Good VHS capture card?

[tomhopkins]

Hi!
If this has been asked before then I'm sorry but can anyone reccomend a capture card for my laptop, which will capture my VHS in good quality? Am I right in thinking composite is the best way to link them up? I can't really spend more then £40 (on Ebay!) so please bear that in mind!

:thanks:

[Blue_MiSfit]

There is no "best" here :)

There are however plenty of options in your price range, connecting via either CardBus or USB 2.0.

Unless you have a high end professional grade VCR, you will most likely get ideal results with a composite video connection. Cheaper S-VHS decks don't do a very good job of Y/C separation.

Ideally you would have a TBC (Time Base Corrector) inline between the VCR and the capture card. This will stabilize the video signal, and improve image quality significantly. These can be expensive however - and are typically integrated into high end VCRs, or offered as standalone units

~MiSfit

[olyteddy]

My Hauppauge PVR USB2 has served me well. However its output is MPEG2 which isn't the best format if you need to do a lot of editing to the footage.