I've spent the past year slowly plugging away at capturing some NTSC VHS tapes. I had to create notes to keep things straight, so I thought I'd share them in case they help others. I'm a newbie. Not an expert. These are not comprehensive. Take them for what they are.

Here is what I used in my setup: JVC SVHS HR-S2913U > DMR-ES15 > Pinnacle 710 USB > Windows 10 > Virtual Dub 1.9.11 .

*** Conversion & Processing ***

This is the process I used to capture NTSC footage: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/404668-NTSC-VHS-newbie-overall-summary-Capturing
After it's captured, here are some general steps on processing & converting

1. (optional) Edit captured avi with VirtualDub to cut out unwanted material.
Save as lagarith or HuffyHuv lossless. Pixels no change.
May want to set video output to "Direct Stream copy"


2. (optional) Audio improvements.
The 2 things I focused on were:
(1) Get rid of buzz. I used Reaper and followed this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEY9XIYJtGg
(2) maximizing (mastering) audio. I used Reaper and Izotope Ozone 9 (which is also part of Ozone Elements). https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone.html

After fixing the audio:
Import the original captured video into VirtualDub 1.9.
Video > Direct Stream Copy
Audio > Audio from other file > pick the newly improved one.
Save as AVI.

Alternatively, VirtualDub does allow for audio filters to be used
Audio > Full Processing mode > Use advanced filtering > Add > 1. Input 2. Filter (pick one) 3. Output


3. Deinterlace.
If you see horizontal lines, especially during motion, the video needs to be deinterlaced.
Separate the fields into their own frames.
This will change the framerate from 29.97 to 59.94 FPS
bernix: "QTGMC as I understand is high end quality deinterlacer. Virtualdub is using default blending method as deinterlacer. So VD filter is very fast at cost of quality. You lost lots of information from source. On other hand QTGMC is superb quality at cost of speed."
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/387260-What-is-the-difference-between-Virtualdub-s...MC#post2507612

Three options:
3A. QTGMC (with AviSynth) *Recommended*
With AviSynth+: http://macilatthefront.blogspot.com/2021/01/deinterlacing-with-avisynth-and-qtgmc.html

3B. QTGMC (with Hybrid) *Recommended*
With Hybrid: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/404634-NTSC-VHS-summary-6-Hybrid-for-Conversions-D...scaling-to-MP4

3C. virtual dub deinterlace. yadif
quicker, but lower quality than QTGMC
This tutorial goes over deinterlacing with VirtualDub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_TDa9zY1c


4. Cropping/Masking Overscan.
Get rid of overscan on bottom edge of video. Typically 8 lines on the bottom.
Cropping + AddBorders in AviSynth (See sanlyn comment): http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-editing/6670-virtualdub-border-masking.html#post39266
Crop(0,0,0,-8) #<- cut 8 pixels off the bottom
AddBorders(0,4,0,4) #<- add 4 black pixels to the top and 4 to the bottom
lordsmurf: "There's near-zero reason to crop before deinterlace." http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-web/12196-qtgmc-before-after.html#post80059
Alternate approach: How to Properly Crop the Overscan in VirtualDub [GUIDE]: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-editing/4207-how-properly-crop.html


5. (optional) Clips: in virtual dub, edit to create any clips.
I chose to deinterlace with AviSynth and output to lagarith lossless .avi.
This allowed me to create clips from the deinterlaced master .avi version, and then I converted the clips to mp4 (and upscaled). But there are several possible approaches.
When saving the video, set video output to "Direct Stream copy".


6. VHS Resolutions
See: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/404589-NTSC-VHS-newbie-summary-5-Resolution-mp4-cr...tion-upscaling


7. Convert AVIs to more compact format.
Up to this point, the media has been a lossless avi format (unless you chose to deinterlace to mp4). For sharing, mp4/h264 or mpeg are a more compact format.
Hybrid is a great tool for conversions, but it is quite advanced. Handbrake is a simpler option, but is generally not recommended by digital faq forums.
Always keep original source.

Hybrid guide to converting to mp4.
See this post for steps: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/404634-NTSC-VHS-summary-6-Hybrid-for-Conversions-D...scaling-to-MP4
For PAL, see: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-web/10975-hybrid-settings-avi.html

lordsmurf recommendations:
"MPEG-2 @ 15-20mbit high bitrate is an archival option, 4:2:2 when available
H.264 is the streaming option, required deinterlace (QTGMC only one to bother with, all others very lossy)
MPEG-2 for archives, also easy+quick to reencode copy down to DVD-Video spec for DVDs.
H264 for LAN/WAN streaming (NAS, Youtube, etc)"
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-conversion/11633-beginner-advice-avi.html#post76131


8. Upscale & Resize (e.g. YouTube versions)
To maintain quality when uploading to YouTube, the video that is uploaded should be at least 1080p at 60 fps. Otherwise, YouTube will process the video to be lower quality. Here is the encoding specs guide provided: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?hl=en

latreche34: When upscaling 720x480 VHS capture, it is best to crop the 8 lines on both sides of the capture and resize to 1440x1080. This gives a DAR of 4:3 and square pixels.
Source: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/12401-upscaling-ntsc-vhs.html#post81675

Hybrid can be used to upscale to mp4. See this post for details: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/404634-NTSC-VHS-summary-6-Hybrid-for-Conversions-D...scaling-to-MP4

There is an Upscaler tool, but I never tried it (use at own risk): https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/396482-up-scale-a-new-small-and-simple-Upscaler

From lordsmurf: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/12192-how-make-vhs.html#post80019
- "You must deinterlace first. Then generally sharpen and NR, scale (enlarge), and usually have to sharpen and NR again. When you scale, you emphasize noise and problems."
- "When you go from 480i/p content, it's best to scale to 720p. Then you can move up to 1080p if you feel the need. Trying to go 480>1080 in one go is often inferior, either slightly or largely. Many people do it, but it's rarely ideal."
Sample workflow: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/401910-Topaz-products#post2620598

You can also upscale with VirtualDub, but it won't likely yield the best results. Here is an example:
- Video > Filter > Resize:
-- Aspect Ratio: Disabled
-- Absolute: 960 x 720 (4:3 aspect ratio)