Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

Also, go online and learn how to clean the heads. It is a delicate operation and you have to be careful or you can damage them. But if the heads are dirty it affects the quality of the capture. And don't use one of those clearning tapes - with some research, you can learn to clean them properly.

I think I'll take it to my VCR tech* first, at least in preparation for this one capture, as it's my most important one.

*He's very experienced; that is, he has an EE degree and has been doing TV/VCR repair since 1974.