Rating: 
Summary: Actiontec Firewire Card
Review: I bought this product and tried it in a number of different machines--all Win 98 or Win2k. Windows recognized it after some coaxing. But the performance was dreadful in each case--I either got a choppy data stream or none at all. I checked out their website... all in all pretty useless. So I wrote to Actiontec customer service about it and never got a reply. Avoid this company and it's products.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad product, worse tech support
Review: I bought this product and tried it in a number of different machines--all Win 98 or Win2k. Windows recognized it after some coaxing. But the performance was dreadful in each case--I either got a choppy data stream or none at all. I checked out their website... all in all pretty useless. So I wrote to Actiontec customer service about it and never got a reply. Avoid this company and it's products.
Rating:
Summary: Actiontec Firewire Card
Review: I had no problem installing the card (I guess I'm one of the lucky ones). It works, but the video editing software that comes with it is useless. I'm not a pro, but it took me forever to figure out how to input the video, and now I can't figure out how to edit it (it did not come with instructions). I'm going to buy some other software. There were no bad reviews before I bought this product, but after reading the others, I'm glad it worked for me. However, I would be cautious about buying this product due to other's experiences. Good luck.
Rating: 
Summary: good product
Review: I have never opened my computer before and was very nervous about doing so, but I found this product quite simple to install. It came with brief, easy to follow instructions, and hardware installation went smoothly. I am using this product with a Windows XP operating system. I didn't have to install the driver as Windows XP automatically detected the new hardware. It was not specified as being compatible with Windows XP, so I called the customer service office to make sure it was okay to install it in my system. Customer service was fast and friendly, with no waiting on the phone. The firewire cable is included in the package, as is some very basic movie editing software, which makes this an unbelievable deal that I couldn't find anywhere else. So far, everything is working great. I highly recommend this product if you're looking for a firewire card and cable.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible product with horrible technical support.
Review: I own an HP Desktop Pavilion that I bought a year ago. I installed this product with no problems by opening up my PC, inserting the PCI card, connecting the power to the PCI card, booting up my PC, and then installing the appropriate driver. I have the Windows 98 Second Edition operating system on my PC.Then I hooked up my Sony DCR TRV 33 mini DV camcorder, of course using the firewire interface. The ActionTec PCI card failed to recognize the camera. ... the cable provided with the product was bad. ... I will never purchase another product from ActionTec again.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible product with horrible technical support.
Review: I own an HP Desktop Pavilion that I bought a year ago. I installed this product with no problems by opening up my PC, inserting the PCI card, connecting the power to the PCI card, booting up my PC, and then installing the appropriate driver. I have the Windows 98 Second Edition operating system on my PC. Then I hooked up my Sony DCR TRV 33 mini DV camcorder, of course using the firewire interface. The ActionTec PCI card failed to recognize the camera. ... the cable provided with the product was bad. ... I will never purchase another product from ActionTec again.
Rating:
Summary: This product ...
Review: I purchased this product and have attempted installation on 3 different computers, all failed. The cd wouldn't run at all on computers with windows xp and the software would install but not work on windows 98se. I attempted to contact the compny numerous times and got no response. I tried downloading from their support page but it was useless. I have researced this product online and found that everyone that bought the product couldn't make it work and got no support from the company...
Rating:
Summary: This product ...
Review: I purchased this product and have attempted installation on 3 different computers, all failed. The cd wouldn't run at all on computers with windows xp and the software would install but not work on windows 98se. I attempted to contact the compny numerous times and got no response. I tried downloading from their support page but it was useless. I have researced this product online and found that everyone that bought the product couldn't make it work and got no support from the company...
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Quality Assurance, Worse Customer Support
Review: The product I received was defective. E-mails to ActionTec regarding this issue were never answered. I attempted to resolve this issue over the phone and spoke with an apathetic customer service rep who *would not* answer any questions. He would only take down my contact information and promised that someone would contact me soon. They never have. If you enjoy gambling, it's hard to beat the price; but if you get a bad one, kiss your money goodbye. !!!UPDATE!!! After complaining to J&R Music World, a J&R rep called us and left a better phone number for ActionTec (see below). I called ActionTec and found out that a number of these FireWire cards have compatibility issues with video cards based on the NVidia chipset (which is what I have). That seems to be the determining factor on whether or not the card will work for you. I am now sending mine back for a newer replacement that is not supposed to have the same problems. If the service is prompt and the new product works, I may bump my rating up a bit higher (although not too high because of the hoops I had to jump through to get this far). If you are one of the poor buggers who could not obtain this information, here is the number that took me directly to a live tech. 800.797.7001. That guy was actually really good! Best of luck. ***Update*** ActionTec sent me a new card that is working fine. I did have to pay my own shipping costs to send the defective one back to them which cost them a star (yeah, I'm sure they care). However, the turnaround time was acceptable and I'm happy to finally have a working card. I'm glad the headache is over.
Rating:
Summary: good product
Review: This package is GREAT. It includes the PCI card for the desktop, the Firewire cable to the camera (which cameras usually don't come with), and nice software package that allows you to all the most common types of editing (including the storyline functionality). It allows you to send the edited video back to your camera. Basically, it has everything it takes to do video editing with your IEEE 1394 ready camcorder! - I only just got it, and I have already had a lot of fun with it. It took me about 2 hours to install the card, the driver, the software package, listen to the illustrated tutorial, and to get sufficiently familiar with the software that I could make a nice little edited video. Caveats:
- Installing the PCI card requires opening your desktop, and if you have never seen the inside of your computer, you may want to consult with someone who has. Instructions are included, though, and it isn't rocket science. - When you become a sophisticated video artist, you may want to upgrade the software, but the average user, the included software is absolutely fine. - Make sure you check out the hardware and operating system (Windows 98 or higher) requirements. Also, you need some hard disk space to play with videos. - Make sure your camera has the IEEE 1394 4 pin DV connection. - They raised the price since I got it, but I still think it is a good deal. Have fun with it!
Steen
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