What to Do With Old Camcorder Tapes: Keep, Convert or Recycle

Key takeaways

• Camcorder tapes are irreplaceable. Unlike shop-bought films, a home recording has no second copy.
• Identify the format first. VHS-C, Video8, Hi8, Digital8 and MiniDV each need a different player.
• The risk is usually the player, not the tape. A camcorder that has sat in a loft for 20 years can chew the only copy.
• You don't have to watch them all first. About one MiniDV tape in 45 turns out blank, and blank or unplayable tapes are refunded.
• Most UK councils won't take video tape at the kerbside. Check Recycle Now, and never give away tapes with family footage on them.

Step 1: Work out which camcorder tape you have

Camcorder tapes are the small cassettes, roughly palm-sized or smaller. The label, the size and the logo on the shell tell you the format. If you are unsure, our guide to identifying camcorder tape types has photos of each one and the players that still read them. If you want the safer route for tapes that matter, skip the hunt for an old camcorder and have the tapes transferred instead.

Format	How to spot it	What plays it today	Transfer
VHS-C	A small VHS cassette, about a third of the size of a normal VHS tape, with the same half-inch tape	A VHS recorder, using a VHS-C adapter cassette	VHS-C to digital
Video8	Audio-cassette-sized, marked "8" or "Video8"	A Video8, Hi8 or Digital8 camcorder	Video8 transfer
Hi8	Same size as Video8, marked "Hi8"	A Hi8 or Digital8 camcorder	Hi8 conversion
Digital8	A Hi8-size tape recorded in a Digital8 camcorder (the camcorder says Digital8, not the tape)	A Digital8 camcorder	Digital8 to digital files
MiniDV	The smallest of the five, often marked "DV" or "MiniDV"	A MiniDV camcorder or deck	MiniDV transfer

If you've found camcorder tapes, you're in good company: about six in ten of the video tapes people send us are camcorder tapes, and about four in ten are full-size VHS. If your box is mostly full-size cassettes, read our guide for full-size VHS tapes as well. One exception: we can't currently convert MicroMV, the tiny Sony format from the early 2000s.

Step 2: Can it still be played?

A tape from the 1990s or 2000s usually still holds its picture. The weak point is the player. A camcorder that has sat in a drawer or loft for twenty years has hardened rubber parts, dirty heads and tired motors, and those are what chew tape. When an old camcorder jams, it damages the only copy of the recording, so test it with a tape you don't care about first, never with the wedding.

Look the tapes over before anything goes into a machine. These signs mean a tape needs cleaning before it's played:

• White or grey specks on the tape edges or the window: that is mould.
• Crinkled, creased or slack tape visible behind the flap.
• A rattle when you tilt the cassette, which usually means a loose part inside.
• A damp, musty smell from the box.

And what not to do: don't fast-forward or rewind a mouldy tape, don't open the flap and touch the tape surface, and don't dry a damp tape with a hairdryer or radiator. Mould spreads onto player heads and onto the next tape you play. Inspection and cleaning are part of every transfer we do; mould treatment and repairs cost a small extra charge per item, shown before you pay.

Step 3: Keep, convert or recycle

Once you know the format and whether each tape is in good shape, every cassette falls into one of three piles.

Pile	Which tapes	What to do	UK route
Keep	Every home recording, including after conversion	Store upright, cool and dry, indoors	A cupboard inside the house, not the loft or garage
Convert	Home recordings you want to watch or share	Transfer to digital files	Do it yourself if you own a working player, or use a postal service
Recycle	Shop-bought films, blank tapes, the old camcorder	Recycle or dispose of responsibly	Recycle Now postcode check; camcorder as WEEE electrical waste

Keep (and store them properly)

Keep any tape with family footage on it, including after it has been converted: the original is a useful backup. Store tapes upright like books, in their cases, somewhere cool and dry inside the house. Lofts, garages and sheds are the worst places in a British home, because damp and swings in temperature encourage mould. Keep tapes away from speakers and other magnets, rewind them to the start, and slide the record-protect tab across so nobody records over them by accident.

Convert the ones that matter

Converting is the only way to make the footage easy to watch and share again. Camcorders that play these formats haven't been made for years, and every year fewer working ones are left. National archives such as the BFI treat videotape as an at-risk format for the same reason.

If you still own a working camcorder of the right format, you can copy tapes yourself: MiniDV and Digital8 camcorders often have a FireWire socket for a computer, and the analogue formats need a USB capture device. It takes real time per tape, at the risk of an old camcorder jamming. For tapes that matter, or a box of mixed formats, a postal service is the safer route.

You don't need to watch every tape before deciding. Camcorder tapes are more likely to be blank than full-size VHS: when played through, about one MiniDV tape in 45 turns out blank, one Video8 or Hi8 tape in 65 and one VHS-C tape in 75, against one full-size VHS tape in 125. A tape that turns out blank or can't be played is refunded, so the simplest route is to send the whole box and have them transferred by our lab.

Recycle what's left: the UK rules

Most UK councils don't accept video tape in kerbside recycling. A cassette mixes plastic, metal springs and magnetic tape, and recycling plants can't separate them easily. Put in your postcode at Recycle Now to see what your council and household recycling centre take. If nobody near you takes tapes, they go in general waste.

• Shop-bought films and blank tapes: recycle where possible, or offer working ones to a charity shop.
• Tapes with family recordings: never donate or sell them. They show faces, homes and children. Once converted, keep them or put them in general waste.
• The old camcorder: it counts as electrical waste (WEEE). Take it to a household recycling centre or a retailer take-back scheme, not the bin.

What converting a box of camcorder tapes costs in the UK

Every video format costs the same per tape, from £7.50 a tape on large orders. The price per tape drops as you send more, when your box is back at our lab within 4 weeks of dispatch:

Tapes in the box	Price per tape
1 to 5	£14.99
6+	£13.49
11+	£12.74
17+	£11.99
34+	£10.49
67+	£8.99
80+	£7.50

Worked example: a typical UK box holds 8 tapes. Eight camcorder tapes reach the 6+ step, so they cost 8 × £13.49 = £107.92, plus £10 for the Memory Box. Tracked courier both ways is free over £50. Your films arrive in a private Cloud Album, with USB as an optional extra. Allow around 9–10 weeks, counted from the day your payment clears once your box is back with us.

A checklist for the box you've just found

1. Sort the tapes by format using the table above.
2. Set aside anything shop-bought: those are the only tapes you can safely let go.
3. Check each home tape for mould, crinkled tape or rattles, and bag up any doubtful ones separately.
4. Don't test precious tapes in an old camcorder you haven't used for years.
5. Write what you know on each label (year, event, people) so the files are easy to name later.
6. Send the home recordings for conversion, all formats in one box.
7. Store the originals cool, dry and upright afterwards, and recycle the camcorder as electrical waste.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put old camcorder tapes in the bin?

You can put shop-bought or blank tapes in general waste if your council won't recycle them, but don't bin home recordings until they have been converted. A camcorder tape is usually the only copy of that footage. Once it is digitised and checked, keeping the original as a backup is still the better choice.

Can you recycle MiniDV or Hi8 tapes in the UK?

Most UK councils don't take MiniDV, Hi8 or other video tapes in kerbside recycling, because the cassettes mix plastic, metal and magnetic tape. Some household recycling centres accept them. Check your postcode on Recycle Now; if nobody takes them locally, they go in general waste.

Do camcorder tapes still work after 20 or 30 years?

Most do, if they were stored indoors and kept dry. The bigger problem is the player: old camcorders have perished rubber parts and dirty heads that can jam and damage tape. Mouldy or crinkled tapes need cleaning before playback, which is part of a professional transfer.

Can I watch camcorder tapes without a camcorder?

VHS-C tapes play in an ordinary VHS recorder using a VHS-C adapter. Video8, Hi8, Digital8 and MiniDV need a camcorder or deck of the matching format. Without one, the practical way to watch them is to have them converted to digital files you can play on a phone, computer or TV.

How much does it cost to convert camcorder tapes in the UK?

At EachMoment it costs £14.99 a tape, dropping to £13.49 from 6 tapes and as low as £7.50 a tape from 80, when the box is back with us within 4 weeks. The Memory Box costs £10, and tracked courier both ways is free over £50.

What happens if one of my tapes is blank?

It is refunded. Blank tapes are common in camcorder boxes: about one MiniDV tape in 45 and one Video8 or Hi8 tape in 65 turn out to be blank when played through. Tapes that can't be played at all are refunded too.