Newbie VHS Captures

[Decar]

I have a VHS that I'd like to capture. I've read a number of different reviews and forum posts about the different options available; and it's safe to say I'm very much out of my depth. It seems a lot of the affordable and reliable analog conversion workflows are not readily available at the moment; and I have just enough knowledge to know I have a limited technical understanding. I thought I could trouble the fine forum members here for some advice or recommendations.

To begin with, I'd like to describe what I'd like to convert:

I have a PAL 625-line VHS, from a small British film-maker from ~1989. This is the only copy that I know of. It looks to be produced for a local distribution rather than nationally. It holds some historic relevance. It's length is only about 30-minutes.

I do have some other VHS tapes that I would consider capturing, but these are secondary.

I think as a goal, I'd like do a good job of capturing, so that I could consider performing restorations as necessary.

Unlike many here, I don't have 100s of tapes; so I'm not sure the best course. But, I'd like to do the best I can.

My kit is....lacking. I know the most important piece is a decent VHS player.
Currently, I only have an old Bush Video-DVD-combi DVHS4. It was cheap at the time, and only has composite out.
I don't have any capture devices.
On the Computer front:
I have an aging MacBook Pro Mid-2015. 2.5Ghz Quad-Core i7. RAM:16GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Or a newer PC: Win11 - 2.30 GHz, i7-12700H, 32GB RAM

I'm relatively technically savvy, so happy to tinker with applications like VirtualDub.

I think it's safe to say: I'm missing all of the kit that would be good for the job.
Budget-wise, I'd struggle to justify more then £200 at the moment; although it would be nice to be ready for any future endeavors.

Initially, I was considering picking up a usb3hdcap, or going down the 2nd hand ADVC route. Initially, using my existing VCR before justifying an upgrade.

Given the small number of VHS I want to capture, I wonder if it might be better ask (pay) an expert to do it for me. I'm a little reluctant to do that without seeking some recommendations though. I have a feeling that most of those 'services' you see advertised are probably using click-and-go USB dongles. I think a clue that they're offering to "convert your old videos into mp4" may be indicative; it's a container format, so they're not telling me much.

I appreciate any help or advice anyone's willing to give to get me started. Much obliged!

[dellsam34]

Yes, in your case it is better to have someone do the job for you, If you are in the UK contact Colin from Video99.co.uk. The VCR alone could cost you 3 times what you are going to pay for this job.

[Decar]

Wonderful! When I realized my VCR was ...what it was... I thought it would be better to support an expert. Colin's site looks great and demonstrates a high level of competence. Thanks for you help dellsam34.