Acquired good equiptment. can't figure out an archiving workflow.

[PVideo]

I've been reading forums here and DF for years and finally took the leap and purchased a sought after S-VHS player and an inexpensive alt via a Vhs/DVD Recorder. With the combination of usb dongles, usb capture devices, a folder full of software, and scores of youtube videos; I'm having trouble etching out a workflow. I just want to make sure that I'm taking the right steps with the right stuff on day 1.

First of all, I should start with my ultimate goal. My intent is to archive old VHS videos, rare commercials, and other findings primarily to youtube. Is there something else i should get, like an affordable elgato or avermedia capture hub? Do i need both the VCR and VCR/DVD Recorder?

VHS Equiptment:
Panasonic AG-1980 Desktop Editor VHS Recorder
Panasonic DMR-EZ48V VHS/DVD Recorder

Capture Devices:
Mini- AV2HDMI RCA Upscaler 1080P
Avermedia ET113 Dongle Component (YPbPr) to HDMI
Guermok HD AudioVideo Capture HDMI
Redyo S-video/RCA to USB Capture

Software:
OBS
VirtualDub2
StaxRip
MPC-BE
Brovicon

I've noticed that the VCR/DVD Recorder via HDMI output is a better quality than the SVHS Player, and i understand that i should want to do post-processing on the pc instead of the Recorder doing it. I'm including pics of my VHS player's video heads, i worried they might need to be replaced.

Any help and/or guidance would be appreciated! Hearing so many different takes on Youtube and the forums has me a bit overwhelmed.

[aramkolt]

I think you're probably getting better results from the 48V via HDMI is because the digitizing cards you are using are generally considered poor, and the other thing is IF your AG1980 hasn't been refurbished yet (heavy recapping and mechanism rebuild), then I wouldn't expect it to perform well. I do full refurbs for $750 and it usually takes around 8 hours solid at a minimum even having done 50+ of them before. PM me if interested.

You do also have a lot of dirt buildup right above the heads which is easily visible on your photos. That can be cleaned with the alcohol and paper method with 90%+ isopropyl alcohol. You can't really tell head wear from pictures though. I will say it's relatively uncommon for AG1980 heads to wear out as I think they used harder material than the JVCs did, even though most AG1980's have probably seen significantly more hours of use as they were used in more professional environments.

My general experience is that the 48V produces a significantly softer picture than the AG1980, but if softer/more smoothed out image is your preferred "look" for the final capture, you may be ok with that.

If you're curious what the difference would actually be for a different capture card and one of the tapes you've captured with your machines vs one of my refurbished AG1980's and the capture setup I'd normally use, you can send me a tape or two that you've already captured along with a flash drive containing your capture and I can capture a portion and send it back with my capture to see if you think it's worth changing/upgrading your setup or not. I'd do it for just the cost of return shipping.