Rating: 
Summary: Pinnacle Linx Plus incompatibility with Windows XP?
Review: I use Windows XP and purchased Pinnacle Linx Plus to digitalise films shot on my old analog Sony camcorder. To me the software provided with the Linx pack is of no use as on installation it indicates that a more recent version (Studio 8.8) is already installed on the PC. So, either I have to use an old version of Studio or cannot use Linx. In trying to find the drivers for Linx the system crashed several times and in the end Studio had to be re-installed via my original V7 and 2 V8 upgrades. A lot of time wasted and I still cannot use my Linx Plus, so money wasted as well. Needless to say that the helpline at Pinnacle is always busy.
Bart van Mourik
Rating:
Summary: Horrible - Avoid like the Plague
Review: I've bought thousand's of dollars worth of hardware over the years. This piece of crap takes the cake. I will crawl a mile through broken glass on my stomach before I EVER buy a "pinnacle" product again. "Pinnacle" refers to the Pinnacle of crapdom. I installed/uninstalled this dog 3 or 4 times before I gave up, even after nearly KILLING my OS in the process... AVOID this GARBAGE! If they PAID you to use it it wouldn't be worth it...
Rating: 
Summary: Hardware OK, software needs HELP!
Review: The hardware is simple and works as advertised. The feature-starved demo software, on the other hand, needs some quality control help.My wife's machine: Biostar M7VKQ motherboard with 128 MB of Crucial-branded PC133 RAM. An AMD Athlon XP 2000+ fills the CPU socket. She uses Windows 98SE. The only on-board hardware she does not use is the Trident video; she employs a Diamond Viper 550 graphics card. This machine meets the minimum system requirements listed on the Pinnacle Linx USB box. The software installer crashed near the end of its lengthly process; I reset the machine and started over. The install worked, but when I started Studio 8, I was told that there was a licensing problem and to reinstall the software. Following those instructions did not help. Using Pinnacle's help system I found that this behavior appears to be a known problem and I downloaded a new version of Studio 8. The new version worked. My wife discovered that about 60-70% of the feaures of Studio 8 are disabled in this "LE" edition; many of the scene transitions and audio controls don't work. At least twice during the assembly of her first project Studio crashed with an "illegal operation" dialog. Fortunately, she had saved her work often and didn't lose much. Other than those two crashes (which I think were related to having only the minimum system requirement for RAM, 128 MB), she had an absolute blast. Studio 8 is very easy to learn and use and provides many fun and exciting tools. (Too bad users have to shell out more money for most of them!) After completing her movie, I installed the CD-video burning software. The install worked fine. I started it up and the first thing it asks is for permission to go and look for updates, which it found. The automatic update install didn't work. After manually updating the software, I found I needed to make the MPEG or AVI file in Studio. I quit the CD-V software and restarted Studio 8 which promptly crashed. I reset the machine and Studio worked normally. The generated MPEG file took about fifteen minutes to generate for an eight-minute piece. I noticed some minor MPEG artifacting in the produced clip. An AVI file was attempted, but was aborted after fifteen minutes had only reached the third scene of seventy. Going back to the CD-V writer, I imported the MPEG file and started the CD creation process. It appears to take about forty-five minutes to create a CD-V filesystem for an eight-minute movie. On the first attempt, the writer software crashed at the very end of the filesystem creation. The second time around, it worked. Conclusions: 1) RESET the machine before starting either Studio 8 or the CD-V authoring software.
2) 128 MB may be the "minimum system," but I bet 256 MB or more is really what is needed.
3) When it works, it's really, really fun. When it doesn't, it's really really frustrating.
4) Get ready to spend $200 or more for the "full versions" of Studio and Hollywood FX Pro if you want *all* the functionality!
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