Movie Maker, is that MP4 as well as WMV?
What is your capture format in PD?
Ripping is not really the correct term, it is capturing, though that is just trivial.
What capture device are you using?
What VCR?
A/V sync is important, of course, but if your capture stinks visually...

Honestly I rarely use PD for capture, but never have an issue anyway. I just use PD for final edits and delivery files. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Quote Movie Maker, is that MP4 as well as WMV?
What is your capture format in PD?
Ripping is not really the correct term, it is capturing, though that is just trivial.
What capture device are you using?
What VCR?
A/V sync is important, of course, but if your capture stinks visually...

Honestly I rarely use PD for capture, but never have an issue anyway. I just use PD for final edits and delivery files.

Thanks for the reply, Barry! Yes, indeed, capture, not rip! The format I was trying to use in PD was mpg (MPEG-2, which it had defaulted to). I hadn't tried avi or the other available formats, but I had tried changing the setting to "DVD HQ" instead of the default "DVD HQ (fast)", and that didn't help. Same out-of-sync result.

This old version of Movie Maker uses only wmv. Honestly it's good enough for these purposes, though its 1-hour time limit is a bit of an annoyance. Very old VHS-C tapes; not very high quality to begin with, and a little glitchy in spots, but a lot of sentimental value.

I had wondered about the hardware -- cheap capture device DigitNow USB 2.0 Video Grabber - and VCR (only one I had available, but not terrible - ancient 4-head hi-fi Zenith) -- but that still wouldn't explain why, using the same hardware, the audio synced fine with the old Movie Maker, but not with the PD capture.

My plan is still to do all the cleanup and editing in PD. In the meantime, using Movie Maker to create the wmv files seems to be working okay.

So I was mainly just curious whether I had something set wrong when attempting to use PD for capture, since the audio was consistently, unacceptably out of sync with every single attempt, while it was always fine with the Movie Maker.

Thanks again! -- Randy

"This old version of Movie Maker uses only wmv. Honestly it's good enough for these purposes, though its 1-hour time limit is a bit of an annoyance. Very old VHS-C tapes; not very high quality to begin with, and a little glitchy in spots, but a lot of sentimental value."

If it's of sentimental value, then you need to get better equipment before going any further. If it's worth doing, then do it well.
Are you playing tapes from the VHS-C camera, or is the tape in an adapter? Your adapter, if so, should be a metallic build, such as the JVC CP7-U
The Zenith is crap, sorry. No S-video. But it's what you have so use it. Preferable would be a budget JVC S series. Or Mitsubishi model in the 7 series. Late models, S-video, filters, better construction.
Your capture card, meh. It's what you have, so use it.
As for A/V sync...
Windows Movie Maker, using WMV, is very forgiving of tapes, but honestly gives a sub-par video file which will be depleted after you try and fix colors, or any restoration.
Much better off using PD365 and MPEG2 or MP4, though MPEG2 is closer to what is actually on the tape, interlaced.
Always capture 720x480 (NTSC).
A/V sync is often, most often, because of dropped frames during capture.
I would suggest getting a Panasonic ES-10 or ES-15 DVD recorder to act as a go-between (pass-thru) Time Base Corrector.
The ES will buffer the signal and pass-thru a cleaner (if not perfect) capture. Some side effects such as posterization may occur.
You do NOT record with the ES, you just pass your signal through it to your capture dongle.
One of the benefits is, if you look closely at your video captures, you may notice that door frames, windows, telephone poles, may be a bit wiggly and not straight as a straight line should be. Those are line timing errors.
VHS is CHAOS! It's old, stretchy, prone to all sorts of errors that muck up the video image.
You need some type of TBC in your workflow, and the ES units are cheap, under $150, compared to a DataVideo1000, such as mine, which I could sell today for $2,000 easy.
For the ES, you will need a proper remote to access the inner menu to shut off Noise Reduction, and alter the input gamma to input light/output dark.
S-VHS machines with TBC are difficult to find in good shape, and Ebay sellers lie.

You may best be served by reading at another forum, who specialty is TAPE! DigitalFAQ.com. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Quote "This old version of Movie Maker uses only wmv. Honestly it's good enough for these purposes, though its 1-hour time limit is a bit of an annoyance. Very old VHS-C tapes; not very high quality to begin with, and a little glitchy in spots, but a lot of sentimental value."

If it's of sentimental value, then you need to get better equipment before going any further. If it's worth doing, then do it well.
Are you playing tapes from the VHS-C camera, or is the tape in an adapter? Your adapter, if so, should be a metallic build, such as the JVC CP7-U
The Zenith is crap, sorry. No S-video. But it's what you have so use it. Preferable would be a budget JVC S series. Or Mitsubishi model in the 7 series. Late models, S-video, filters, better construction.
Your capture card, meh. It's what you have, so use it.
As for A/V sync...
Windows Movie Maker, using WMV, is very forgiving of tapes, but honestly gives a sub-par video file which will be depleted after you try and fix colors, or any restoration.
Much better off using PD365 and MPEG2 or MP4, though MPEG2 is closer to what is actually on the tape, interlaced.
Always capture 720x480 (NTSC).
A/V sync is often, most often, because of dropped frames during capture.
I would suggest getting a Panasonic ES-10 or ES-15 DVD recorder to act as a go-between (pass-thru) Time Base Corrector.
The ES will buffer the signal and pass-thru a cleaner (if not perfect) capture. Some side effects such as posterization may occur.
You do NOT record with the ES, you just pass your signal through it to your capture dongle.
One of the benefits is, if you look closely at your video captures, you may notice that door frames, windows, telephone poles, may be a bit wiggly and not straight as a straight line should be. Those are line timing errors.
VHS is CHAOS! It's old, stretchy, prone to all sorts of errors that muck up the video image.
You need some type of TBC in your workflow, and the ES units are cheap, under $150, compared to a DataVideo1000, such as mine, which I could sell today for $2,000 easy.
For the ES, you will need a proper remote to access the inner menu to shut off Noise Reduction, and alter the input gamma to input light/output dark.
S-VHS machines with TBC are difficult to find in good shape, and Ebay sellers lie.

You may best be served by reading at another forum, who specialty is TAPE! DigitalFAQ.com.

Thanks very much for the extensive advice, Barry! I already had in mind that I'd be trying to carefully preserve the original tapes in hopes of eventually getting better equipment and doing it again later. But I'm very limited on both free time and extra money at the moment, so I'm figuring on finishing digitizing so that I at least have something preserved, even a lower quality, even if I run into trouble editing it properly.

But indeed, you're right I'd like to eventually do it right as well. Realizing there's a time factor in the continuing degradation of the tape and all, but it's the best I can do at the moment.

If I eventually have more time and budget, I'll be very happy to have all this info from you to reference.

Just to answer you a bit more... The VHS-C camera bit the dust literally decades ago, so I am using an adapter, but it is indeed an all-metal Panasonic PlayPak, which is functioning well.

This old Zenith (XBV443) actually does have an S-video output, so I suppose the least I can do at present is get an S-video cable and use it!

Thank you again for all the great information. -- Randy

Quote This old Zenith (XBV443) actually does have an S-video output, so I suppose the least I can do at present is get an S-video cable and use it!Thank you again for all the great information. -- Randy

Unfortunately the S-video is for DVD only, so that's a no-go. I understand budget restraints, and recording something is better than nothing.
Even if you use RCA cables, you need TBC, and the cheapest solution is the ES series. It also works using RCA, not just S-video.
The thing about S-video is the video is "separated" luma and chroma, it's cleaner with little to no crosstalk which leads to color bleed and other artifacts like dot-crawl. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Quote
Unfortunately the S-video is for DVD only, so that's a no-go. I understand budget restraints, and recording something is better than nothing.
Even if you use RCA cables, you need TBC, and the cheapest solution is the ES series. It also works using RCA, not just S-video.
The thing about S-video is the video is "separated" luma and chroma, it's cleaner with little to no crosstalk which leads to color bleed and other artifacts like dot-crawl.

Yep! I stand corrected, again. (I was just about to post that correction to my earlier statement after looking more closely at the VCR's back panel!)

Regardless, thanks again for all of this additional info! Much appreciated! -- Randy

Many people capture thier own tapes, and think they did a great job, but with a few tweaks it can be miles better.

Start with the VCR,
step up to am S-VHS machine. Even better, get a good deal and then send it a TV tech to refurb it.
Just recently I drove 25 minutes to get a non-TBC JVC S-4800U because it was $10.
Darn thing was spotless but ate tapes due to old sticky grease. My tech fixed it for $160. Now I have a GREAT S-vhs player, almost factory, for $170. And I could sell it, with the invoice for repair, for maybe $300. But I'm in the business so I use it and it's superb.

Next up, the TBC:
Impossible to find in good condition for under $2k. Try the Panasonic DMR-ES10 or 15, and some say the 20, and a few other models work, too. Use only as pass-thru, and only if you are dropping frames or experiencing wavy flagging tearing.
WFT is easy to spot, it's bent window frames, people's heads stretching to the left, wiggles, etc.

Capture 720x480 at custom bitrate of 10,000 up to 12,000. This gives you a little headroom for "semi-restoration".

Post production:
Mask the rough edges. Do not upscale, do not crop. At most you can move the image to the center of the TV frame to minimize the mask, but do NOT resize. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT