Choosing hardware, best method for VHS capture?
 

I have spent the last week reading about the subject, and I have been overwhelmed with the amount of information there is about the subject. But with all this information I am left unsure how to go about this project.

I have an unknown number of VHS tapes that I would like to digitalise, I know for sure there is over 30, but may be many more as my family find them. I don’t want to send them away as from what I have read the results can be mixed and it will cost far too much. However I have seen posts saying that to do it yourself you need a TBC, but looking online the few I have been able to find are around £1000, which is well out of my budget.

I am not looking to do the best job (well I don’t think I am), just looking to be able to have a digital copy that isn’t painful to watch (if you know what I mean) before it is too late to do so. I have seen this video using a cheap capture card, https://youtu.be/sn_TDa9zY1c, this video has excellent reviews in the comments but I have seen posts saying that these are not suitable.

I have seen posts about using a Panasonic DVD player as a TBC as a compromise, would using my VHS with the below DVD player with the Intensity Pro capture card be suitable?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313649594633
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274796954566

I currently have access to a NV-VP30 VHS player which has been owned by my family since new and has only had light use. My current PC is running Windows 10 which I have read can be problematic, however I have a spare PC that I could set up with Windows XP or similar. I don’t have firewire, however I guess I can just buy and fit a PCI card to sort this?

Do not use a Black magic card, those have many problems with VHS video.

The larger the project size, the more you'll run into problem tapes, so the more important a quality VCR is. Quality starts with the VCR, so you don't want something from the thrift store, nor something you dug out of a closet/attic/basement. At minimum, a good JVC/Panasonic non-TBC S-VHS deck is where you want to be.

Converting video is yields either good or bad quality. There's really no "best". It's somewhat binary (bad, good with artifacts/noise, good without artifacts/noise), not a grading scale like comic books. Getting to good has a few narrow paths, and all require forms of TBC.

That "60p" VHS Youtube video is starting to get on my nerves. If you follow it, you'll make bad video, the end. That Youtuber doesn't know what he's doing, and is giving horrible advice to newbies. Bad card, no TBCs, bad VirtualDub settings, wrong terms being used. What a mess.

ES15 is a compromise, a minimalist TBC(ish) that has a fail rate. But it's the best of the "not a real TBC" pieces of hardware. It makes a viable art of a good workflow. It's strong+crippled line TBC with non-TBC frame sync, with quality sacrifices (off luma/brightness, posterization, aggressive NR, etc).

In terms of TBC costs money: buy it, use it, resell it. It holds value.

Firewire is useless, AGP/PCI good if you want an ATI AIW card (best) with XP, but also several great USB cards that are easier to setup and use (and work with Win7, sometimes even Win10).

What you want to do isn't anything new, or difficult. That's good news for you, it'll be easy to get on the right path.