# USB video capture: Dazzle Platinum or ADS Tech DVD Xpress DX2?



## hl5 (Sep 24, 2004)

I was going to save some VHS tapes to the computer and convert some to DVD, and after sorting through some options I think I'm down to these two devices, both of which I think are fairly new --

Dazzle Platinum

ADS Tech DVD Xpress DX2

I like these two because they offer more compression options and do it in the hardware. However, I haven't seen any head to head reviews of this type of device, and was wondering about video quality, sound synchronization, and things like that. From what I understand, both come with adequate but not spectacular software.

If anyone has any experience with these or any other similar ones, I am curious to hear it. (I looked at some with TV and/or FM tuners as well but think I will probably skip that this time around and focus on the bread and butter.)

Thanks.


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## MysticEyes (Mar 30, 2002)

I'd go with ADS.


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## hl5 (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks for the reply. Good experience with ADS or bad experience with Pinnacle/Dazzle, or just a hunch?

Here's a similar one I found recently by CTX --

CTX MD002

(I would have used the CTX page but I couldn't connect to their site. Could be a bad sign. I used to have a CTX monitor that worked alright though.)

That thing is small and cheap, but the question is whether it works.


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## thecoalman (Mar 6, 2006)

From personal experience with their software and seeing many posts about their devices I'd avoid anything from Pinnacle. I don't know about that specific device but previously released hardware from them has been sub-par if not downright garbage.

For MPEG recording the device I've seen with the best reviews is from Hauppage:

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvr250.html

They have a 150 but that one had some sound issues which from my understanding have been fixed...it's a little cheaper. Personally I'd just get a good DVD recorder for capturing directly to MPEG. These will create the same files a MPEG capturing device will, you can just rip them from disc to your computer for authoring and editng. Once you're done with the tapes you still have a DVD recorder. 

If you're intention is to archive your VHS and other analog material I'd suggest not going the MPEG route. Use a DV cam with passthrough or a DV converter. Store on a external drive and if possible tape as well for future use. The reliability of burned DVD is still untested for long term storage. I'd be very reluctant to use it for that.

Edit: one final thing to note, if you get a USB device make sure that the device and your computer both use USB2.


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## MysticEyes (Mar 30, 2002)

I know the older ADS capture devices have no problems with copyguards.


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## hl5 (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks for the advice. I looked at DVD recorders but people tell me they can be quirky. If I went that route, I'd probably go for one with a hard drive that supports DL and DivX, but those are expensive if they even exist (most of the ones I saw with hard drives supported neither DL nor DivX, and some cost $500+). Since I already have a computer with a DL DVD burner -- and my computer obviously supports DivX, I thought this made more sense. The ones I mentioned above can be bought for well under $100. The Hauppauge isn't too much more than that I don't think.

I'm sure the conversions won't be perfect. I was looking for a quality mainstream device, not something professional.

With the Hauppauge, it supports TV and all that which I don't mind, but I thought it might add extra layers of software and complication. Also, it doesn't have hardware support for MPEG4 and some of the other newer formats like the ones above. I thought that would be nice to have but maybe it's not essential. For some of these tapes, I may not even burn them to DVD right away. I may just DivX or MPEG4 them and save them on an external hard drive, since I have several of those.

I will probably burn important stuff to DVD. It may not last forever, but these VHS tapes are nearing the end of their reliable lifespan. I think I have heard that write-once DVDs are supposed to last about 100 years, and rewritables about 30 years, but I could be wrong. (For really important stuff, I might save it on a hard drive and also to DVD.)

The DV solution you mention, tcm, sounds like a good one. Unfortunately I don't have a DV cam, and my computer doesn't have a firewire port either. Since I'm going to store most of these tapes in a compressed format (on DVD or on a drive), I think it makes some sense to get something that compresses to those formats on the fly as well.

As far as long term storage goes, unfortunately I don't think anything digital (or even electronic) is truly permanent -- at least not anything that has been invented yet. Hard drives can crash, plus they are magnetic, which was the problem with VHS tapes in the first place. Over time, magnetic media gets less reliable. Ditto for optical technology like CDs and DVDs.

I guess if I really want to preserve this stuff, I can print it out on punch cards, and then store them the way libraries store rare books.  I dunno. I think I'm getting off-topic now.


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## MysticEyes (Mar 30, 2002)

> I looked at DVD recorders but people tell me they can be quirky.


Nothing quirky about the decent brands, Pioneer is what I have and it's rock solid (bought awhile back for $190). Have made over a hundred VHS transfers (folk's personal tapes), plus weeky TV recording chores, and the end result is quite good and nothing could be easier. I don't bother trying anything fancy in the recorder. I take the resultant disc and open it in DVDShrink to eliminate the Pioneer menu and to trim the start and end points. If someone wants some sort of menu it goes into NeroVision Express. But it will not work with copyguarded tapes.

I would avoid the second tier brands like CyberHome, ILO and Lite-on.


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## thecoalman (Mar 6, 2006)

hl5 said:


> Thanks for the advice. I looked at DVD recorders but people tell me they can be quirky.


You can get good ones, research before purchasing. You can start here: www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers As mentioned pioneer is a good brand, so is JVC but don't rely solely on brand, research the models. The important thing about a DVD recorder is the encoding chip, some produce superb results and others are worthless.



> I'm sure the conversions won't be perfect. I was looking for a quality mainstream device, not something professional.....
> 
> ...For some of these tapes, I may not even burn them to DVD right away. I may just DivX or MPEG4 them and save them on an external hard drive, since I have several of those....
> 
> ...The DV solution you mention, tcm, sounds like a good one. Unfortunately I don't have a DV cam, and my computer doesn't have a firewire port either. Since I'm going to store most of these tapes in a compressed format (on DVD or on a drive), I think it makes some sense to get something that compresses to those formats on the fly as well.


DV is what most professional's are using for conversion, not because it's the ideal format but because it's the most realistic at the moment. It still comes in at almost 14 gigs for an hour. The thing to remember about using a lossy format is that it's not as good as using a lightly compressed format. Each frame on a DV-AVI is stored as a frame, MPEG and DIVX use information from previous frames to construct each frame hence the reason they compress so well. For archiving if the video is important I'd avoid using Divx at all.

BTW, the hauppage has a setting for capturing at something around 18000kbps which will give you a pretty good archive...



> I will probably burn important stuff to DVD. It may not last forever, but these VHS tapes are nearing the end of their reliable lifespan....
> 
> As far as long term storage goes, unfortunately I don't think anything digital (or even electronic) is truly permanent -- at least not anything that has been invented yet. Hard drives can crash, plus they are magnetic, which was the problem with VHS tapes in the first place....


VHS is better than you think, I have some 20 year old tapes here that were recorded on high quality tape, stored properly and haven't been played. They look fabulous... The one thing about converting to digital is what you do now is going to be the best copies you are ever going to have. Once converted to digital it's a permanent solution to degradation. IMO it's best to get the most out of them for future use....

Whatever format you choose amke sure to make additional copies. The more the better, at the very least have backups on a external HDD. You can get a 300GB drive and store 75 hours of DVD compliant mpeg at 8000kbps...



> I guess if I really want to preserve this stuff, I can print it out on punch cards, and then store them the way libraries store rare books.  I dunno. I think I'm getting off-topic now.


Better yet you can chisel the 1's and 0's into stone...


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