Although Hi 8 worked great through an S-Video cable, composite does not work. Color video is black and white. Several decks and cables were used and the directions followed. A support document was sent and three weeks later, still no reply. A phone call to Black Magic resulted in 20 minutes of hold time and then we were told that the product is ineligible for phone support. No mention of this on the website.Finally received an email from BlackMagic stating that, "we have seen a significant number of cases where issues may arise when trying to capture from a VCR". Since this is one of the primary reason that I purchased this product and since it is shown as one of its key functions. I cannot recommend this product.
They went on to suggest purchasing a Time Based Correction device. We booted our Mac into Windows Vista and tested a similar product (KWorld) that our neighbor had which was PC only and it worked fine without loss of color. They have no intention of taking this product back and we filed with small claims court. A very discouraging experience.
Update: Black Magic has now agreed to help in the return process.
Over the space of about two weeks I have converted our entire (large) collections of VHS tapes over to H.264, which is a huge saving over the time it would have taken to bring them in as DV and encode them to H.264 using iMovie or something similar. I have a Sony Media Converter and had tried that for a few TV shows, and it is a painful route because H.264 is a resource hog. However, this unit converted them in real time and at a quality that is on-par with the original tapes. What I did was:
1. Connect the VCR to the video converter by RCA jacks (it does support component or s-video, if you player does).
2. Connect the video converter to the laptop USB-2 port
3. Install and update the software.
4. Select Full Res and then change the bit rate from 2.0 to 3.5MBPS**. It does not make a huge difference, but I have a lot of hard drive space.
5. Check how long the movie/show plays for, add 1-2 minutes, and type that into the auto stop box on the converter.
6. Start the tape and then press the big red record button.
7. Walk away and leave it to record.
** Options are available to tweak sound, color, brightness and cropping, but in most cases I just used the default settings.
It really is that simple and the quality is great. I have seen a number reviews complaining about how bad the HD quality is when this is not designed for use with HD. You can record from HD sources, but if the unit tops out at 3.5MBPS, it is not going to handle 1080p or 720p for that matter without some losses even though the AppleTV configuration option is available. You have to use the right tool for the job and this is superb for standard definition quality inputs such as VCR or most none high definition television signals. Having said that, if you accept it has limitations you will be happy with the price performance of this little units, even with HD signals, if you are planning to view it on an iPod/iPhone or something similar. Consider that more advanced encoders such as those by canopus can costs hundreds of dollars more, and generally require a two step process to get them in to H.264, and without a H.264 accelerator, that step can take huge amounts of time compared to this realtime unit.
Buy Blackmagic Design H.264 Format Video Recorder (for Mac Only) Now
I purchased this product because it was the only Video Recorder I could find for the Mac that had Component inputs on it. I was excited to be able to record some of my favorite TV show in stunning HD quality. The recorder is well constructed and looks sharp. It came with all of the adapters for recording Component and S-Video and the instruction booklet was very clear and easy to understand.I was however very disappointed to discover that HD video to Black Magic Design is 480P. I have a 720P DLP and an HD receiver capable of outputting 1080P. I don't care what they say 480P is NOT HD video. I was also disapointed to discover that the video recorder will only capture in a 4:3 aspect ratio not 16:9 like most of the programming now showing on TV.
The software is also a little disappointing. I mentioned previously that I have a 720P DLP TV I also have a Mac Mini as a media center PC; its set with a vertical resolution of 720 pixels to match the TV's output. Unfortunately the application has a set interface size which is larger that 720pixels. As a result the lower portion of the software is cutoff and I cannot actually click the record button. This is just poor design. The interface for the software has no reason to be a specific size. I connected the Video Recorder to my MacBook Pro which has a larger screen resolution and found that recording was easy and the presets are nice.
Overall I'm not satisfied with the product and hope that through future firmware and software updates my issues will be resolved.
Read Best Reviews of Blackmagic Design H.264 Format Video Recorder (for Mac Only) Here
I really like the device and the documentation (instruction manual) is really clear and so easy to use. the device does just what it promises but I haven't yet found a way to clear up one issue in my transfers. When I transfer a video tape recorded at extended play (EP) (6 hrs of recording on a 2 hour tape) the transfer often splits the frame up horizontally. So far video tapes I have that are recorded at normal speed (SP) seem just fine. Maybe I should record my EP tapes onto SP video and then transfer them with the USB capture device. Just an idea. I'll try to report in if it works.Want Blackmagic Design H.264 Format Video Recorder (for Mac Only) Discount?
I was told this was an exceptional product and it might be but be aware, it only works on a Mac. I wish this would have been a little more prominent in the description. It would have saved me the time and effort of sending it back.Save 5% Off
No comments:
Post a Comment