*N.B. I considered posting this to [hardwarerecs](https://hardwarerecs.stackexchange.com/) but not only is it much less active than this site, I also have a feeling there's a lot more specialist knowledge on the topic here, and practical questions about hardware that is no longer manufactured does appear to be on-topic.*

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I have some family home videos on VHS that I'm responsible for digitising. I know I will need both a VCR and a USB capture card, but money is tight so there are a few important details I want to clarify before I spend anything. 

### The Capture Card

This is probably the easiest part, and I'll more than likely be buying
[this one here](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002Y4GTVO#?ref_=nav_signin&) as it seems to be the cheapest one without a lot of worrying reviews.

### The VCR

The VCR will obviously be bought second-hand, but being born in the last decade of the 20th century, I'm just about old enough to remember having to choose between PAL/NTSC on my PlayStation, and don't have a lot of experience with VCRs themselves. 

**Firstly:** with regards to PAL vs NTSC, [Wikipedia indicates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS#Tape_lengths) that it does matter, so now I'm wondering if my tapes are marked as PAL SECAM, do I need a PAL VCR? I've seen a few local listings on eBay for NTSC VCRs, and confusingly I even saw one that said "NTSC Playback on PAL TV" *(see below)*, but actual PAL VCRs seem surprisingly hard to come by considering they would have presumably been the default where I live (in the UK).

[![NTSC playback on PAL TV][1]][1]

**Secondly:** and perhaps most importantly, [this forum](http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-workflows/8594-best-highest-quality.html) suggests it's necessary to invest in an S-VHS VCR to get the best quality out of the videos:

> Not only would it be a good idea [to invest in an S-VHS VCR], but it's practically an essential
> requirement. Want to use a cheap VCR? Your "highest quality"
> requirement just bit the dust. Good output begins with a quality
> capture. No quality capture, no quality output. Period. For vcr's We
> never never never recommend eBay or similar auction sites. You find
> good VCR's in our marketplace forum. A recommended source for rebuilt
> high-end VCRs and other rebuilt goods is Tom Grant's shop.
> 
> Recommended VCRs for NTSC and PAL are listed here: VCR Buying Guide
> (S-VHS, D-VHS, Professional) for restoring video
> 
> Which of those VCR line you should consider depends on your analog
> tape library. Are most of them retail tapes and tapes recorded at high
> 2-hour speed? All of the listed brands will do them justice. Are they
> slow-speed recordings, 4 to 6 or 8 hours??? I'm afraid Panasonic is
> your only choice. Slow-sped tapes look like crap on a JVC.
> 
> Read more:
> http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-workflows/8594-best-highest-quality.html#ixzz6gpbHmcSx

Is this true? Will I need to shell out for a more expensive S-VHS VCR to avoid sacrificing quality?

**Finally:** are there any other VCR features I need to look for/avoid, that will improve/hinder the quality of the conversion? I see some are listed as 4-head, 6-head, Super Drive, etc.? Do any of these matter for my purposes?

  [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/Yxxp3.jpg