Dazzle DVD Recorder (Old Version)

Good product. I was able to transfer my miniDV tapes straight to DVD. It was a little learning curve involved, but it is very straight forward process. I would disagree with other reviewers that the files need to be copied first to the hard drive. This product is not designed for that. Yes, you technically can do that, but it will not look like one nice mpeg file. You will end up with 5 to 6 .vod files (1GB each) that somehow you would have to stich together if you want to view it as one movie. Also when saving to the hard drive you can not name those files as you like. You can only indicate the output folder. Only after you get those files on your computer you may rename them as you like. Also there will be bunch of other files (associated with your video) saved in that folder that ended up getting created during saving.So the best way is to transfer your video straight to DVD and then if you want to create a mpeg , divx or other format file on your computer, you can rip this DVD. There are a lot of programs that you can use for it, including some very nice free programs that you can find on internet.One thing that I did not like so far is that there is no way to stop the transfer of the video to DVD and then start it again. Once you stop recording, the DVD is automatically gets finalized. So you have to make sure that the source of your video is edited before you transfer it to DVD.Overall, I'm satisfied with this product. I did not experience any problems during installation or during actual transfer of the file. I use Vista 32bit on my computer with 3GB RAM and dual core 1.9 processor. The program did not take a lot of resources and I was able to browse internet while my video was transferred on the background. The output file was a good quality. When I viewed it on my 52inch Plasma TV, it looked pretty decent. At least I can say that the video did not become worse during transfer. (but it did not become much better either) you will pretty much get the quality as of the original tape.

After debating about a way to transfer VHS video to DVD, I thought I would take the less expensive (read:cheap) way out. My mistake. Don't make it yourself. The minimum hardware requirements are deceiving. You really need at least a 2GHz or faster processor and basically no other sound or video devices attached.Upon loading the software, I received the message that the audio driver did not load correctly and that I might have problems when running the program. That was putting it mildly. The program started to run, but showed no video and when the record button was clicked, the message "burn error" displayed. After several attempts at correcting the problem, it was time to explore the forum at Pinnacle software's site.Finding an identical problem on the forum with no response was foreboding of what was ahead. I called technical support and spoke with an outsourced representative who, after 30 minutes had me try everything I had already tried and then told me they would have to escalate this to level 2 support. Level 2 doesn't use the telephone so I would wait for an email message. Fortunately, that message only took 12 hours to receive. It started with the message: "What seems to be the problem?" However, it did suggest a 17 step fix for the problem I was having. After 16 of the 17 steps the error message came up again and the program did not work.Long story short. After two more email messages, I received the message: "Thank you for contacting Pinnacle Support. We appreciate you emailing us. If you have the same problem feel free to reply to this email." which, I believe is their way of saying 'we can't fix your problem'. At this point, the solution was clear: return for refund.I have seen several people who have had this product work fine for them, but I would recommend that you consider very carefully your system requirements before you purchase this device. Or check the forum at Pinnacle software to read what users are saying (or having problems with).My solution ended up being the Sandisk V-Mate recorder: SanDisk SDMV1-R V-Mate Video Memory Card Recorder which does not require a computer at all to record the video/audio and thereby removes the incompatibility factor.

I knew going in that this isn't a plug-and-play product, as Pinnacle claims. What I didn't know was that Pinnacle doesn't provide any set-up support, refuses to address the tiny output image and poor quality issues, and finding help on youtube, as suggested in many reviews, will only work if you're trying to record from a video game platform. Since I wanted this to record old VHS to digital files I could import to DVD (or not, at my discretion), the hundreds of video tutorials I found on youtube were little help. In total, I wasted over 5 hours sifting through search results trying to find help.Searching forums and tutorial sites was also unhelpful; most were written for users who are familiar with advanced audio/video set-up. Many suggested purchasing expensive additional equipment and then skipped over "basic" steps I needed, such as which cable gets plugged into which female port.Ultimately, my local Radio Shack was able to guide me through the set-up process and tell me what cables I needed based on my particular VCR. They were familiar enough with the Dazzle capture card to guide me through after I showed them a high-resolution picture of the back of my VCR. Sadly, I have quite a few extra cables I will probably never need because I bought them on the suggestion of other reviews here or the tutorials I watched on youtube.My advice for anyone trying to use this with a component other than a video game system is to buy just the Dazzle and then show a picture of the back of your component (VCR, DVD player, etc.) to the knowledgeable folks at Radio Shack and they'll sell you exactly what you need and nothing you don't.This product would not be worth the time, money, and energy I have poured into it if I were trying to convert anything other than VHS format home movies to make a DVD for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It has been a huge headache and if I ever had to purchase equipment to convert VHS to DVD again, I would find another product from different manufacturer.