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Plextor EXT HIGH SPD USB DIGITAL VIDEO ( PX-M402U )

Plextor EXT HIGH SPD USB DIGITAL VIDEO ( PX-M402U )

List Price:
Your Price: $147.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A complete waste of time and money.
Review: Absolutely could not get this device to work properly. Halfway through a recording the software froze and forced reboot to recover. Did this on both analog and digital source files. Interesting nowhere in the manual or on the website was there anything about "trouble shooting". No weekend support so back it goes.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not ready for prime time
Review: After four days with this unit, I have to say that I feel like a beta tester. Yes, the hardware works. But the software support is so buggy, feature-deprived and aggravating that the unit is unusable.

In transferring a video tape, the audio and video were massively out of synch. WinDVD Creator pops out of record mode at the smallest glitch in the tape. Yes, I searched the registry and changed the value of "Warn when no video" to zero. The next time I booted, the value was back to 1.

This would not be a problem if I could use the unit with my Pinnacle Studio 8 software, but the Plextor driver is so unlike any other capture hardware's driver that other programs 1) do not even recognize it or 2) crash when the Plextor device is selected.

WinDVD Creator is unstable, buggy, and lacking even basic features. One cannot add a fade-out to the end of a file! They are only allowed between clips!

Who woulda thunk a Plextor product could be bad??

This has been a very disappointing experience for me. I hope Plextor reworks the driver and make it compatible with real-world video editing programs. Vegas? Pinnacle? Sonic? Adobe?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Works Great
Review: After researching on the internet for a video capture device, I finally decided on the Plextor ConvertX (PX-M402U). I've only had it a couple of days and am happy with the results.

Setup was very easy and within a couple of hours I captured 2 hours of video from my analog camcorder and had made a DVD with transition effects and titles. Quality of playback was as good if not better than the original( I captured in standard play - wondering if I captured in high quality if it would look even better).

The only complaint I have is that my computer froze once while editing. I believe that was due to such a large file and I keep hitting buttons thinking the system wasn't responding.

Overall I am pleased with the product but make sure your computer meets all the requirements. My CPU runs at about 95% usage while editing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Product!
Review: After trying about 4 different product, I decided to spend a little more money and go for the ConvertX. Let me tell you. It is WELL worth the extra $. It works GREAT and is very clear for converting VCR tapes to DVD.

Just be sure to follow the directions when it says to first un-install any previous versions of WinDVD Creator you have on your computer. I tried to not do that since I already had a similar version but my audio would not work till I un-installed it and installed the version that comes with the ConvertX.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great video capture device, but WinDVD is lacking....
Review: As far as the whole bundle goes, I am fairly well pleased. I haven't had any problems capturing good quality video or burning DVDs with the software. With the onboard hardware encoder, it's also a great solution for those without fast PCs!

The only complaint that I have is that WinDVD Creator is kinda lacking in the features department...But then again, you really wouldn't expect feature-rich software from an OEM bundle. So, I basically just use it to capture video, then use other software to author and burn the DVDs. Also, it's really kinda flaky (WinDVD Creator, that is), so you probably don't want to be doing anything else on the computer while you are capturing and saving your videos. I've had a few problems with WinDVD Creator locking up on me if I try to do something else (like surf the web).

All-in-all, I am very pleased with the PX-M402U. As far as the hardware goes, I haven't had any problems. I've converted some of my VHS to DVD now, and started recording some of my favorite shows to make DVDs (Good Eats, if you're that curious :) If I had the purchase to do over again, I would definitely pick the PX-M402U. The only exception being if I found a similar box that would capture digial audio.

One lesson learned, for those that are starting out with this device (and probably others). It would probably be better, when you save your video, to save as "Dolby Digital" instead of "MPEG Audio" (which is the default in WinDVD Creator). I have both analog and digital connected from my DVD Player to my receiver, so my first few DVDs play fine on my system. But my parents only have digital hooked up, not analog, and the same DVDs played on their system had no audio. Apparently "MPEG Audio" only plays via the analog ports on our DVD Players.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Extremely Pleased with Plextor ConvertX PX-M402U
Review: I am not a computer expert but have sufficient knowledge of computers and electronics. After investigating a way to convert all of my analog home movies to DVD my research showed this was the product of choice. There was some irritation after I installed but it was my own fault. After I called Plextor customer support, the tech pointed out that my pc needed a USB upgrade and a memory upgrade. Plextor tech support was GREAT!!!Once my pc was upgrade "WHOAAA BABY" this converter is great. I have already converted one year's worth of footage. The playback quality on my DVD player is the same quality as if it were coming directly from the camcorder into the t.v. Unlike the old method of playing thru the VCR and recording onto VHS, as you know, some of the clarity is lost. I highly recommend this product. Just make sure that your pc meets the minimum requirements, as indicated by Plextor, and you will be on your way to properly archiving those precious home movies as well.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What an amazing find
Review: I blundered when I first stumbled into the video-capture market by buying a cheaper product without checking the specs. It could not capture beyond what appeared postcard-sized frames on playback. This item replaced that dud and oh what a difference -- in sound, picture quality, ease of use...

First: The bundled software -- OK this is great for capture, and utterly brilliant if you just want to copy directly from video tape to DVD disc without any editing. It's a breeze. I did it all the first time from set up to beginning the burn in three minutes!

Beyond that, re: editing and trimming, forget it, get another program for these functions. WinDVD creator was very basic (templates were too cartoony and few for my liking) and trimming was ridiculously time-consuming -- ie for a small top-and-tail trim it took 15 or more mins to re-save an hour's worth of previously captured video.

Other programs are better at this eg Ulead DVD MovieFactory where trimming time is tiny because any earlier cutting/editing is really actually only physically done when at the burning stage. (For the record: Of seven DVD editing programs I have tested in the past six months, Ulead had the most options for me with chapter creation etc, followed by Sony, then Roxio. WinDVD was pretty low in functionality and a severely limited choice of burn quality settings.)

The verdict: The Plextor unit itself is seriously, awesomely good although of course it depends on the quality of your initial tape/source, and the VCR etc playing it. It rates as the Best Buy for all products of this type.

Some things to note: I experienced a small problem in sound and vision dropping slightly out of sync on one dvd created; and on another it briefly happened and came back into sync again. I downloaded the patch at the official plextor site which fixed this immediately. Now it works perfectly.

Also, if you are in the Asia Pacific region, factor in the cost of a 9-volt AC power adaptor (these are usually no more than $20-25 in Aust) because it is not included.

Lastly -- an installation note. You have to go to the drivers folder, click on them and install manually. Directing the Windows XP "Found New Hardware" to the folder as you'd normally do does nothing as it's a self-extracting program.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Plextor tech support disclaims compatibility
Review: I had great expectations for this product, but am highly disappointed. After creating a few test videos which would not play, I contacted Tech Support. I was quite surprised they did not guarantee MPEG output compatibility with any software except the WinDVD player that came with the unit.

It's hitting the trash can....

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I have encountered an error buying this product
Review: I had great hopes for the Plextor PX-M402U Digital Video Converter - after all, I have three Plextor CD and DVD burners that still work flawlessly. Unfortunately, the only software that works with this device is InterVideo WinDVD Creator. When I open this software and try to do anything, I receive the fatal message "Windows has encountered an error and needs to shut down. Send error report" After sending the error report, there are no suggestions whatsoever, just back to the desktop!

I emailed both Plextor and InterVideo. No response from InterVideo after 3 days, and Plextor sent me a troubleshooting document. My PC is a P4, 2.0Ghz, Windows XP sp1 with all critical updates loaded, Direct X 9.0b, and I downloaded both the latest driver from Plextor and the software patch from InterVideo. Now, after all this, I still get the same exact error message! This one's going back.

I'm looking into the ADS Tech Instant DVD 2.0 or the Canopus ADVC-100 as alternatives, though neither offer DivX. The ADS Tech is bundled with more "robust" software, and the Canopus is a hardware-only device that requires all compression be done with the software. In my opinion, digital video conversion is not quite ready for prime time - maybe I'll just wait!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Digital Video Converter delivers!!!
Review: I have been using the convertX for about a week, and it delivers as promised. I have captured high-res laser disk (remember those) images and movies, and I have been very pleased with the results. Playback on a 1000 line monitor is exceptional, considering the images are about 500-600 lines maximum. Have already converted some famous "Space Battle" movies to DVD before they come out officially this summer.

My system :
2.0 GHz Pentium 4
512 MB ram PC2100

Some issues:

Disable any automatic background software and services, windows auto update, antivirus auto scan and update, etc. Otherwise, there is a risk that video can be corrupted when one of these programs decides to start running.

The interVideo WinDVD creator 2.0 sofware that comes with the convertX is acceptable. Capture, edit, and author are fine. The program has hung on occasion, so save often. Make Movie is slow, about 1-2 hours per DVD. I am looking for a program that is faster, but no luck so far. You can save to a file, so making a movie image overnight might be best. Also, my CPU is running at 100% while making the movie image?? So, don't plan on doing anything else while using this software.


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