Rating: 
Summary: A Nightmare!
Review: Couldn't wait to get this after reading all the reviews, except of course the one. I thought..."gee, must not be too hard to work"...alas the one negative review here was my nightmare! It just wouldn't work. I uninstalled, reinstalled, restarted, thought I had it at one point.......then couldn't find the software anywhere. It never did locate the software! I think I'll try Pinnacle where there were no good reviews! That's what my friend has and it works well. First time reviews have let me down...except of course the one!
Rating:
Summary: To be avoided
Review: I don't recommend purchasing this device unless you are either lucky or patient. My main problem with it is simply that it doesn't work; no amount of installation or reinstallation of the drivers (either as supplied or downloaded from the web site) allows my computer to detect the device, and therefore the supplied video capture software doesn't work either. As a final insult the initial splash screen is positively nauseating.
Rating: 
Summary: Does a great job
Review: I had a Dazzle capture device that worked well once I had everything installed, but then it got picky when I tried to install it into the new computer. Long story short....This Avermedia has worked perfectly from the first time on for one fifth the price of the Dazzle.. I've had it for about a week and have recorded hours of home movies without a glich. I wondered if I should go for the more expensive brands, but I'm glad I didn't. This is everything a person could ask for when putting any video source into their hard drive. Mpeg2 is amazing but 3x the size of Mpeg1.
Rating:
Summary: DVD EZMaker USB2.0 is exactly what I was looking for
Review: I have a P4 2.4G system with 512meg memory with USB2.0 ports. This DVD EZMaker USB2.0 converted my old hi-8 tapes (graduation, wedding, cruises, birthday parties, ...) into good quality DVD's at a breeze with S-video connection. It transferrs the S-video inputs from my old Sony Hi-8 camcorder, Panasonc VCR, and Pioneer DVD player to VCD (for old VHS tapes) and DVD (for hi-8 tapes and DVD disc backups) very smoothly. The resulted video quality is really a pleasure to watch. I am very happy with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor DVD Quality!
Review: I have been extremely frustrated with this capture device. I received the DVD EZMaker USB2.0 for Christmas and have not successfully used it to copy an analog home video to DVD without the video quality degrading anytime the camera was moved. Seems to do OK for VCDs, but I bought it to do DVDs! Also, realize that it will not capture analog video in *.AVI format - only MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats or direct to DVD & VCD. I tried to use the MovieMaker software included to convert to *AVI, but it was extremely poor quality. I also tried to import the MPEG-2 files into Pinnacle Studio 8, but could not successfully edit them with that package either.
Rating: 
Summary: Works well, recommend for the price
Review: I have used this device for about 3 months now. I have had few problems - none of which did not have a workaround.
My setup is a hp Pavilion a650e, WinXP Home OS, 512MB RAM, Athlon 2.4GHz processor, USB 2.0.
The setup was fairly easy. Only note was that you either needed a set of composite video cables (left & right audio + video - this is the one that usually have a red, white and yellow connectors at both ends) or you could use a S-video cable. Neither was provided, but given the price it was not a major concern. But the point is that one needs more h/w to use the product.
No problems installing the s/w and getting it to work with my computer set up. I just followed the instructions.
For video capture, I use the provided s/w from MedioStream - neoDVD. It gives the user the ability to save into MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, or VCD. Initially I would have liked AVI, but the resulting video was not an issue. It has a feature that I both like and don't like - you can set a timer for how long you want the s/w to record your video tape. This is great for digitizing long tapes, but the problem is that the time sticks from the last recording. Say that you record something for 3 minutes, then want to record something else for 30 minutes. If you don't reset the timer to 30 minutes, it will shut off recording at 3 minutes. There is also a manual shut down, so you can record for less than the set time. But more than once, the time stick feature forced me to redo the recording.
I have experienced none of the issues involving non-synched sound to video that others have reported. Also the sound and video quality seem to be fine. It seems to be much more based on the quality of your tapes and/or VCR. If those are poor, your digitized recording will be poor. "Garbage in, garbage out". Remember that digital will pick up every defect that the analog original has.
I did find the help file for the neoDVD s/w to be lacking with not enough detail. Much of it is "try and see". But after playing around with it for a while, I got the hang of it. I am probably better than average at being computer savvy, but this is not rocket science. Most of the default values are fine.
I did not use any other module of the s/w other than video capture. I use other s/w programs to edit and burn DVDs, so I cannot comment on the rest. I use ArcSoft Showbiz or Windows Movie Maker.
I think the key point is that for the price, this little thing works great. I am not a high end video guy, I just want to view things that were once on tape either on my computer in MPEG-1, or make DVDs using MPEG-2 and view them on my computer or TV. I have not noticed any significant quality issues or usability issues other than what I have mentioned. So I give this 4 out of 5 stars. I would have liked a bit better help files to get started.
Rating:
Summary: Revised review -- it works!!!
Review: I ordered this item and had trouble getting it installed. Dell Computer tech supoport gave bad advice and I had trouble reaching AverMedia tech support. When I did, I finally got instruction on the proper connection and the capture works well. The MovieShop editing software (by Broderbund) included on the installation CD is very troublesome, but Windows Movie Maker can be used instead (bundled in WindowsXP). I raised my rating from 1 star to four, would be 5 if the MovieShop worked. Also, the cords are a bit short, but for the money, it's great equipment.
Rating:
Summary: Great quality captures
Review: I purchased this device to convert VHS videos to DVD. I had a little difficulty installing the driver, but once it installed the capture quality was excellent. Some of the tapes that I captured were close to 20 years old and recorded at SLP speed--the quality of the captured videos was very good. I had some difficulty getting the neoDVD software to run. I emailed Avermedia support, and had a link to an upgrade in 24 hours. It solved the software problem completely. Be sure to read the system requirements. The software requires a fast processor. I had a Dazzle 80 before this. This is a 1000 times better and at a very good price.
Rating:
Summary: It does the job
Review: I wanted to turn a VCR video feed into an .mpg file for the purpose of burning a DVD. This inexpensive device did the capture with ease. I was concerned that there might be mysterious problems or incompatibilities, as some have reported, but for me it "just worked". I installed the software and hardware and ran the software and then clicked to start and stop the capture, and the result is an .mpg file. This is on a Dell Dimension 4500 running at 2.26 GHz with the latest WinXP.
This device doesn't pack a lot of (or any?) processing power, so it relies upon your PC's CPU to do the crunching to digitize the video stream. That's why a 2 GHz or better processor is required, and presumably why this unit can be sold more cheaply than others that claim similar functionality. As far as I'm concerned, this architecture is a good thing: Why should I pay for another specialized processor when my existing PC can do the job? Also, the minimal hardware means that this unit is powered completely by the USB connection, and does not require an external power supply as more complex products do. That's a nice advantage, since we can all do without additional "wall warts".
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Product!!!!!!
Review: I was looking for a capture device for a while since I wanted to record a DVD or VCD from my old vcr tapes. I must admit I wasnt sure about this product but it was worth it!!!!
You just plug-in the deviced after you install the driver and there you go: recording start without problems! Even the so mentioned complains about sound sync werent there. Everything was like watching VCR. The quality was fair for the price paid and besides, dont expect miracles with a old vcr tape.
Had no problems with the software whatsoever. My only regret is that i dont have a dvdburner and the regular CD only support up to 1 hour of recording :( ... like a zillions CDs to record the whole series of the thundercarts and 3 seaons of Beverly Hills 90210 .. Ill wait until I cant afford a dvd burner...
Hope this review help you with your doubts.
One last thing: My config es a DELL Pentium IV , 2.7G , soundblaster and NVIDIA video card, 512m.
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