Dazzle DVC 90 Capturing

[LangleyM]

I have the Dazzle DVC 90 Video Capture device. I purchased it with the Pinnacle DVD Maker Plus package, which included the Pinnacle Instant DVD Recorder software. Now I have 2 issues- the initial cables setup of the device and the capturing part. First, in the Getting started guide, the directions say to connect the Red and White Cables plus an S-Video cable to the device OR, the Yellow Video Cable to the device, however, When experimenting with the cables, I found that if I connect the Yellow cable without the red or White ones, no sound comes out. But if I have the red, Yellow, and white cables connected, there is no picture in the Preview window of the Capturing application. So I'm trying to capture from my satellite set top box (satellite receiver) to my computer (save as a file). I now have the 3 cables (Red, White and Yellow) plugged into the back of my satellite receiver, connected to the Dazzle DVC 90 and the USB cable from the DVC 90 into my computer. I would like to use Windows Movie Maker or Nero 7 Ultra to Capture. Can someone give me information to a.) Be able to get the preview to appear b) look over my connections and tell me if this is right, c.) Am I able to capture from the satellite receiver, and if so, what settings do I need to adjust. and d.) Give me detailed step by step instructions on how to capture with Windows Movie Maker.

Thank you.

[Stiiv]

I would like to use Windows Movie Maker or Nero 7 Ultra to Capture.

Not gonna happen, pal. Dazzle hardware does not work with those programs, or any program not specifically written for your DVC 90. Even though the site is focused on the DVC II PCI Dazzle, check out the DazzleGeek forums for lots of useful info.

Re: connections - the yellow plug is for composite video, red & white are for right & left stereo sound. Note that you can have both the composite video & S-video inputs connected at the same time; in the software that came with the unit, you'll find a configuration applet that allows you to choose between composite & S-video inputs. You heard no sound because you hadn't connected the red & white RCA plugs to your audio/video source.

Re: preview - some recording formats (of which there are quite a few choices available in your software) will not preview, depending on which input is active...for example, on my DVC II, the VCD template will not preview if the composite vid connection is the active source....using S-video input, the preview shows up fine. Experiment & do a little research to find the best settings for your task.

Again, I must tell you that Windows Movie Maker will NOT work with the DVC 90, & neither will any other program not written specifically for the DVC 90. (Unfortunately, the excellent user-written programs like Bugsy, TWNH, DazzleCapture!, etc. that you might find through your research were written for the DVC II only, so don't bother with them.) That being said, the bundled software works damned well, & you can always import the resulting MPG files into other programs for editing.

Re: satellite receiver - if your set-top box has S-video out, use it...if not, use the composite (yellow) connector, & set your software accordingly. Connect the red & white RCA plugs to the right & left stereo outs on your box. (Remember - [r]ed is the [r]ight channel, always.) If your goal is to make dvd-compatible files, choose the DVD mpeg-2 template for recording. (DOES the DVC 90 support mpeg-2? I don't remember....read the docs.)

Hope this info is helpful....let me know if you have any further questions, or if you run into any problems.

[tanturia]

Could always try the latest version I still use 10 but I think version 12 is out now?