Dazzle or Snazzi?

[dan1st]

I was planning to get the Dazzle Digital Video Creator (usb), after being soo confused...
Btw, which is better --> the pci or the usb version??

But then I found out about Snazzi, having the Digital Video Creator too. Got me even confused!
And it's more expensive!

Which is better? The Dazzle or the Snazzi?
Are they the same? They do look alike...
And which should I get --> pci or usb?

[sracer]

What do you plan to do with the captured video? What will be your primary source material? (DVD, VHS, TV, etc.)

[dan1st]

Capture from VHS/TV...
So, which should I get?
Dazzle or Snazzi DVC?

I also wanna know what're the differences between the two...
Thx~!

[dumwaldo]

i am always amazed when someone thinks they are going to learn to capture but can't even figure out what to buy. no one can tell you what to buy thats why there is a a comparison chart here... http://www.vcdhelp.com/capturecards.php

compare the features, read the comments and check the mfg website for as much information as you can find on the products you are considering and figure it out. your question is like should i drink coke or pepsi.

if you truly want a reccomendation then you should make a post including relevant info to your situation. for instance you did not tell us what OS you have making it impossible to make a reccomendation considering one of those devices does not support win2k and you could be running win2k. mabey you have an older system and you are still running windows 95 in which case you cant use either one.

also you might want to mention what is important to you like ease of use, quality of capture, time shifting television or any specific abilities you are interested in.

you made mention of considering the dazzle because you are confused (i assume from other capture hardware), well even if you get a dazzle you can expect to get out what you put into it. if you want to plug it in open a program and capture VCD the dazzle is great but if you expect them to be as good as the vcd clips you download from the net you will be dissapointed. thats not saying you cant create quality caps with a dazzle but if you only want to put 5 minutes into learning you can expect poor looking caps regardless of what you are using.

[dan1st]

It's amazing how some people think they know everything and try
to be arrogant & show off, but it turns out they couldn't actually
understand simple English.
It's even more amazing how they make rude assumptions about other people.

If you understood what I meant, I actually want to know the difference
between the Dazzle and the Snazzi.
For your information, I DO KNOW what I want to buy...it's the Digital
Video Creator (DVC).
All I actually want is to know the difference between Dazzle and Snazzi (eg: Are they from the same company? Is Snazzi the newer version of Dazzle? Is Snazzi under Dazzle?
How are their products different? Why are their products very much alike if they are from different companies? Why are they splitting into two confusing websites if they are of the same company?)

Also, if you should know...I did go to http://www.vcdhelp.com/capturecards.php (in fact, I go there each time I visit vcdhelp.com).
I did "compare the features, read the comments..."
But there aren't any comparison charts (or the like) for the Dazzle and the Snazzi, just a small comment about the Dazzle Snazzi Internal PCI.

As for not posting my 'relevant information' (eg: OS), I apologize.
But as 'relevant' as it could get, posting my OS and etc details would not help find the difference between Dazzle and Snazzi.
ps: Which idiot wouldn't want "ease of use, quality of capture..."?
After all, like I said...I want the DVC already.

Why is it so hard to understand simple English?
Much less, why is it so hard to respond with a simple answer?
"peace out"? How'd you expect peace with your kind of response.
I (100%) have no intensions of being impolite or creating trouble here.
I also do not mean to be disrespectful.
Please do not take offense.
Besides, I thank you very much and appreciate the time you took to respond.

Might as well include some of my PC specs, in case it irritates you or makes you amazed again:

AMD ThunderBird 1 GHz or P3 1 GHz (I can choose either to do the capturing)
Abit KT7 (Non-Raid) or Intel 815E-b
384 MB SDRAM
Geforce 2 MX
SB Live! Value
2 20 GB Hdd
50x CD-ROM Drive and an 8x burner

PCI or USB version better?
And again, difference between Dazzle/Snazzi?
Thank you.

[kv5]

Spend the Extra few quid and go for the Dazzle DVC2 (Its a PCI Card + Break-out box) it gives you a bit more flexibility.... i.e Capture's to Mpeg 2 aswell as Mpeg1 and there's loads of settings to adjust for your prefered capture quality - With regards to the Snazzi.... I havent got a clue! -

[linardi]

As far as I know, Dazzle and Snazzi are the same product.
Technology and R&D from USA, but the owner are Singaporean?, and they have an internal management problem.
Early 1999, I bought Dazzle - with parallel port+break-out box ( forgot the name), but it was a bad product, problems with out of synch ( after 20'). I reported to the support team in Singapore, and they offer me Snazzi-1-old ( at that time w/o 1), much better than the previous one, and ( according to the support: USB is even worse ).
Snazzi-1 is internal capture card - PCI, it is a very good product. That is because of the good chipset inside.
Snazzi, so far as I know, is Singapore product.
Unfortunately, I have problem with my Snazzi when upgrade my motherboard( VIA chipset ), then I bought DVC-II in 2000. I also complained about the same problem, out of synch, they also admited it.
I found it has been recovered after the Moviestar release 4.22 (today release 4.23).
With the newly lauched Snazzi III, I prefer to choose this Snazzi. I think Snazzi III much better than Snazzi-1-old, and of course from Dazzle product.
But snazzi ... without "fancy" break-out box.

[norm]

linardi is correct. V-one multimedia markets their products as Dazzle and Snazzi. Dazzle in North America - Snazzi for most other areas.

[norm]

You'll also find some info regarding the current Dazzle - Snazzi situation.
http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/thread?forumid=70438&messageid=1007526724

[sracer]

dan1st, for capturing TV/VHS, I recommend the USB version of the Dazzle DVC. I've had mine for nearly 2 years and I have been extremely pleased with it.

The Dazzle DVC II still has bugs, the software is flaky, and it is too expensive for the the source material you will be capturing. When DVD burners come down to a reasonable pricepoint, and DVD authoring software prices drop too, then it will be time to look at MPEG2 devices...which will be better, faster, and cheaper as well.

My recommendation for the DVC is a guarded one. Although I have had great results (check out the sample VCD-compliant MPEG clip I captured with the DVC: http://pages.prodigy.net/tcperconti/ ) I have heard that many people cannot get the same quality from their newly purchased DVC units. Perhaps they tweaked the hardware under the covers, or maybe the software.

If you buy it, make sure you get it from a store with a good return policy, just in case.

[dan1st]

See? This is the kind of help you'd greatly appreciate~!
Be it technical info or just suggestions/recommendations...
They're just motivating...and no sarcasm!
Thank you!

My...Dazzle in North America - Snazzi for most other areas.
No wonder I've only seen Snazzi and no Dazzle around...
Snazzi is abit more pricy!

kv5, ya...I considered the DVC2.
But since the Dazzle isn't available here, and the Snazzi
DVC1 is already past my budget, think I'll just go for the DVC1.
Besides, I've no need for mpeg-2 for now...
Thx.

sracer, your VCD-Sample.mpg (1.1MB) capture is superb!
Hope I'll get at least 80% of that if I really do get the DVC.

Btw, PCI version really better than USB version?
Anyone compared before?

[nickel]

I just got a working Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge yesterday (first one was broken on arrival). Support from SCMMicro was good. I'm very pleased with my first test (old home movie on VHS tape from 1989). I almost bought the DVCII, but here are some considerations that made me choose Hollywood:
First, what does it do - It takes any analog signal (audio and video) and spits it out to your PC as DV through FireWire connection. Your PC thinks it is hooked up to a DV device and thus getting a DV signal. I don't have any DV devices. You can plug almost anything (composite video, S-video, other DV) into the Hollywood and the PC thinks you're using DV.
This was the primary advantage I saw to DVCII (since they are about the same street price). Adobe Premiere is very DV friendly for editing. From what I've read, DV is an editing format standard. MPG is not. I don't have much experience with Premiere yet, but I find very little MPG related info while browsing Premiere's features and tutorials. Plus, it's easy to convert DV to MPG, but I'm not sure how easy it is to convert MPG to a more editing-friendly format.

Again, I've only done one simple test last night and I have yet to really learn about editing DV... so feel free to correct any of my assumptions (which I only got from other readers). As I learn more, I'll share my knowledge.

-nickel