Terms of Service.

Acceptance

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of SaveVHS (“we”, “us”, “our”) and the services we offer through savevhs.com. By placing an order or using the site you agree to these Terms. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the service.

What we do

SaveVHS digitizes consumer videotape formats (VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, Video8, Hi8, Digital8 and MiniDV) and offers optional AI Enhancement of the resulting video files. We deliver digitized content via cloud streaming, DVD or BluRay discs depending on package. We return original tapes to customers.

Orders

Online orders are limited to between 2 and 10 tapes per order. Larger orders require contacting us first for a custom quote. A digitization order is complete once your original tapes are shipped back to you or returned by our courier, within 3 business days after we finish working on it; a standalone AI Enhancement order is complete as soon as processing finishes. Pricing on the site is fixed for the package you select at the time of order; subsequent price changes do not retroactively apply.

Payment

Payment is taken in full at the time of order for the selected package and (for mail-in customers) return shipping. Dashboard upgrades (Advanced re-scan or AI Enhancement on specific clips) are billed when you authorize them in your dashboard and can be added only until the order is completed (for disc orders, before the discs are burned). After that, AI Enhancement is available only as a separate standalone order for files you download from your dashboard. Cloud subscription renewals after the first free year are optional and paid a year at a time; a paid renewal cannot be cancelled or refunded. To stop, simply don’t renew when the current year ends.

Getting tapes to us

Portland metro customers agree on a courier pickup time with us by email after ordering. The courier collects the tapes in person or from your front door or porch; tapes left out must be in a waterproof package or bag marked “SaveVHS”. On the day of pickup or return we remind you by email, and the courier personally texts you at the phone number in your order before heading out. If you can’t meet the courier or leave the tapes out, you must tell us at least 2 hours before the agreed time, by email to support@savevhs.com or by phone at +1 (503) 919-7714. If no one meets the courier and no tapes are left out for pickup, and you didn’t let us know at least 2 hours before the agreed time, your order is cancelled and refunded minus a $10 fee for the courier’s wasted trip. If the courier can’t make an agreed pickup because of us, we tell you on the day and agree on a new time by email. Mail-in customers ship their tapes to the address generated for their order and must send us a tracking number, by email to support@savevhs.com with the order number or in reply to our order confirmation email. If your tapes don’t reach us after you place an order (you don’t ship them or, for Portland metro customers, don’t get in touch to arrange a courier pickup), we’ll remind you a couple of times; if your tapes haven’t reached us 30 days after the order was placed and you haven’t responded, we may cancel the order and refund it in full. We are not responsible for tapes lost or damaged in transit while being shipped to us. For Portland metro courier orders, you are responsible for your tapes until the courier collects them and again once the courier has returned them, including tapes left at your door; when the courier leaves a package at your door, they record when and how it was left. If packages aren’t safe left unattended at your address, meet the courier in person. We strongly recommend appropriate packaging and a trackable shipping method.

Inspection and damage

Every tape is inspected on receipt. For tapes with significant damage (mold, broken shells, sticky-shed syndrome, snapped tape, severe degradation), we will contact you with a free restoration quote. No restoration work is performed without your written approval. If a tape is rejected (unknown or unsupported format, damaged beyond capture, or blank), we refund that tape’s portion of your order, excluding return shipping; the remainder of the order proceeds normally.

Original tapes

We return your original tapes after digitization. Portland metro customers receive originals via courier at a time agreed by email, with a reminder on the day: the courier hands the tapes to you or leaves them at your front door, including when an in-person handoff was agreed but no one is home, in which case the courier records when and how the package was left; mail-in customers via USPS with tracking. We do not destroy or dispose of original tapes without explicit written instruction.

Video files and delivery

Digitization orders (Basic, Advanced): Captured video files appear in your customer dashboard for preview and download. The delivery format (cloud or a disc set) is chosen at checkout. Source MP4 files are downloadable throughout an active cloud subscription, plus 30 days after it ends if it is not renewed; streaming itself ends when the subscription ends. For customers who chose disc delivery, source files are downloadable for 30 days after order completion. For cloud orders only, after that 30-day period files are kept in backup for a further 60 days, during which they cannot be streamed or downloaded: the subscription can be renewed within 90 days of its end with all files in place, and in exceptional cases download access can be restored from backup on a written request to support@savevhs.com stating the order number and why the deadline was missed. After those 90 days files are permanently deleted and cannot be restored. Files of disc orders are no longer available once their 30-day download window closes. Cloud streaming access lasts one year from the creation of your account, which happens with your first order, with optional renewal at $25/year for up to 20 tapes in your cloud, plus $1/year for each additional tape. The disc set (DVD or BluRay, your choice at checkout) is included in the package price and shipped at the same time as your original tapes return.

AI Enhancement added to a Digitization order: The enhanced output inherits the Digitization delivery (cloud or disc). The disc is BluRay even if the original Digitization disc was DVD, because a 1080p FullHD stream does not fit on DVD by spec.

Standalone AI Enhancement (your own uploads): No cloud subscription and no disc. Enhanced output is delivered as an MP4 download with a 30-day window starting from order completion. After the 30-day window the file is no longer available.

Quality and tape condition

Final video quality depends on the condition of the source tape. We use professional equipment and trained operators to achieve the best possible result, but we cannot improve information that is no longer present on the tape. AI Enhancement reconstructs detail using machine learning but cannot recover content that was never recorded clearly. We make no guarantee that any particular tape will produce footage of any particular quality.

Cancellation and refunds

Please see our Cancellation and Refund Policy for full details on cancelling orders, returns to original payment methods and resolution timelines. In short: a full refund if you cancel before sending your tapes (in the Portland metro area, before handing them to our courier; a missed pickup without 2 hours’ notice cancels the order with a $10 fee withheld), and if they are already on their way, contact support@savevhs.com to cancel for a refund of everything except the return shipping paid; a refund of a rejected tape’s portion of the order (excluding return shipping), a full refund for a standalone AI Enhancement order cancelled while the file is still waiting in the processing queue, and no cancellation or refund once an order is complete.

Account responsibility

You are responsible for your account: for who you give access to and for all activity that happens under it. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized access.

Acceptable use

Don’t use our service to digitize or upload content you don’t have the right to copy. We will not digitize material that violates U.S. law, including child sexual abuse material, content that infringes third-party copyright, or content prohibited by federal law. If we encounter such material, we will preserve evidence as required by law and may report it to authorities.

Privacy

Personal data handling is described in our Privacy Policy.

Service availability

Our website and cloud streaming are provided “as is” without guarantee of uninterrupted availability. We perform maintenance from time to time and reserve the right to update or change features. We will not retroactively reduce service for active customers without notice.

Limitation of liability

Our maximum liability for any claim related to a SaveVHS order is limited to the amount you paid for that order. We are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including lost recordings that cannot be recovered due to tape condition predating our work.

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be communicated by email to customers with active orders or subscriptions. Continued use of the service after a change constitutes acceptance.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Oregon, United States. Any disputes will be resolved in courts located in Multnomah County, Oregon, except as required by applicable consumer protection laws.

Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email support@savevhs.com.