Product Description

Features:Capture audio and video via the USB port to your computer hard drive or, "Direct to Disc" (CD or DVD disc), Exclusive "Audio-Lock" technology for perfect lip synch, Capture video directly to popular video formats; DVD (MPEG-2), SVCD,VCD (MPEG-1), MPEG-4 and DivX, Capture directly to Sony PSP video and Apple iPod video formats, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness and Hue controls, Use the Included CapWiz application for easy video capture direct to your desired video compression format, Record to your computer hard drive or "Direct to Disc", Exclusive Hardware Encoding chip inside DVD Xpress creates the highest quality video without putting extra strain on your PC, Compatible with all CD and DVD writers, USB 2.0 connection to PC (USB 1.1 compatible) Specifications:Includes:DVD Xpress DX2 device, Audio/Video and USB cables, CD Bundled with - ADS CapWiz 3.8 or later - ArcSoft ShowBiz, User's Manual. Technical Support: 800-580-5180

Product Details

• Brand: ADS Tech
• Model: USBAV-709-EF
• Platform: Windows
• Format: CD
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 9.50" h x 8.00" w x 2.25" l, .95 pounds

Features

• Captures in the following formats: DVD (MPEG-2), SVCD, VCD (MPEG-1), MPEG-4 and DivX
• Captures in PAL and NTSC video formats
• Includes Sofware, USB Cable and RCA cables
• RCA and S-Video Inputs
• Converts video direct to disk and saves to hard drive

Customer Reviews

Too many bugs
The "Audio-Lock technology" they mention on the box apparently only works for about 45 minutes at a time. I ran into audio sync issues multiple times, including one time while capturing direct to DVD and wasting a disc. I have been through six or seven different capture devices and have only come across three that kept the audio and video in sync. Out of those three, only one worked in a way that didn't create files too large, worked consistently, and still looked good. The Pinnacle USB Moviebox B gets good reviews from me, though it does have some drawbacks, as well. Read reviews on it if interested.

To me, this is an average capture device.

Pros: Small file size due to fairly good variable bit rate encoding, 90% of the video looks good, good if only capturing small segments at a time.

Cons: Audio/Video sync issues as discussed above. 10% of video becomes pixelated when switching from a slow motion scene to a fast motion scene because the variable bit rate encoding has a split second delay in realizing the bit rate needs to increase.

Wow - Almost Installs Itself! Call Me "Impressed"
A couple years ago I bought a Vaio Media Center PC, in large part to have a simple way of transforming those boxes of VHS bricks into nice small DVDs or (even smaller) video files. Whoa, major error!

For two years I had hassled around with Sony's impossible and irretrievably-buggy video capture software to no avail ("DVD Gate" and "Click to DVD" now play starring roles in my nightmares, right alongside Sheryl Crow and Albert Gore staring menacingly at my toilet paper...) So I'm scouring the "Multimedia" section of Forums dot Techguy dot Org and one of the senior members is recommending an external USB video capture box by ADS. After learning that most, if not all, of the competition have major problems syncing audio and video - Dazzle and Pinnacle spring immediately to mind on that issue - compared with generally rave reviews of ADS's product, I sprung for the DVD Xpress.

Bottom line: I had the thing plugged in, the software installed and my crusty old video footage happily - finally - making the journey to digital immortality, within the space of fifteen minutes flat. It was one of those "Pinch yourself, could it really be this easy?" moments, and the answer is "Yes."

No audio-video sync problems so far, the image quality is lossless, and the CapWiz capture software has impressive configuration flexibility for output formats, bit rates, audio and video resolution, as well as all the usual brightness/contrast/color adjustment controls.

The bundled Ulead Video Studio 9 SE was significantly less impressive. I haven't messed with it in depth, but my attempt to add a simple text title to the beginning of a digitized video of a jam session with the boys was frustrating as hell so I just blew it off. What I've read in other reviews leads me to believe that getting some other second-party editing software is a wiser option - I hear lots of recommendations for Nero but...that name is just a tad creepy, ain't it? (I can just picture the marketing brainstorm session: "'Hitler?' Nahh. How about 'Stalin... 'Che?' Errmm...'Nero' Yeah! Highfive!") But I digress... PC Mag says Roxio VideoWave 8 is a good bet for secondary processing and editing, also top reviews have been nabbed by Cyberlink's PowerDirector 6, ArcSoft's ShowBiz DVD 2.1, and Corel's Video Studio 11.

If you're someone who's long dreamed of burning all of those Cro-Magnon VHS tapes onto your PC's hard drive or DVDs but have struggled with the needlessly incomprehensible mechanisms that came with your computer, trust me: The 80 or so clams you'll spend on the ADS DVD Xpress would be a bargain at twice the price. Why computer manufacturers are apparently incapable of integrating something this simple and user-friendly into the actual PC (! - duh,) will likely remain one of those Great Mysteries to keep techies and future archaeologists scratching their heads for centuries, but no matter. Just get this thing, you'll be glad you did.

At last, they have gotten it right!
Hurrah for ADS Tech. After years of trying they now have a great product for video transfer. I have owned two of the previous model (USBAV-701) and have burned nearly 200 DVDs from VCR tapes. It never was easy and mainly was frustrating with ceaseless crashes and freeze ups. When the newest product was available I hoped against hope it would be better. Boy is it great. For the first time I can start it transfering from a VCR tape and walk away. It doesn't crash! It captures even some of my worst VCR tapes that had been used over and over. A great plus is it is powered by USB and not a separate transformer. Mine runs cooler than the older version. Another great deal is VideoStudio 9 software that comes with it. A very nice upgrade from previous versions. If you have just about given up on transfering your old tapes, there is still hope and DVD Xpress DX2 is it.