Amazon.com has a few units for under $125 shipped!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0007WKB14
I can't go into too much detail this very moment, but I've discussed them online before. The Panasonic ES10 DVD recorder has an excellent ability to filter a signal in "passthrough" mode. It will correct "tearing" of the video, a common issue on homemade tapes (especially multigeneration copies).
You do NOT record with the unit, only pass a signal through it!
The workflow is as follows:
- Good VCR >
- Panasonic ES10 >
- full-frame standalone TBC > (optional)
- recording device (another DVD recorder or computer capture card)
Excellent restoration method for tapes exhibiting that exact problem.
There is more, but I'll have to type it another time (laptop keyboard are just awful for typing long documents!).