[john mc guirk] “I haven’t tried
this, but if an MPEG file is recorded again on VHS tape as an
analog file then re-digitized into ADOBE, does it go in as an
AVI file with minimal loss?”
If you go from VHS to Mpeg there is going to a bit of loss due to conversion and compression, if you try to go back the other way, Mpeg to VHS its going to get worst, if you want to archive to mpeg you need to use an editor thats more Mpeg friendly possibly with smart rendering to minumize re-compression, and stay away from analog once digitized.