JVC makes a Combo MiniDV & S-VHS machine with Firewire. I have an older model HR-DVS3U. I have compatability problems with miniDV tapes, but for transfer of VHS and S-VHS it works fine.
However., with the Canopus converters you can use any analog deck and the 300 model includes noise reduction and some color correction.
I believe a Dazzle-type solution would do the trick for you too. It basically has RCA to USB connections, that should work for any existing VCR, and it's less than $100 from Best Buy.
Simplest answer unless you need both NTSC and PAL capbility, buy a D8 camera, they're very cheap these days. That gives you A to D and D to A so you can use any VHS deck and you can capture 8mm, Hi8 and D8 tapes. They include DNR and a TBC, not as convenient as say the ADVC 300 but I got by with one for a long time. Should find them pretty cheap on eBay these days as it seems Sony is killing off the format. Bad Sony, very bad :(
By all accounts the JVC MiniDV / VHS combos lived upto JVC reputation for reliability
Agreed. JVC is crap- stay far away from it. I still use the deck I have but only to capture VHS via my Canopus ADVC 300 - the firewire interface drops frames like mad.