I was looking for a soluton to transfer VHS to DVD and I found this product. After working for a week with it, it's going back! My first time sending anything back purchased on Amazon.The drivers included with the package didn't work with my system (XP). I had to download new drivers (required complete delete and re-install, really slick process NOT!). Software, don't even bother as I got random error messages when trying to use it.
Besides big hassle with getting software to work, the resulting output is POOR at best (very grainy and distorted looking).
Also, Adaptec's customer service is POOR at best, the link to their "forums" doesn't work. Only option is online submission of problem figure at least 48 hours for a less than well thought out response from their tech support.
My recommendation I have instead picked up competing product Dazzle Video Creator 150 and find it to work MUCH better compared to Adaptec's product. The output from Dazzle looks great compared to the output from Adaptec's product. I was burining my first DVD in under an hour after installing the unit. I spent more than that just getting Adaptec's product to even capture any video!If you're trying to get your VHS tapes into your computer so that you can put the videos onto DVD, this is exactly what you need. I'm very surprised at the bad reviews seen on here, I haven't had *any* issues with this while other software I've tried has failed miserably.
It's actually pretty simple to use this system. One end of this device has 3 holes in it. You plug your VCR right into those holes, like you would into a TV. The other end of the device has a USB cable. You plug that USB cable into your computer. You hit PLAY on your VCR. The signal goes out of your VCR into your computer! I use XP and was able to record smoothly without any issue at all.
The Adaptec device comes with Sonic software that lets you read in that video as a variety of file types. While it first comes in as the standard encoded MPG video file, you might want to use this video for other purposes. Their editing software lets you turn those MPG files into AVI files or a variety of other files so that you can use the video segments with just about any video software you might enjoy using. I personally use Roxio's Easy CD & DVD Creator for the actual DVD creation.
The input device is VERY easy to use, just hit PLAY on the VCR and RECORD on the Sonic software. Once you get your entire VHS cassette read into your computer, you can use either the built in software or another package to start adding music, putting on titles, and doing much more! When your creation is complete, create a bunch of DVDs and send them off to family and friends to enjoy!
Not only did the device work wonderfully, but the tech support group was very helpful even when Roxio and other software groups were completely unhelpful. The Sonic guys talked me through exactly how to get everything to work properly, to compensate for the problems the other software I own had. I was able to get my video files just the way I wanted them. I give Adaptec the highest praise for this product.
Note: This is meant to work with the super-fast USB 2.0 connector, but if you don't have a USB 2.0 card, you can still get it to work with the old USB connectors. It'll just run much more slowly.
Buy Adaptec VideOh! USB 2.0 DVD Video Converter Kit Now
After reading the horribly negative reviews about this product, I feel somewhat compelled to chime in with a different view. I've had the Videoh DVD capture device for about 4 or 5 months and it has provided me with adequate DVD's from my old VHS tapes. I have not experienced the problems described by other reviewers (error messages, failure to capture) and have churned out about 20-30 DVD's that all record and play very well. I've yet to ruin a DVD disc. Yes, the video quality could probably be better, but most of the DVD's I have burned using this device have been with VHS tapes that are 10-15 years old, so I expected that the video quality to be compromised because of the age of the tapes, but the result is fine for me. MyDVD, the software that is included with the unit, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but if you do a decent job in capturing the video, it works pretty well.I have found that best quality allows about 1 hour of footage to fit on a DVD, better quality around 1 1/2 hour and good quality around 2 hours, a little less than expected reading the literature. I use better quality most of the time because it is close to best quality and much better than good quality.
I've seen these devices come down in price a fair amount since I made my purchase, so I recommend it as an relatively easy solution to video capture and burning, but it looks like it can be buggy, so make sure it has a good return policy, just in case.
Read Best Reviews of Adaptec VideOh! USB 2.0 DVD Video Converter Kit Here
This is a quote from Adaptec FAQ for this device:"The VideOh! products cannot be used by Windows Movie Maker to capture video, as they are not designed to work under the application. The software supplied with the units MyDVD was written specifically for the Adaptec drivers to capture video."
What it means is that this device cannot be used with most of the third party software out there. They don't tell you this on the box! If this matters to you, don't buy this product.
But, other than that..... the device works fine.
Want Adaptec VideOh! USB 2.0 DVD Video Converter Kit Discount?
...I have a new 2.4, XP-HE, w/ 512 RAM, dual 120 gig hard drives, etc. so lack of hardware is not the issue. The software [cuts] out frequently and even with the slightest glitch on the tapes causes the entire capture process to abort. I have wasted 25-30 hours so far trying to successfully capture 1 complete VHS to no avail. This product gets returned today!
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