I have an older vhs tape of a movie that I can't find has been made into dvd. I need it in dvd format. I try to capture but it does it's thing of being bright and dim etc. What do I need to do?

I believe the "bright and dim etc" is the macrovision protection. (from vcr)
For ATI capture cards there are a few solutions, search for a file
called "DisableATIMacrovisionDetection.zip" or try renaming/deleting the
file "ATITVO32.DLL" in your Windows directory might also do the trick.

What I would do, is to use a camcorder (with A/V in, most camcorders have
this feature) to pass the video thru, instead of using video capture card.

It is a capture device from Canopus.

Don't know anything about the Canopus. Do you have a digital camcorder?
If so, find out if it has "video pass-thru" feature. If it does, you can hook up your vcr to the a/v in and output via firewire or usb to pc. This way it will be converted to digital (DV format) and you won't have to worry about "dropped frames". The camcorders I have used ignored, (or did not detect) the macrovision.

is this copy from vhs to dvd or is this capture from the screen
i have not done this typ'o capture ,just thought that the vhs /tuner to screen would then be captured by the dvd as a good image
another dumb ?????????