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Originally Posted by PleaseThankYou
but it looks like we are using technology that is 20+ years old
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Only some the VCRs (mid 90s to mid 00s).
Not the TBCs (mid 00s)
Not the capture cards (00s to early 10s).
2022 - 20 = 2002
So most items are not even 20 years old, much less 20+ old.
"old" isn't the right term anyway. It's "legacy". Technological agism.
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You'll never get perfection, and that's a fool's errand especially when it comes to videotapes. What you want it good video, all the major flaws avoided or removed. And then what you have left is the video as it actually existed on the tape. Not a tape that was visually raped by a cheap VCR, or shredded by a cheap Chinese capture device (ClearClick is awful).
Is it not possible for someone to make a perfect conversion option that doesn't require the perfect VCR, the perfect TBC, the perfect capture card, the perfect software, etc.
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Wouldn't that company make a ton of money
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No.
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And yes, I know in another 15-20 years nobody will care because the VHS tapes will be too old to convert (right? maybe? idk)
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That's probably accurate. Tapes have a lifespan of 35-65 years. Right now, we're about 40-45 years for 70s and early 80s tapes, and those too often have significant issues. In another 20, those same tapes will be salvage jobs (50/50 success), and all the 90s into 00s tapes will have issues. Yes, there will be some outliers that surpasses this, but not too many. (By that time, I hope to be retired, so I personally won't care too much that my accidental career field has an end date. I know some folks have felt that way about their fields, TV, telecom, etc. Very often, a big industry change was also the reason to retire.)
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Don't internet bully me please. 
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That should never happen at this site. I won't put up with it.
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Originally Posted by mbassiouny
While reading you might come across something called "ld-decode for vhs". It is not usable/reliable yet. Far from being there. Maybe in few years? but not now. Capture your tapes now recature later if new tech comes out.
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The saddest part about this is that, if it does finally become viable, it will be far too late for many tapes. That project has been ongoing for at least 5 years now, and I can easily see it taking at least 5 more. What they're doing is admirable, I'm all for increasing quality. But the combo of open-source/community (free time), and the hardware tech simply not yet existing, it's not a good recipe for any type of speed. Odds are, it'll never be viable for more than the uber-dedicated and deep pocketed, maybe not even something I'd mess with. It's worse than current methods, not better, excluding a slight sharpness boost. Is it really worth that? At least the Laserdisc aspect (the reason ld-decoded was started) was actually obviously better, and more viable.
I'm a realist, not a pessimist. Many folks want it to work, but that's no enough.
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Originally Posted by PleaseThankYou
Is there a way to ... delete this thread?
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It was a fair question, and others can learn from it. Let it stay.
