Rating: 
Summary: Excelent DVD writer
Review: All the given product descriptions are on target. It's the first DVD writer I buy and I don't regret it. The price is nice since you don't have to buy any video capture device.
Video capture is real-time and with very good quality. Also, it supports all kind of DVD blank media. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Good product
Review: I almost did not buy this item because of some of the reviews that I read about it. But I did and I love it. So far I have made several DVDs from my video camera as well as several data DVDs. I have had no problems and found the whole process to be pretty simple. Some of the programs that are included can be a little difficult to learn but that is ok. Overall, I feel that I made a good purchase. As long as you have some knowledge of audio/video equipment it is very easy to make homemade DVDs. Installation was also easy. Just make sure your computer meets all the requirements.... esp. USB 2.0 I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a good DVD Writer without having to install it into their computer.
Rating: 
Summary: Great software and hardware
Review: I bought this about 2 weeks back and I love this product. I already converted nearly 20 of my VHS and miniDVs to DVD. There are 3 software applications given along with this... which I think is a bargain. I love the Arcsoft ShowBiz product. I was able to edit my video, set chapters, backgrounds on the DVD tilte page etc. I have not tried adding any audio yet. I like to keep the original talk/chatter on my home videos. It's kinda fun to hear those later.
As for the negatives and the reason I only gave 4 stars is that the direct transfer software does not seem to work correctly, at times. I set the capture time to 1.5 hours and it wrote only .5 hours of video to disk although I saw that the complete video was captured from tape. I don't know what went wrong and lost couple of disks because of this. Another reason I gave only 4 stars is that the backup software (not related to DVD conversion) does not seem to work well with 1.1 USB ports.
The installation instructions could have been better.
Another reviewer mentioned that they had problems with no video signal after a couple of conversions. Well, I had the same problem and tried changing the cables a bit and figured out that the USB cable was defective. Replaced with a new USB cable with gold plated edges and it worked fine.
Over all, I am pleased with product.
Rating: 
Summary: Works sometimes, Arcsoft software not good
Review: I bought this recently and I am not too happy with this product. It is easy to setup and works most of the time (with XP). However, it may decide to stop working by giving this error - No video signal detected. Powering it off/on and restarting the Arcsoft software (which is pathetic) makes it work again. I called HP tech support (somewhere in India), they asked me to re-install the driver. I re-installed the Arcsoft software since the USB 2.0 driver is already part of XP. No luck. Also, using the S-Video cable makes the device or the arcsoft software not too friendly (video signal not detected problems) I also upgraded to a USB 2.0 PC card but burning a DVD takes the same time as using USB 1.1. Not sure what else needs to be done. In short, buy it if you just want to capture video from your old camcorder and burn straight to DVD. Forget editing the captured video.
Rating: 
Summary: Quality issues and a potential design flaw - great support
Review: I bought this unit to transfer video from old VHS tapes and burn data/video DVD's. My first unit could do the transfers fine, but would invariably fail during a DVD burn. Then it would go "offline" by complaining about having it's USB cable pulled out, or the driver needing to be re-installed. The longer this unit was powered on the worse the problem became. I called their tech support who are responsive and friendly (in India, but thats ok). It took a couple of calls to go over all the problems and what I had done - I had already tried everything including trying 2 different laptops (Sony and Toshiba), different USB cables, different OS's (WinXP and Win2K). So they decided it was a hardware problem and replaced it. To my dismay, the 2nd unit exhibited the same problems, only worse. Until that is I noticed it feeling hot. So I placed both the original and replacement on a air conditioning duct and burned without problems. I called support again and they got me a third unit. Finally I can burn ok without resorting to the air conditioner, although I still have an occassional "no video signal" when transferring which never happened with the first unit. The software works great, and I like the form factor of the dc4000. But they really do have some quality and product design issues. I'm not convinced that I have a 100% ok unit, but it may be good enough for now. I really like the support and their responsiveness, and willing to get things working - not so impressed with the product itself.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!!
Review: I had previously tried the 3000 movie writer, but was unable to make it work. Alot of compatability issues with my Dell. I read that alot of others had the same trouble. Then the new 8x 4000 series had came out. So I took a chance it would be better, and it paid off!!! The NEWER writer is not only compatible!! but it works to my amazement!! HP should have done more testing before releasing the first version. Hopefully more people will be willing to try this newer version!!! I enjoy being able to transfer non copyrighted viedos to DVD!!! The quality is excellent!!! I hope more companies can follow in the footsteps of this wonderful product!!! (REMEMBER TO STAY AWAY FROM THE OLDER VERSIONS)
Rating: 
Summary: Software a problem
Review: I saw that some were having problems with drivers in reviews but I hadn't had trouble with HP products before so I thought I would give the product a try, it was a big mistake! After many hours of work I managed to get my computer back online. I though for a time this product had made my hard drive inaccesable. I make my living off my computer and can't afford to destroy it with a faulty product.
Rating:
Summary: Great product- make sure you have minimum configuration
Review: I was about to send my DC4000 and rate it as a piece of garbage. Software installed easily enough, very simple process to transfer tape to DVD, but when I played my first DVD the quality was terrible!!! Jerky, choppy, poor sound quality, mosaic like picture, yeck!
Turns out your PC needs to meet the minimum configuration. My 800Mhz PC just couldn't keep up. Installed the software on my 1.6MHz laptop, burned a DVD that looks as good as the tape!!
This is a great product. Caution- some sites say minimum PC speed is 800Mhz, this is wrong. HP site says 1.2Mhz. Also, make sure you are using USB2.0 interface and cables.
Love the product. If you are having issues, chances are it is with your system and not the DC4000.
Rating:
Summary: Installation Nightmare!
Review: I'm absolutely amazed that anyone would be happy with this thing. I spent over 3.5 hours on the phone with HP's help center (located in INDIA - DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS ONE!!) only to find out that my installation disc was missing the DRIVER! "You'll receive the replacement disc in one to two days," they told me. FIVE DAYS LATER, it showed up. At first the RE-installation seemed to work, but then the software kept crashing repeatedly. Error messages such as "Device Disconnected" kept popping up even though not a single thing had been touched. Bottom line: for me, this DVD writer was a total failure and a complete waste of my time. The only saving grace was that I was able to return it for a full refund one week after I'd bought it. Sorry, but I can't recommend this hunk o' junk at all.
AVOID! AVOID!! AVOID!!!
Rating:
Summary: Works flawlessly
Review: I've burned 50-75 DVDs and I've yet to get a coaster. Using the built-in wizard, the included DVD-writing software (which is extremely flexible for a lot of video-related tasks beyond simple DVD writing) and using it as stand-alone DVD writer with other software, I have found this product a joy to operate.
The capture, editing, and writing tasks are nearly idiot-proof and very reliable.
Highly recommended.
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