When using my computer to convert a home made movie (on PAL VHS tape) to a DVD, there is picture but no sound. I can get around this issue by playing the tape to a Sony Digital NTSC camcorder, and then outputting the camera to the computer. While this does work, the double-handling involved in this process is a hassle. Can I output the video directory from the VHS player to the computer? A second (unrelated) problem is when playing movies from my laptop to TV there is sound but no stable picture on the TV. The TV is a multisystem and changing the format on the TV (PAL, NTSC, SECAM) does not fix the issue.

While I can provide some guidance on these issues, I only have limited experience in this area. That said, there are some fundamental things we can try to resolve these issues. From the description of the first issue, regarding the lack of sound when trying to record a home movie onto the computer, a potential reason for this is, the audio signal output from the VHS player is not correctly received by the computer. Assuming you connect the VHS player to the computer using the same method as connecting the digital camcorder to the computer, it seems the VHS player is outputting a signal which the digital camcorder can understand and the camcorder converts the signal and outputs it in a format the computer can understand. However, the computer cannot understand the signal being outputted from the VHS player, which is why you receive no sound when directly connecting the VHS player to the computer. Given various set-top players (e.g. VHS players, DVD players) can output audio in different formats (e.g. analog, surround sound, etc.) it is possible the incorrect audio format has been selected. So, it may be worthwhile checking the audio settings for your VHS player to see whether the audio format can be changed. Only proceed at your own risk and be very careful when choosing the audio format. Only select a format which you know the computer can accept, as sending a signal not supported by the computer could damage the computer or your VHS player.

Regarding the second problem of the unstable picture when playing movies on your TV, I assume you output the video to your TV through a method such as the S-Video Out port on the computer video card. Should this be the case, if you are connecting the computer to the TV using S-Video there is a possibility the TV (or computer) does not fully support S-Video, and is thus outputting an unstable picture. You may wish to try an alternative method of connection, such as using an S-Video to composite converter, to allow you to connect the computer to the composite inputs on the TV which most TV’s support. The composite signal is usually broadcast in a specific format (e.g. PAL, NTSC) so your multisystem TV should be able to read these signals and display a stable picture. For more information on composite video, visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_video.