This site is really informative and it's got me debating which way to back up my VHS tapes. Some of them have begun to degrade. Option one has me buying a video stabilizer, putting it between my VCR and Toshiba D-VR3 VHS/DVD-RW combo machine and burning like that. Option two is buying a video capture card and a DVD burner for my computer and going that way. I need to buy the DVD burner anyways and I want to upgrade my video card from a Radeon 7500 to something better. Any advice on which way is better? If anyone has specific recommendations about video capture cards, it would be appreciated. I did a search and didn't see this particular question exactly, but sorry if I missed it. Thanks a lot.
One other question I forgot to ask. If I go with option two, would I still need a stabilizer to reduce the macrovision going into the capture card? Thanks again.
Both options are fine but with option 2 you can make more professional DVDs if you choose. I use a ATI AIW 9600 and it works grear and if you have the money also get a JVC 9000 series VCR. To remove macrovision try one of the TBCs below but if money is an issue a clarifier is much less. The best but most expensive choice is to get a full frame TBC. The recommended ones are the Datavideo TBC-1000 or the AV Tool AVT-8710. TBCs not only remove macrovision completely but also stabilize the video input making the result better then the original. One upside to these TBCs is that if you decide not to keep the TBC when you are done you can sell it on eBay for the same and sometimes more then what you paid. The best prices can usually be found at B&H Photo Video (sometimes lower then eBay especially after most sellers’ exorbitant shipping fees).
