Betamax VCR with SCART, no s-video? Converter or use composite?
 

My (planned) setup in a nutshell:

Sony Betamax SL-HF950 / JVC HR-S8960
Datavideo TBC-1000
ATI TV Wonder 600 USB
VirtualDub
Huffyuv

As you may have noticed I am in PAL land. For the Betamax VCR that presents a slight problem as it only outputs scart or composite. In order to capture with the ATI TV Wonder 600 USB (through the TBC) I can choose either to use the composite or S-video. Off course I prefer the better S-video, but it has to be converted from the scart output. I have a simple (but gold plated) scart converter that (in theory) can do the job, but I am not sure this will give the best results.

• Are there quality differences with respect to the converters or is that they simply work or don't work?

• Does the Sony Betamax SL-HF950 even output s-video through the scart?

• Am I, quality wise, better off using the composite output of the Sony Betamax SL-HF950?

Other suggestions/advice on the setup is welcome as well.

Just use the composite output. The SCART socket does not output S-Video. Its the best you are going to get out of a Betamax since the decks with S-Video out were NTSC only.