I realize that you said you have various types of home-videos that were transfered to vhs tape some time ago. And you may not know fully how each one were handled, not to mention the condition of each of them, etc etc etc. So, again, I say, your mileage will vary from tape to tape. Some may come out better than others while others will prob give you trouble. So, first test each tape out and review it for consistency or comparison purposes with other captured video you made. The more you do the better you become at judging each and gauging for quality etc.

Over on the left side of this webpage is the forums capture card which have reviews and links to guides, etc. You only have to review that area and read the user comments. They will help you out in your decision making.

Now, regarding the player in the uniform, #24, I see where you are going with that. Actaully, what you are seeing (funny lines) is the interlace..nothing to worry about. Whether you decide on software encode or hardware assisted mpeg encoder, just encode them as interlaced video and later, the tv will do the rest.

The popular choice for an mpeg capture card is the Hauppauge pvr group. Usually pvr-250 or pvr-usb2. These are hardware mpeg-2 encoder. They will handle the (in your case) vhs video fine..that is, the interlace lines you were worried about earlier. Don't worry about that. Let the card do its job and in the end you'll have a finished mpeg-2 file to author to dvd. There are other hardware mpeg encoder cards to choose.

If you go with a hardware MPEG-2 (or, AVI) capture card, you can still include a TBC in the mix (if you have one) to help improve those difficult tapes. The reason I suggested posting some sample clips was so that we could get an idea of the quality/condition of your video(s) in hopes to make an optimum suggestion as to which external device might bester assist you and those difficult tapes -- tbc; enhancer; etc.

Should you decide on a real-time software mpeg encoder then depending on your system muscle your mileage may vary. And you can also use the external devices mentioned. Since you have a lot of tapes to do, I would prob go with one of the hardware approaches..a dvd recorder or one of the Hauppauge PVR's or other card of your choice in the link I mentioned above because editing/filtering/cleaning/etc is a more difficult area to cover briefly and is best left to a separate (later) inquiry.

Maybe someone with a faster connection can D/L your demo video and review it for possible pointers

-vhelp 4937