Weakest link and suggestions for this VCR transferring system

[gevorg]

Hi all!

I finally decided to transfer my old VHS/S-VHS tapes to digital format, preferably high-bitrate MKV/x264. I took out my old VCR and miniDV camcorder and set them up this way:

- JVC HR-S4600U S-VHS VCR in pretty clean shape, with S-video for video output, and RCA for audio output connected to Sony camcorder
- Sony DCR-TRV27 miniDV camcorder with pass-though S-video input and 3.5mm for audio input
- Fire-wire connection from camcorder to Sony Vegas Pro 12 x64

Questions:

- What is the weakest link in my system? Can I significantly improve it by $200-300? I'm particularly concerned about my camcorder's Analog-to-Digital capabilities. Maybe a capture card will be better? If not, don't really want to waste money since this is a one-time project.
- Any tweaks or suggestions you recommend for my setup?
- I've heard about multiple VCR captures to reduce some types of noise, and might consider it for a few very important tapes I have. Are there any guides on this subject that is easy to follow for a newbie?

Thank you!

[Brad]

Wouldn't have any clue on whether that miniDV cam's passthru includes stabilization.

If not, adding some form of TBC would be my personal recommendation. I've used a DVD recorder and an AV receiver for this, but you have to know ahead of time that the particular model has a chipset that performs the function.

[sanlyn]

Agreed, I don't see any form of line-level TBC.

Also, no mention of the format the O.P. is capturing to. If capturing directly to lossy compression (MPEG, h264, DivX, etc.), this would inflict more damage than not having a tbc. Next on the list: trying to clean up captures of old noisy VHS with an NLE such as Vegas, Premiere, etc., with lossy formats.

- I've heard about multiple VCR captures to reduce some types of noise, and might consider it for a few very important tapes I have. Are there any guides on this subject that is easy to follow for a newbie?

This technique requires Avisynth plugins and scripts. http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/4788-averaging-multiple-vhs.html
Capture averaging involves considerable effort in time, not to mention an initial learning curve. Much depends on the source video. If the VHS was captured to lossy formats instead of to lossless AVI, the technique would be useless. Having no tbc could also cause difficulty with multiple capture averaging.