Rating: 
Summary: Misiformation?
Review: According to this weekends Best Buy circular, this HP Movie Writer is advertised as a "PC-Free Movie Writer". The idea of being able to transfer my VHS tapes into DVD is very enticing and I was very happy when I read that it was "PC-Free", but when I went into the internet, nowhere does it state "PC-Free". Could you enlighten me on this matter. I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Good hardware, really bad software!
Review: Easy enough to install. Hardware solid. However, there are a lot of DVD writers out there that are equally as good. I bought this because the software and cables were included and I wanted to edit home movies. Arcsoft Showbiz is too buggy and the tech support is very bad. HP is not much better but at least you could talk to a real person. After one month of emails and phone conversations, I was able to determine the source of two separate problems. The first was related to a known driver problem on their end. The second, was due to a mechanical high pitched sound that developed with Showbiz DVD recording. Finally, someone directed me to the audio sampling settings. It seems so obvious now. They do not know this software and made me reinstall it several times. I would not recommend this product. Pinnacle is a better product for editing. Again, REALLY BAD TECH SUPPORT!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: What a piece of ******
Review: I would have to say that this is the most overpriced and ineffective hardware, that I have wished that I had not spent my money on in my entire life. Not only was it very cheaply made but the software did not work properly. I thought that this was going to be a great product but I have found that for the same price you can buy a dvd recorder at Frye's that does the same job but does not have to be hooked up to your computer and screw up your computer when you attempt, Yes I said attempt, to uninstall. Do not make the same mistake that I made....stay away from this product like it was your ex-wife looking for more alimony. And now I have to deal with UPSing it back to Amazon. What a major pain!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good hardware, lousy software
Review: ShowBiz 2 stinks. After many hours of frustration I was able to reach ArcSoft only to be informed that the User Manual is not yet available for ShowBiz 2!!! When will it be - we don't know, "we have no idea".The help screens are great for explaining the obvious but forget about any real help. There are no toll free numbers to be found; there are no tech support numbers of any kind to be found; not on the CD, not on their website and certainly not within the software itself. I was only able to get a phone number for ArcSoft indirectly. HP wasn't much help either but cured hanging of Showbiz 2 by providing a .dll file download. That only took about 2 hours. In short ShowBiz 2 is buggy and arrives without instructions. The unit itself works well otherwise although there is no ON/OFF switch.
Rating: 
Summary: Costs a little more than a DVD+RW writer; but incomplete
Review: I am a very satisfied customer of HP's. And this is a pretty good product; but not a great one. Why is it good?
---------------
Well, obviously, it can be used to record, transfer and burn movies into DVDs. It substitutes for the costly DVD Recorders from Philips; but ofcourse, you need a PC with lots of HardDisk space and RAM to do the same job. Please note that in dc3000 the burning of the DVD and the capture are two separate process in time. This is not a real-time or a standalone recorder and always needs a PC. I guess that it is still value for the money.
Ofcourse, you would also be able to convert your VHS tapes into the DVDs. You might have to play a few tricks on some VHS tapes (read movies) to get them burnt into the DVD. Remember that it does not have many ways finding that a material is copyrighted. I don't want to dwell deep into this.
The ShowBiz2 software packaged is pretty powerful; but is also resource hungry. Remember we are dealing with files of Gigabytes in size. So, if you want to edit the movie into a DVD using the software, pump in more memory > 512MB (may be 1GB). The 384MB in my machine was definitely insufficient. To create a DVD, it would need 13-14GB of free hard-disk space just like any other DVD authoring software.
The QuickDVD option is pretty neat with just the minimum steps to create a DVD. Why is it incomplete?
---------------------
1. Lack of firewire/i.Link/1394 port.
2. Support for an external USB storage device like a "portable USB hard-disk" which can be used to store the MPEG2 file instead of the need for the PC. This would make the system pretty much a standalone recorder. The R&D and manufacturing cost should not increase beyond a few dollars for this I guess; but I bet any company would charge $50-$100 more for this feature.
3. Though not designed for this purpose, it would have been nicer if HP also included a timed DVD recording software or a feature in their software package. Value for money? : I would think so.
Rating:
Summary: How about some consistency
Review: I purchased the HP DVD Movie Writer with every intention of retiring my VHS collection once and for all. Boy was I in for a surprise. I'll agree that the HP DVD Movie Writer was easy to setup and use. HP has made that part of the experience quite painless. The capture process is fantastic and seems to work just perfectly. The problem, however, lies in the consistency of the burn process. So far I have successfully burned about 8 VHS tapes to DVD and I have had to use up about 24 DVD's to get there. When I first begain having issues with burning DVD's I thought the problem was media related, so I set aside the 25-pack spindle of Fuji DVD+R's and got a 10-pack of HP DVD+R's. Well, I went through all 10 HP DVD+R's and I have 3 successful burns to show for it. So much for media being the problem. Next I thought it was a speed problem, so I ran out and purchased the only USB 2.0 PCI adapter card I could find, a D-Link DFB-A5. Well, needless to say, that didn't work either. Although the USB 2.0 card seems to recognize the DVD Movie Writer, it refuses to burn the captured video to a DVD. So, I am back to using USB 1.1. Oh the shame. I have ran into the frustration of not being able to burn copies of my copyrighted VHS tapes, and although I am a bit peeved about that, I have found that many of my VHS tapes are not copyrighted and, theoretically at least, should be able to be captured then burned to DVD. I have a handful of .mpg files sitting around that didn't get the honor of being burned to DVD as the burn process, I am sad to say, hung. And forget about pulling those mpg files in through ArcSoft Showbiz 2.0 and burning them to DVD as is, that won't work either. I gave the product 3 stars because I have seen the results of what it can do when it works, the problem lies in its consistency. If you meet the minimum requirements laid down in the documentation, you should expect reliability regardless of how slow the process might be. I suppose I will simply have to suffer along with USB 1.1 and a 33% chance for a successful burn. I am on that 3rd try right now, so someone wish me luck.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product
Review: HP DVD Movie Writer dc3000
True to HP's reputation for making top quailty products, the HP Movie writer delivers all the functionality it promises and works flawlessly. Excellent software and hardware integration. It comes with analog-capture and MPEG-2 encoding capabilities. The only reason I gave 4 stars is because this unit does not come with FireWire or 1394EEE connection. It only has USB2.0. I wonder why HP did this, cosidering that most of us have FireWire but not USB 2.0. Many computers built before 2002 have USB 1.1 ports, limiting them to 12 Mbps. Installation is pretty easy, if you follow the steps mentioned in the documentation. I like draw your attention to one important point before you buy this product. Your Desktop or Notebook should have a USB 2.0 for this product to work. Most of us have laptops with USB 1.1. Only new laptops purchased in the last one year have USB 2.0 delivered. To enable your laptop to have USB 2.0, read my special notes at the end of this review. I had to spend an additional $75 to make my notebook USB 2.0 compatible. I recommend that before you buy this product, makesure your computer has USB 2.0 else first buy the card I mentioned below and install it. Only after your USB 2.0 card works you buy this product.
Following are the steps I recommend. 1) First install the software on your computer using your computer's CD drive. ( After installing the software, you should see a "HP DVD" icon on your desktop. 2) Then connect the delivered power cord to the Movie writer( The system lights up). Connect USB cable to the USB port on your computer. Windows XP immediately recognizes the new hardware and comes with a hardware compatibility wizard. Just select automatic installation and everthing is done. 3) To see the drive on your computer, Right click on "Start" and select explore. You will now see the DVD-CD- R/W listed. 4) Connect your camcoder or VCR to your HP DVD Writer. Turn on your VCR. Insert the Tape. Position the tape at the section you want to start. 5) Double Click the "HP DVD" icon on your desktop and after the sofware is launched click the "ArcSoft ShowBiz 2". Slect the capture Vedio Button. Then press the record button to start your recording. Note : USB 2.0 USB 2.0, a successor to the popular USB 1.1 standard, which started appearing in mid-2001 and is now being built into almost all new personal computers.USB 2.0 offers greater bandwidth and a data transfer rate of up to 480 megabits per second -- 40 times faster than the 12 Mbps maximum of USB 1.1.But USB 2.0 doesn't always mean "40x faster."
The creators of USB 2.0 -- a team made up of Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Hewlett Packard Co., the former Compaq Computer Corp., Agere Systems, NEC Corp. and Royal Philips Electronics -- made the standard fully backward compatible so it would work with the gadgets people already own. That's why USB 2.0 actually encompasses three speeds: the original USB speed of 1.5 Mbps, aka "low-speed USB"; 12 Mbps, aka "full-speed USB" or USB 1.1; and 480 Mbps, aka "hi-speed USB." There's an additional consideration in buying USB 2.0 products. Your computer needs to have a USB 2.0 port to take advantage of the faster data transmission. Many computers built before 2002 have USB 1.1 ports, limiting them to 12 Mbps. I bought the Adaptec USB 2 connect for noteboods ( USB 2.0 Card bus adapter) , which costed about $75. It has 2 ports. Do not buy cheap products, as they do not work as promised. Most of the Card Bus come with a power adapter, which adds another wire to your already mess of wires. Adaptec USB 2.0 does not come with the power adapter, becuase for 90% to the noteboods it works without power. I inserted the CardBus into the PCMCIA slot, and windowsXP immediately ditected new hardware found, and promted a dialogue box with an option to install the driver software automatically. When computer was not connected to the internet and it could not find the driver files. I connected to the internet and again inserted the CardBus into the PCMCIA slot and I select the install driver software automatically option. This time it worked. ( My NoteBook is HP Pavillion and it works great. HP makes outstanding products.)
Rating: 
Summary: The RIAA Strikes Back
Review: I had hoped to use the dc3000 to finally transfer my aging VHS collection onto more stable and long-lasting media. Simply, I wanted to keep on watching my old movies (which in some cases, are not even available on DVD) without having to worry that I was degrading the quality of the video. Well, I must have been day-dreaming when I bought this product, or maybe I'm just niave - since I have no intention of starting my own pirate DVD production shop, using just this one DVD-writing product, to cheat Hollywood out of billions of their just-deserved royalties. I really only wanted to put my VHS tapes (including movies I have already paid for) onto the DVD format... The set-up and configuration of this product was a breeze, the software suite installed without any issues, and the hardware literally just plugs in (just make sure you have a USB2.0 input though). Unfortunately, when I actually tried to backup one of my VHS movies, the HP Video Transfer Wizard told me "The source video is copyright protected; video capture will not resume." Well, even though the U.S. courts say I can make backups of movies I already own, HP apparently doesn't agree. So, if updating your aging VHS movie collection is one of your primary reasons for buying a product like this, you should just take the dc3000 out of your basket and move on (if you can find something else without this draconian copy-prevention). Aside from HP, I'd also like to thank George Lucas for this disappointing experience. Being the geek that I am, one of the main reasons I purchased this the dc3000 was to finally have a copy of the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, since my friend George has yet to do so himself. And here I just wanted to keep from having to buy a new set of videos every 6 months, as that's about how long it takes for VHS tape to begin degrading, and I'm that big of a fan. Lastly, I'd like to give special thanks to the RIAA. Even though 99.9% of us just want to make our own copies of our own media for our own internal use, the RIAA would rather do everything possible to prevent us from doing so, treating ALL of us like criminals. Sorry RIAA, but that's only going to hurt your business even more in the long run than any piracy possibly could. So... back to the HP dc3000. Yes, if you want to copy your own home movies and non-copyrighted materials... I'd give it a thumbs-up (4 stars, only because the software is a resource-hog). But if you thought you might be able to make legal copies of copyrighted materials you have already purchased, think again. The dc3000 won't let you do it, even though the law still says that you can.
Rating:
Summary: HP DVD Movie Writer DC3000/4000
Review: IT:s like this I purchased the dc 4000 about a week ago this is my 3rd one. But anyway i;ve had nothing but problems, with it ive spent 3days talking to tech support for about 3hrs eac time. Right now hp is doing research on it. to figure out he problem. But it appears to be a software issue.It does every thing but the main thing , which is burn the dvd . Al;so its its only compatible with the software the comes with it. so if it ever gets that fixed it might be ok. But i was very dissappointed with it and i expected better from hp
Rating:
Summary: caveat emptor
Review: It took me 3 months to replace this product. Technical support is both time-consuming and worthless. Eventually had to talk with someone in the U.S. to resolve the problem. Hint: If you are frustrated with technical support then go to HP's website and contact somebody there. Replacement seems to be working for the time being. Last time I am purchasing anything from HP.
| 
