Avid Technology Dazzle DVD Recorder HD V14.0

• Featuring a high-quality video capture device plus powerful Pinnacle Studio HD v.14 editing software
• Quickly import videos and photos
• Add professional polish with an extensive library of effects, transitions, and soundtrack options."

I bought this for a university project where I needed to record game-play on a console. I also bought a double-ended A/V RCA cable and three male to female A/V splitters at RadioShack. I bought this with the understanding that it doesn't record in HD, but there is some freeware out there with which you can convert from standard to HD video. No problems installing the software on my laptop (Vista, service pack 2, 64-bit).

It says it won't run on 64-bit but I've had no problems whatsoever. Very easy, hassle-free setup. I won't be using the program to edit the video, though. It's okay, but I have better programs already for editing video.

I already tried it out with my Nintendo 64, SNES, GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3. It worked with each console; no issues. There are ways to use it with HDMI cables which can be looked up on YouTube.

I definitely recommend this for the aforementioned purpose or for making videos you intend to post to YouTube (or similar video sharing sites).

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I've used Dazzle's for a while and they're decent capture cards. They record in pretty good quality up to 480p video, and look great on YouTube or DVD's or whatever else you might need them on. It's also useful to recording old VCR's and converting them to digital or DVD format, if desired. The software that it comes with is not the best for editing, it's pretty terrible actually, but it gets the job done when recording.

However, don't be fooled. The title says HD, without any explanation as to why it says HD. The only signals this capture card can record are Composite or S-Video, both of which are STANDARD DEFINITION. You need HDMI, Component, or a Television Antenna Cable to display HD. Composite and S-Video can only go to 480p naitively, anything higher is upscaled (which means fake) while Component can go to 1080i, and HDMI and Television Antenna can go to 1080p and beyond. In other words, DO NOT buy this if you want to record in HD. You'll have to buy a more expensive capture card, such as a Black Magic Intensity Pro or Shuttle, or the popular Hauppauge HD-PVR.

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I got this device so that i could start doing some youtube commentaries because i didnt wanna get a pvr just yet and waste all that money on nothing. If you want to do youtube but dont want to waste much money on recording devices just yet, then this is your product. If you dont like the program it comes with then just edit your videos with vegas pro or windows movie maker. even if the quality isnt like an hdpvr it still gets the job done and so far iv gotten alot of subs with it so ill just call it O'l reliable

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As many people have pointed out, this is NOT an HD capture device so if you're using it for games you will not get the best quality.

I'm using it to transfer old VCR tapes and for that purpose it is okay. One thing I really like about this as opposed to similar "cable wart" devices like the Elgato, is that it can capture in lightly-compressed DV rather than MPEG-2 or MPEG-4/H.264. Most of the cheaper devices go directly to H.264 which is fine for some, but I like to capture in as high a resolution as possible and then re-render in my editor (Sony Movie Studio) to the appropriate publishing format. This is a HUGE advantage if you use other other video editors.

The Studio 14 software has all the basic features for the beginner, but I only use it for capture and do all my editing in other applications. Which brings me to the first negative, you can only capture using the Pinnacle software, you CANNOT capture with this device using Vegas, Premier, or any other video software. The hardware is somehow tied to the Pinnacle software. This is relatively minor since it isn't that much work to switch between apps for capture and editing, but still it's annoying.

The other negative as a few have pointed out is that the captured audio is markedly quieter than with my other capture hardware (an old Canopus ACEDVio). There are ways to make this louder if you're using other editors, but again it's annoying and inexplicable.

It has a few sliders to adjust brightness, sharpness, and color during capture which could be useful but I haven't played with them much. Captured images seemed brighter and with better color balance than with the ACEDVio, though I don't think it's because the hardware is better, they're just applying different filters during capture.

I got the cheaper $50 version with Studio 14 because I use other editing software. For that price, it isn't bad and I couldn't find anything in that range that can do DV capture. The sound level and the software requirements are annoying but not enough to make me return it. But if anything comes along that can do DV capture with better sound and has a normal device driver for use in other mainstream editors, I would jump on that in an instant (Hello Elgato).

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I recently purchased this item as a capture card for making machinima with my Xbox 360 and it works just as I hade expected good quality. The item says HD, but that only refers to the program it comes with, the device itself capture SD video, as it uses composite cables. I feel it was a great purchase for beginning Machinimators who are not yet ready to drop 200+ dollars on an HD PVR. Although many reviews say it has problems, I bought the item on the suggestion of a friend, and have been completely satisfied.