Dazzle DVC2 or Pinnacle Studio Deluxe V8

[NoWhereElsetoGO]

I'm having difficulty finding the DVC2 in stores (only Best Buy sells it and at $300) and the dazzle site doesn't even advertise it anymore. Maybe it was discontinued.

But I just saw the Pinnacle Studio Deluxe V8 for $170 and it looks comparable to the DVC2. I was just wondering if anyway can tell me if it is a solid card and can give really good captures at MPEG2.

Im getting really sick of my TV Wonder VE.

Thanx

[kimpen]

I'll try to find a DVC 2 or will move to another brand, like Canopus!

Kim.

[Hatz]

hmmmmm........Have you checked ebay for a hardly used card?? Actually I am selling my DVCII as we speak........I think I used it probably 5 times to backup some home videos. Selling it for 75 too.

Anyways, I would always check ebay before buying in a store also.....good deals there.

Hatz

[gcutler]

Pinnacle bought Dazzle, and has stopped selling/supporting just about all Dazzle HW and SW (once they leave the shelves, they are gone except for used units on ebay, etc.). So from that point of view a Dazzle is a questionable purchase. But those who have Dazzles, don't seem to like the Pinnacle products. I used my Hollywood DV* capture device about 300 times, and it works well for me, I'm going to use it as long as I can, but If it breaks I get something Non-Dazzle or Non-Pinnacle...

[The village idiot]

NO! Not RAZZLE!

I still need to finish fixing up my HW Bridge. I found that they used really cheap components, and switching them for less expensive, but larger components has worked wonders. Funny thing is that there was room for the larger components, and they are cheaper and better, so why didn't they use them in the first place.

I do still wish I could get the DV to go back out through the analog outputs though. It will do some then glitch and do more then glitch again. A real pain in the @$$. I guess I should fix it and then sell it and buy something better. Wish I could buy the firewire bridge chip to put into it, they used a discontinued chip when they made them, the newer chip was much better and a direct pin replacement part, but I have only found them in lots of 1000 at something like $8.00 each.

[gcutler]

I guess I should fix it and then sell it and buy something better.

For someone who so vocally hates the product, why haven't you done that? Only reason I haven't sold mine is that I've migrated 99% of my VHS tapes, so I don't use it enough to warrant selling and buying a Canopus (but still use it enough to want something on hand)

[The village idiot]

Because it will still never be as good as the other converters that are out. Like the Canopus ADVC-100 or Datavideo DAC-100.

And the hate for Razzle never came from the Bridge, it came from support trying to deal with a DVC2 problem. Those support people are completely worthless, I am glad they are gone!

Right now the Bridge mostly works, if I finish fixing it, I might be able to sell it and not feel sorry for the person that buys it. But to fix the biggest problem involves changing the firewire chip. Would you like to buy the 999 chips that I do not need, all for about $7990? I didn't think so. Now contrast the facts that a HWBridge still sells for $250 retail. And that the product is officially without support! And the quality is lacking.

A Datavideo DAC-100 sells for around $180, is a current product with support, and has better quality. Which one would you buy if you had to buy one right now? The Canopus ADVC-100 however is expensive at around $300+, and the ADVC-50 goes for close to $200, but does not have analog outputs.

I could bash the bridge in a few other ways, but I won't bother, it's a dead product. If you can find one for cheap, it should work, but I wouldn't pay more than $100 for it. $50 if the seller indicates any kind of problems.

[gcutler]

Because it will still never be as good as the other converters that are out. Like the Canopus ADVC-100 or Datavideo DAC-100.

With all the trouble it seems to have caused you, and the resulting posting about it, might as well take a hammer to it and consider it a life lesson or get the $50 from e-bay and allocate it toward the DAC-100. I would go for the Canopus for the Macrovision bypass ability (the reason I still have 1% of my VHS still not converted). But my friend who does this stuff semi pro (a Mac User) prefers the DAC-100 (price also helped)