Video-Capture Reviews

The only good thing about this product is the software (Studio 8). I bought a DVC 150. I spent two days trying to get Tech support, and 45 minutes on long distance toll calls to their version of tech support (they do not offer toll free service). Their tech suggested that I use a 1394 setup for better quality and ease of use. They never did answer the email I sent for assistance 4 days ago.
I paid $150.00 for this piece of junk desk orniment. A firewire card and cable is only $75.00 at Best Buy. And I have been able to down load my grandson's birthday from my Sharp Digital Viewcam just like I wanted to with out unnecessary grief and agrivation.

This was the 2nd and last Dazzle product I'll ever buy. The first was the "Snazzi" capture card which ceased to work under Win 2K, then this product ceased to work under Windows XP. Dazzle must be playing tricks with interrupts and other low level hardware to make these things incompatible.

Buh bye Dazzle, see you in Chapter 11.

I would recommend that you quickly repackage this product if you purchased it and return it before the warrantee expires. I made the mistake of purchasing this product last year and have never been able to make it work correctly. I tried to install it on a 450 Mhz Dell and a 1.6 Mhz Dell w/ Windows XP. I couldn't even get it to start up or install correctly on the windows XP. On the 450 Mhz machine I was able to install it and actually load some video into the program using the interface. However, I was never able to get it to successfully edit the imported video. The downloads for Dazzle says it all. It never has worked well if at all with Windows XP. ... Try Pinnacle or anything else.

The title of my review says it all. Bought this & tried on a new Dell laptop. The installation of the driver failed with no real help in diagnosing the problem. Their tech support was pretty clueless (and no 800 number). The only thing they did was to suggest updating this, then retry the install, update that, then retry again. And again, and again. For all I know the box I received was defective but all they wanted me to do was to retry the install.

The package and case for the device looked real nice. I tried to set everything up and it appeared to be ok except for a slight delay in audio between what I heard on the tv and what I heard on my laptop. However, after watching a recording that lasted longer than 15 minutes I noticed the audio was out of sync. I could not uderstand why, my machine more than excedes the minimum requirements. It seems to be a common problem with similar devices.

I got this card to replace a PNY Geforce 420. This card performs significantly worse than that older card. Do not be fooled by the fact that this card has 128 mb of RAM. That really means nothing. This card has no fan and seems likely to overheat unless your computer's cooling is really top notch. This card does not run Battlefield 1942 well. I think this card is pitched to gamers w/ its 128 mb of ram, but the performance is really unacceptable. There really is nothing good about this card whatsoever. Don't buy it. Spend a little more if you are gaming, or if you aren't, and just need something basic, you can get as good a card for half the price.

The Geforce FX 5200 is intended to replace the old Geforce4MX 440, and it does succeed there. It does usually perform somewhat better than the old GF4MX (And over time the GF4MX will look even slower in comparison with games like Doom 3 on the horizon), and it also supports directx 9, whereas the GF4MX only supports directx 7.

The problem here is just that in most cases it simply isn't all that much faster than the GF4MX, and in some cases is a bit slower. You can get a Geforce4 Ti4200 for little more money, which will quite drastically outperform the FX 5200 across the board, even in future games such as Doom 3.

The card itself isn't that bad, if you don't play many games and just want something in your computer that will run games in a year or two, this will work, however, while it might run the games, you will have to stick with lower resolutions and no aniti-aliasing, resulting in lower image quality.

So, in conclusion - avoid this video card if you are an avid gamer, but if you just need something to replace whatever happened to come with your computer and aren't terribly concerned about performance, the Geforce FX 5200 would be an adequate solution, if on the pricey side.

I finally got around to opening this product and connected it to my "new Emac." My Mac is very good at automatically recognizing plugins via fire wire. The doggone thing just don't work! I did trouble shooting both through mac and pinnacle systems online website. All I have now is a $200.00 statue! Don't waist your time or money on this junk.

I purchase this item before it was associated with Pinnacle from a retail store. Unfortunately, I didn't try it out before the warrantry ran out which is something I REALLY REGRET. The audio capture is choppy 8 out of 10 times and those stats don't cut it when you spend over $250. The support from Dazzle at the time was almost non-existent. We were told to try different setting instead of the one that matched our brand (as if we didn't try that). Now that Pinnacle has bought Dazzle they don't even list this item on their website. If I were you I would invest in a DV camera with the firewire instead of this because it will bring you nothing but HEADACHES when you want to use it.

Pinnacle express looks like a good program, however it would not recognize my burner. After trying several of Pinnacle's automated solutions, I tried e-mail requests. No reply. For personal service via telephone the hours available are only for those not working and they are not toll free. My Arcsoft program from Canon does recognize my burner, I still have not been able to use the software from this product. The hardware works, but forget the software and any tech support.

If you don't like to read scathing reviews, skip this one...

I recently started producing my own television show on public access cable, and I wanted a video editing package that was easy-to-use and could support capture of analog video (VHS). After what I thought was careful research, I decided on Pinnacle's Studio Deluxe product. It has a capture card that runs a SCSI interface to a breakout box which allows you to import and export analog video. And, it is supposedly easy to use, and claims "broadcast quality editing features". Pefect, so I thought.

Then, the nightmare began. After installing the card, then the software, I began working on my projects. It took a little while to figure out how to correctly capture analog video, but after a few tries, I was all set. The main complaint I had was that the audio levels on analog video capture were RIDICULOUSLY high, forcing you to manually adjust them (they are defaulted to the highest setting) or get distortion on your video.

Once I had finished my project, it was time to output. Repeatedly, the audio and video fell out of sync, for no apparent reason. I have read numerous reviews of Studio wherein users complain about this very thing, and even Pinnacle's support website is littered with complaints. Apparently, you have to strip your system down to the barebones minimum to get correct output. Fine. After tinkering with these settings for HOURS, I finally got a good take.

Several months later, I decided to use Studio again for video editing (I had switched to Adobe Premiere after realizing Pinnacle's limitations). The software indicated that an upgrade was available online - I fell for it. After downloading the upgrade, the system would not EVER run previous projects correctly, getting hung up loading audio files that had previously played fine.

I also noticed a message about my audio/video drivers not being compatible with Microsoft Direct X (supposedly installed by Pinnacle initially). Suddenly, I found that I no longer could preview analog transfers, though they did in fact capture correctly. I figured the upgrade was bad, so I uninstalled and reinstalled the software. BIG mistake. Now, nothing works, the drivers for analog capture won't install, and the program is useless.

I have been all over Pinnacle's website, tried all their suggestions to no avail, and tried everything I can think of on my own. Nothing works, and my posted request for help to Pinnacle has yet to be answered (I posted days ago).

To summarize, this product has VERY limited capabilities for professional editing (can't separate audio and video, no support for color bars & tone, no count leader, no ability to add multiple video clips to the same point on the timeline, etc), very buggy hardware, and [disappointing] tech support.

If you want to edit home movies on your PC, this is a good tool for you (though pricey for [price]). If you want professional, broadcast quality editing software, go with something like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. This product [disappoints]!

Avoid this ADS Instant DVD (?) at all cost. Have tried on two computers, and the USB2 cannot be detected on either. Sorry I bought it.

I can't really add too much to what's already been said. The product doesn't work, tech support is non-existent. I bought it online, received it on a Friday, returned it the following Tuesday after reading about the tech support problems everyone else has been having. When I was installing it, as I plugged in the USB connection, I got the Blue Screen of Death and my computer crashed. When it rebooted, Windows told me the hardware was not designed for XP and that I should not install it. Hmmm, why then does the box for Instant DVD have the "Designed for Windows XP" logo on it? I went ahead with installing the updated software and drivers anyways. When I tried to preview captured video, I got nothing. A black screen. Could not get it to work or do anything. Tried capturing even without seeing anything in the preview in 2 different programs. After 20 seconds it stopped and told me the file was corrupted. And despite the fact that the unit was doing nothing, every time I had the device plugged in, my computer slowed down, my mouse wouldn't respond, and the programs would crash. So I had even less success with this product than the other reviewers here. I have a month-old computer with all the latest gadgets and gizmos. If this doesn't work with my computer, whose computer does it work with?

Having read the positive review here and hundreds others on another website, I will be trying out the Canopus ADVC-100 (do a search for "Canopus" only if looking on Amazon). If after reading this, you are still considering buying this product, do yourself a favor and shoot yourself in the foot instead. It will more fun and less painful.

I bought the ADS Tech Instant DVD +DV after reading some great professional reviews in some of the online magazines. I was really excited to get this product. I now wish I'd paid more attention to the actual user reviews, as near as I can tell the people writing the magazine reviews must have never actually tried to use this product. Put simply... it doesn't work. Believe the user reviews, this is a bad product.

I wanted to transfer some old VHS videotapes to DVD, and I also got the +DV option thinking that it would be a nice way to add Firewire capabilities to my USB 2.0 based system for use with my new Digital camcorder. The Instant DVD box failed miserably to deliver on either of these goals.

Using the DV input with my digital camera I had strange artifacts start to appear on the screen. There were weird blotchy sections that started out small, but then grew as the capture progressed until half the screen was covered. While transferring my old analog VHS tapes, certain sections of the tapes would cause the box to completely lock up. When I could get a capture that didn't freeze, I couldn't get a capture where the audio and video would stay in sync. I tried multiple tapes, multiple DVD mastering programs, even multiple computer systems, nothing worked. This was simply making DVD's straight from the captured footage, I wasn't transcoding anything. The only thing that worked for me was taking a nice clean analog signal from my digital camera (since the digital DV capture didn't work.) That was the only thing that stayed in sync, any input that was less than perfect, like 10 or 15 year old VHS tapes, forget about it.

I sent several email queries to the ADS Tech support, after giving up on their telephone support after waiting forever on hold. Other than the automated "Well get right back to you as soon as possible" responses, I've heard nothing else from them. That was six weeks ago... and I'm not holding my breath. If you buy this product, you're definitely on your own.

I've long since returned my box, and chalked it up to a learning experience. Here are a few things to think about, first of all, do you really want a box that converts straight to MPEG2 format? If you want to change *anything*... clip out a few scenes, add a title screen, join several clips together... you have to reencode the file anyway. By uncompressing then recompressing you're sacrificing quality, and not gaining anything from the built in compression. Also, I didn't realize at the time, but you can get a Firewire card with a cable for almost the same price as just a cable... it's cheap, and much better than spending all the extra money for the +DV option.

I now own a Canopus ADVC-100, it's more expensive but worth every penny. More importantly... it actually works! That's much more than I can say about the ADS Tech Instant DVD.

This may make wonderful videos but the problem is getting it installed so that it acutally works! If you just install it like any other program, it freezes up your computer. Then you write to support and they make you jump through hoops-uninstalling/installing, taking out your sound card, reinstalling the drivers for both your sound and video cards even though they work just fine. I got a list of 10 things to do just to make this program work. If you don't respond within 48 hours, you have to start the entire help process all over again and it takes at least that long or longer to do all the things they suggest if you have a normal life with other things to do. I have still not been able to make mine work so I am now looking for a new program. Any suggestions?

squirleyan@comcast.net

I returned this program after countless hours trying to copy VHS tapes to DVD.

I burned 4 coasters with no audio, video was fine. I spent hours on the phone with tech support and was given a different fix each time to try. When I finally figured out that when bringing up the volume control menu and selecting Properties then "Recording" I was able to burn the DVD with sound however the sync with the lip movement was terrible. I again attempted to copy a musical I created, the lip sync was even worse.

After purchasing a book by Jan Ozer and trying to figure out how to correct the Audio Sync, I still lost the battle and returned the product to Best Buy for refund.

Anyone buying this program is asking for a lot of headaches.

I purchase the Pinnacle Studio Av/Dv Deluxe version 9 video editing software. The package States that it includes 288 unique 2d and 3d transitions. The web site says " The package includes a professional breakout box, hundreds of additional 2D and 3D transitions and the full version of Pinnacle Studio v.9, the most powerful software video editor in its class" and the owners manual says it comes with the transitions. But I found out you must pay as much as $500.00 extra to unlock them. I found on their web sites frequently asked questions that this had been brought to their attention months ago and they have made no effort to change the web site or packaging to clarify that it may come with the 288 transitions but you can't use them without paying more. Most companies would put an * next to the description and explain that they are not usable without paying a fee. This is the most blatant false advertising I have ever seen. The reason some people can't make it work is if you use one of the locked transitions without paying the fee it won't burn the DVD. I didn't see that you had to pay extra and it will let you put them in but wont burn. No warning comes up or anything to inform you it wont work without paying extra. I have had no problems other then the false advertising it works good and mine is very fast to render and burn.

Oh, boy - this thing is such a dud. I got it installed, managed to copy one piece of video (after several software crashes and restarts), only to discover that it had screwed up my Real Player and Windows Media Player, so now all my other video files wouldn't play! No solution on their site, didn't have the patience to deal with calling tech support, so I did a system restore, packed it back up in the box and it's going right back. What a waste of time and money! It's not even heavy enough to use as a doorstop.

I bought a "Dazzle Digital Video Creator 150 Hi Speed". I had heard high reviews about it's performance, supported by Pinnacle software, so I bought one.

Dazzle is now owned by Pinnacle. They've turned this unit to junk. Now they are trying to rename this unit and sell it as a "PINNACLE S DAZZLE DVC 150 VIDCAP-USB 2.0 EDIT SOL"?

I've been in contact with their tech support over my issues and they are either not willing to divuldge any information or really have no idea what they're doing. I've isolated the problem with my system to a single file and all they tell me to do is uninstall/reinstall. Recently, they have only inquired about my recent findings.

Unless you have the knowledge to create registry switches to use this, as I have done, proceed with caution. Don't rely on any advanced tech support.

This thing is as bad as the other reviews you've read, and in my case *worse*. I can't even get the USB driver for the device to install on any of my systems. Both installers I've tried just lock up as the installer initializes.

I'm taking it back and getting a refund. I recommend you don't even try this thing. The wallet you save may be your own.

I shudda read the reviews before I bought this POS. After spending hours trying to get the card to function properly I finally realized why Compusa had placed it on sale: they were trying to dump this loser on me by dangling a low price in front of my nose! Well, price isn't everything, obviously; like the man said, lets see how good the return policy is!

Unfortunately I fell prey to not researching peer review of this product. I must admit that in the end, I find the product a worthless collection of electronics, worth little more than 'dot.com' cube-art.

I took Pinnacle System Support's word (found with great difficulty navigating their poorly developed FAQ) and exchanged the card 3 times, trying it in multiple systems with different OS's. Every card created earsplitting static at max volume when using the audio jack. When trying to use audio signals delivered directly to the video card, the audio/video sync was never accomplished, and continued to degrade indefinitely. The drivers are another story, never installing correctly despite all efforts. Continual installation errors and application lock-ups forced me to eventually give up on this card.

I learned an important lesson from this: don't purchase items without first reading peer reviews, and don't purchased items from Pinnacle Systems. This is not the only item from Pinnacle Systems that I have had problems with.

Hopefully those that read this will look into another TV card tuner; and hopefully Pinnacle Systems will begin practicing ethical business!

I am in complete agreement with the other reviews I have read about this product. Unfortunately, I didn't read them before I bought the Pinnacle Systems PCTV Pro. Besides most of the other *bugs* listed,(eg. audio-sync problems, lack of basic editing functions in the main program, and no radio tuner) I have found that the PCTV mysteriously turns itself on at random times throughout the day even when nothing has been scheduled to record.
The documentation is terrible. The support website is full of dead links or loops that send you back to where you started without an answer to your question or a hint of how to find one.
I would not recommend the Pinnacle Systems PCTV Pro.

yeah, I bought this camera thinking that it was great, for the first week that is. The backup battery only works if it has 90% power. If there's less it doesn't work. My camera doesn't read my CF card. Sometimes it does, but when I turn off the camera, it forgets the CF Card was even in there. Also, the internal memory will sometimes say it's full; but when you go to see if there's pics the camera says there's no pics. The camera was a joke from the start. I have wasted money trying to get this thing to work.

It is a piece of crap. I have not been able to take one photo on it yet. The only thing that has worked on it is the lcd screen. Stay away.

For starters, Do not buy this or any cheap digital Camera. Spend at least 200 for a good camera. You'll get what you pay for.

Here's the story: I had a friend visit from another country, and I snapped many shots. Not only did the quality stink, but, The battery power drains very quickly(using NIMH batteries, which last longer than alkaline.) The camera functions are so slow, that if you accidently press the wrong sequence of buttons while waiting for camera to load properly, you lose the entire storage of pictures. I was fuming mad to see my storage disappear with the error "No Photos."

Also, the LCD display is so small, it's almost pointless to use. Word to the wise.... If you've already bought this camera, GET A COMPACTFLASH MEMORY MODULE(64mb or higher.) That's going to run you at least 45Bucks (See, price going up already) But, the benefit of an external memory module is that you can take it out and put it into a Digital Memory reader. Remember: Avoid this camera like the plague. Personally, I'm looking at a Sony or a Nikko camera.(With digital video included)