Plextor PX-AV200U or ???

[wtsinnc]

Hello. I need some advice about video capture and what to buy. My Panasonic DMR-E80H video recorder no longer recognizes blank DVD-Rs and RAM discs. I don't want to get it repaired (again !), so I'm in the market for a simple to use audio and video capture device. Does anyone reading this have experience with the Plextor PX-AV200U or the ADS Video Xpress device? Whatever I buy will be used on a Dell E510/Pentium 630 (3.0 mhz)/2.5 gb 533mhz RAM/ATI X300 video card running XP. My plan is to continue to use the Panny E80 to record television programs to it's hard drive, perform simple editing tasks with the E80, then move the finished program to my computer to burn the program to DVD. My tv programming through DirecTV is standard definition only, and the only other task would be to archive some VHS video while the tapes are still in relatively good condition. I'm pretty sure that I want to stay away from a video capture card if at all possible because I read horror stories about bad driver support, poor sync problems, and other issues. For a simple fix, would either of the mentioned capture devices offer good audio and video capture performance, or is there a better alternative for under $100.00. Thanks in advance for any replies.

[seanmac]

I have just bought and installed the Plextor AV200u and so far have not had any success in getting it to work. When I press "Record" I get a Message in a small box which simply says "Record Error". I am currently trying to get advice from Plextor and have tried their first suggestion without success.

[wtsinnc]

Thanks for that; always good to get information from those who've already been there. I hope Plextor can offer help for the problem.

[seanmac]

So far I have had no success with Plextor. They have suggested that possibly my computer does not have the latest codecs and that I should download the latest. also sugested that the motherboard chipset may not be up to date ( computer is 6 months old). I have updated drivers, still with no luck. My computer is now freezing and going into blue screen mode which I can only break by disconnecting the battery. After 3 calls to Plextor I am still no further on.

[rmo208]

The PX-AV200U is a complete disaster. I thought Plextor was a reputable company until I tried to get this thing to work. The software continues to crash my computer, and when I tried to update using the "live update" link, after forcing me to register it directed me to a junk webpage (http.com) rated as dangerous by WOT. I tried finding a driver on the plextor page by the product page for the PX-AV200U, although listed in the drop down menu, no longer exists. What happened to Plextor and how could they put out such a piece of trash product like the PX-AV200U?