I've read the how to hints and the sticky posts regarding dropped frames and audio synch problems. It seems like the authors of most of those are quick to point fingers at user error. I'd like to offer another perspective to consider.

There seem to be a lot of posts from different people with different hardware all experiencing the same problems. It sure seems to me that the real problem here is not end user incompetance. The real problem is that the vendors of these capture devices are not providing adequate support for their products. I have run into this problem myself. I did quite a bit of digging on my own before I even went for support. When I did, the support people really didn't have anything new to offer other than replacing the card, which I also tried.

Bottom line, until the manufacturers of these devices get their act together, people are going to continue to have problems and continue to complain about those problems. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never consider buying a capture device again that does not provide for audio and video synchronization. I wasted a lot of time trying to get my card to work, and quite frankly it was pretty hopeless.

One of the guides I read made a comparison between getting a capture card to work and driving a car. I'd like to continue along that line with a comparison of my own. If I bought a car and the engine was not tuned correctly when I got it, the car would go back to the dealer until it was. If they could not fix the problem, they would get the car back under the lemon laws. I would not expect to have to learn how to tune the car myself in order to use it. While it is true that once the car is in working order it's not up to the dealer to teach me how to drive, it is up to the dealer to provide me with a driveable vehicle. The same thing applies here. Before anyone should be expected to start their learning curve for the capture process, the device they spent their money on should be delivered in good working order, and if it is not, it is up to the manufacturer to get it that way.