don't try them. But I suggest contacting their customer support and explaining exactly what you need. Make sure your tapes are in good condition because they won't convert tapes that are damaged or have mold. Also, check out what others have said on Reddit, Quora, and guides about converting video tapes.
