Has anyone seen this new USB 704x480 capture unit?

[WRCoach]

Check out this link:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=A03-7000&SRCCODE=WEBE11234

Someone sent me this link. It appears to be more powerful than Dazzle, but at the same price as the USB version. I love my Dazzle, but would switch to this if it does what it says....capture in MPEG-2 in realtime at 708x480.

Anyone know anything about it?

[vfrpilot]

I just bought that unit yesterday. works great, no dropped frames at any resolution. better image quality than my ati Radeon. Captures vcd in real time just record and burn no editing required. So far I am very happy with it

[Valnar]

Sounds too good to be true. Do you know what MPEG2 encoder they use? Are there options to set the bit rate, size, audio encoding, etc? It says it supports MPEG1 too, so I assume there are multiple options for VCD quality too? The picture only shows composite input? No S-video?

Do tell!

Robert

[TheInformer]

The USB Instant DVD looks to be the item to get if you have lots of VHS tapes
that you want to archive as well.

Just my two cents...

[Valnar]

Hard to believe there is something out there that does it all without needing a quad-CPU computer to do the MPEG2 compression in real time. Either there is a powerful CPU/ASIC in that thing, or the compression quality is crap. I'd like to see how it compares to the better settings on TMPGENC.

Also, to the users who own it, does it bypass Macrovision? Can I convert store-bought VHS tapes to MPEG1&2?

I'm also curious as to how it does it in real time. I didn't think the total USB bandwidth supported 9000K per second (or whatever the max is allowed for a Superbit DVD).

Robert

[vfrpilot]

It has S-video and composite inputs and outputs. it only has one setting for mpeg1 (standard vcd) but has multiple mpeg 2 dvd good (3mb sec) dvd better (4mb sec) dvd best (5mb sec) and svcd. It converts to mpeg1 mpeg2 before it sends it through usb so you don't drop frames and the file sizes are smaller. I has all the outputs so you can record back to vcr etc. also not effected by macrovision

[tort]

I bought one of these, I fell for the False Advertising they calim. Instant DVD... Supplied with MyDVD 3.0 to record direct to DVD, and includes Ulead VideoStudio 5 DVD edition...

1) MyDVD 3.0 as supplied will NOT Capture video, and will not do direct to DVD Recording. 2 months After I bought this doorstop, ADS says the Capture Utility will be released next month.

2) Ulead VideoStudio 5 captures fine, but it's NOT the DVD version, so you can't record to DVD direct with it either.

Every time I try to run MyDVD 3 and import captured video, the thing causes errors and has to be restarted.

The sole purpose of this INSTANT DVD Device is to make INSTANT DVD, in other words, to record direct to the DVD, instead of all that capturing to Hard Disk, then using anohter utility to BURN the DVD....

Until ADS learns there are laws against misrepresntation of a product, false advertising, etc., then I can honestly say, this is nothing more than an expensive door stop. I get better results, higher resolution scans, etc., from my Dazzle DVC II.

[Valnar]

Bypasses Macrovision tapes? Really? Might be a winner when they get the software squared away. I haven't found anything other than my Pinnacle PCTV Pro (BT87 that had that "feature/bug".

Do you know what MPEG encoding scheme it uses? Any idea how it compares (say...at the VCD or SVCD setting) to TMPGENC? Blocky or smooth?

Also, are there the same settings of 3,4 or 5MB for the half D1 resolution? If I'm convering VHS tapes, I'd rather use 352x480. And if I can get 5MB of bits in the half D1 resolution, then it should be even better on fast motion?

Robert

[alkieman]

I considered this device as a replacement for my PVR card which didn't work properly under XP (it might now as here are updated drivers available to fix my stuttering recordings - just haven't tried them yet).

If you look at the technical specs of the Instant DVD device you will see how it manages to capture MPEG2. The maximum bitrate is restricted to 5MB/s, just over half the maximum that the DVD specs allow. I'm not sure if this is sufficient for decent quality though but of course it depends on the encoder chip.

Capture a file to an AVI and encode to 5MB/s using TMPGEnc, burn it to a DVD-RW and play t on your home DVD player and you'll see what I mean. The quality at 5MB/s is blocky with TMPGEnc and it's one of the best software encoders out there. Play a 5MB/s file on your PC and it'll probably look great, its your home DVD player thats the real test.

[Iview]

I have the Dazzle DVCII, and just bought the USB Instant DVD. Haven't got time to try it out yet, I will do a comparison when I got some time.
If I'm not mistaken, Most of the store bought standard DVDs are around 5mb/s and with SUPERBIT DVDs running around 8mb/s.
There is a half ass review at Guy Graphics. Go to
http://www.guygraphics.com/index.html?rightframe.html&0
Select Product Reviews on the leftside of the page and it's the first one on the list.
Seems like it will only let you capture DVD @ 3, 4, 5 mb/s; SVCD @ 2.4 mb/s (on the low side, not the 2.6 mb/s standard ) and VCD @ 1.5 mb/s (higher than the 1.15 mb/s standard). Looks like they try to keep thing simple and not offer bitrate adjustment, therefore no X(S)VCDs or high bitrate DVDs.
The review also claims the 5mb/s DVD looks good and the VCD looks better than SVCD. While Dazzle DVCII is the other way around, crappy VCD and good looking (X)SVCD. Also the DVCII will let you adjust bitrate all the way up to 10mb/s. The only quality issue I have with DVCII is the use of C-Cube MPEG encoder, and hence has the chroma bug (red bleeding). I don't know which encoder this USB INSTANT DVD use, but according to the review, it says " The encoder handled bright reds very well. ", so I'm going to give her a try.

[dood]

I love this InstantDVD (I sold my Dazzle2). 5mbps CBR is very, very nice. No artifacts to be found. The ADS capwiz program is simple and limited in the settings. There is a StreamMachine utility on the disc that lets you alter MOST settings for capture (VBR/CBR, GOP, bitrate, A/V separate, etc). I've had no need to modify the settings. The Capwiz 5mbps CBR caps are perfect for my needs....better than Dazzle2.