Plextor ConvertX- USB2.0 Capture issues

If you can still get one at best buy, I would recommend the SIMA Video Copymaster. It's very effective and it lets you choose between black and white or color copying. There are also smaller black boxes for about $30 USD that will do the job too..

 

Yes a Video Stabilizer will work with any Analogue Caputre device and I"m sure the ConvertX does capture to Mpeg1 and 2 But I couldn"t tell you much about it as I do not own one...I"m thinking of getting one of these next : http://www.canopus.com/US/products/ACEDVio/pt_ACEDVio.asp .....

 

At your suggestion, I have downloaded the trial version of TMPGEnc DVD Author software. When I attempted to import a video file, it hangs up and can only clear by using Crtl, Alt, Delete. I uninstalled and downloaded again. Same result. This software sucks.

 

A different issue, but since this thread is about ConvertX issues...

I've recently purchased the ConvertX and attempted to back up a VHS recording of a show from TV. I realized two things:

1) There's slight (very slight compared to original video) choppiness in the captured file.
2) There's a LOT of static in the audio.

I can live with #1 above, but #2 is a real problem. Its not constant static that I can hear all the time, but very often I get these crackling sound.

Are both these normal? I figured the slight choppiness can be due to the speed of my harddrive or just limitation of USB2. The sound, I'm wondering whether this is just sound thats on the original video that I just can't hear normally, but gets exacerbated? When I play the video on the VCR, I could not hear any of the crackling sounds...

(My PC is a 60GB 7200RPM HD, Athlon 2400+ with 512MB btw).

 

Well there isn"t Much you can do about it because From what I know about this device the audio and Video are Both fed to the PC Via USB Port so there is No sound card to Capture the audio to so the Problem is probably with the Device it"s self...Of the Half a dizzen USB Devices I have Tried Not one of them was even close to as good as a cheap $15 TV Card...USB Capture devices Just Plain suck unless you spend some Money and get a Real good High end Unit Like the Canopus Mpeg Pro......
SoonerG: You can Not just load any file into Tmpgenc DVD author , the File has to be DVD Compliant mpeg2 file and you have to have a Mpeg2 Decoder installed on your PC, It is Just For Basic authoring ,I only recomend it because it is easy to use a Cheap...I usually use a More High end Authoring program but still an easy to use one..It is called DVD-Lab ,I like it because it will let you Burn SVCD"s to DVD which allows you to get up to 3 Movies on each DVD-R with Menu"s and Chapters and Dolby digital audio...For more Highend Looking DVD"s I use Sonic DVD producer or Sonic ReelDVD but these are too expensive for most poeple at about $700 for ReelDVD and about $4500 for DVD producer, but DVD-Lab is Quite inexpensive actually about the same as Tmpgenc DVD author But a MUCH better Program....

 

Thanks for you response. It turns out (or so I believe) that the problem was due to the original video tape. I tried using a video I have purchased (I can't copy due to macrovision), but I can view it using WinDVD Creator2 with no crackling sound. I guess the ConvertX is a bit sensitive to poor audio on the source.

As for macrovision, I'm looking to get a video stabilizer. This is not really a stabilizer (apparantly), but do you know anything about this product?

http://www.facetvideo.com/

It seems a bit expensive, but I wouldn't want to get something cheaper and end up having to buy something like this anyway.

 

Yes that is Just a Fancy Video stabilizer, and a Very Over priced one as it probably uses the Same methods for removeing Macrovision as a $15 to $30 one...cheers

 

That's one really overpriced Video Stabilizer. If you live near a best buy, go check out the SIMA VIDEO COPYMASTER. That should do the job and be much cheaper than that clarifier. I think the only thing that needs clarifying there is why is the price so high..

If you do a search on macrovision removal, you'll be directed to several sites that sell copyguards removers aka: Video Stabilizers..

 

I've looked into the SIMA products and I see that there's a similar product SIMA CopyThis! thats around the same price (cheaper at some places) as CopyMaster. Do you know anything about this product?

BestBuy unfortunatly does not seem to have the CopyMaster product in my area.

Btw, I've also read that the CopyMaster can (sometimes) cause some horizontal lines and/or a yellow tint on the copy. Have anyone encountered any of this?

 

Have you tried EBay?

Here's the link:

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...R3&siteid=0&query=video+stabilizer&keyword=on

If that doesn't work, go to EBay and do a search on video stabilizers. You'll see alot of them for not alot of money. The smaller black boxes work pretty good for VHS. I have one as a backup to the Sima unit. No yellow lines or striping but then I do all my dupes at SP (2hr) speed.. There's a black box on sale now for $30USD that I own.

 

I would be very interested to hear more from Cman on his current views of the ConvertX vs. Canopus ADVC 100. I purchased the ConvertX 402, but am returning it today. First, I am working my way up the learning curve when it comes to creating DVD's from my old VHS home movies. My editing needs are fairly simple...just need to shorten some clips, cut out bad segments, and sometimes rearrange or reorganize segments into themes (like birthdays). I have actually found that the software that comes with ConvertX - InterVideo WinDVD2 - actually does a pretty good job with my editing needs. They offer some quality Title pages (but allow you to use your own pictures) and provide about 30 or so transition choices. The end result is quite impressive. So way am I returning the unit? I have two key issues and have received inconsistent responses from Plextor Tech Support. First, for some reason the MPEG2 files that I create have a "tracking bar" on the bottom that is about 1/4 of an inch. It is like the video is out of synch with the rest of the main video. Tech support calls it a wrap around. Apparently they are aware of it and one person said that a software fix is coming out this week. The next guy was totally unaware of the issue. BTW, when you make the DVD, that bar does not appear on the TV. However if I open up one of the MPEG files and play it on Window Media Player, there it is. The second issue is color match. For some reason, I get some purple/green steaks or blotches that are not on the original VHS. I have installed the latest driver that apparently fixed a similar issue. This is not acceptable. Finally, I noticed in playing back one of the many files that I've created a sound/video synch issue...this appears to be an exception (hopefully), but concerning nevertheless. Maybe I was overloading my computer at the time I captured that segment. If it weren't for the two key issues, it think the ConvertX is a great product...primarily because it is easy to use. I captured my Video is standard quality, so that I could fit about 2 hours on a DVD. I have checked alot of forums and it looks like the Canopus product, although more expensive, has had some pretty strong support. My biggest concern is that since it captures in DVI, the whole process of editing and transcoding will take alot longer. But my thinking is that I hope to only do this once and therefore it is critical that the end result is a quality job. Please share with me your more experienced insights or views.

 

The Problems you are experienceing sound like the Regular Problems that you get when captureing from VHS Tapes...When you capture From VHS there is allways this Squigily Bar on the Bottom of the Picture ,This is Caused from the Heads on the VCR Makeing Contact with the VHS Tape ,The reason why it doesn"t show up on your TV is because you TV Has a 5%-10% Overscan Area arround the whole Picture that Cuts off the Line at the Bottom...And the Discoloration you are experienceing sounds a Bit like a Macrovision Copy Protection Issue which you will usually get when Recorging Retail VHS Tapes...
The ADVC-100 Is the Best external Analouge/Digital converter in it"s Class but if you would like an Internal PCI device that Does the Same Thing For Quite a Bit Cheaper try the "Canopus ACEDVio" ,It has all the same Features as the ADVC-100 But is an internal PCI Card and it is quite a Bit cheaper as I have seen them for as Low as $169 US On E-Bay and it is Compatible with Most Capture/Editing Programs,I have recomended this device to a couple others on this Forum allong with the ADVC-100 and of the Poeple who actually went out a bought the device they were all Extremely happy with it.. I think it will be my Next Device cuz I need a Good Analogue/Digital Converter as I want to start a Small buisiness Transfering Poeples analogue Movies to DVD ,like Old weddings and graduations or what have you....You can also use these Devices to Capture directly to Mpeg2 if you wanted, you just need to use a Mpeg Capture Program Like WinDVR 3.0 which supports captureing from Firewire devices but you would still get better results useing a Standalone encoder.....Well Good Luck...Cheers

 

md20000, Your purple/green flashes, and sync problems,
can be avoided by the folowing:
Select the Plextor 402 device, only, when you have
your tape running, then click the "record" button.
if you have already the preview "running" and you
switch from STOP/tuner mode, to: PLAY of your vcr/camera, the "capture engine" of the ConvertX,
will be confused, and purple/green flashes, (out of) sync, will be a problem/issue..
Also "gaps" in the recorded material, "rough" edit
points, or old tapes with dropouts (not always visible) are problemmatic, a vcr with TBC could
solve this, so if you have a choice, use best vcr.

 

Sorry about the delayed response. I sold my ConvertX-401 after putting it up against my ADVC-100. The ConvertX was a decent unit but its limited as to which apps you can utilize the thing with. Without the blackbox option for macrovisioned VHS, your ConvertX is good for home movies only and won't archive your other stuff. The ADVC is more flexible and can be used with any number of capturing software and unfortunately, the ConvertX is married to Intervideo's DVD Creator application ONLY. I even wrote to Plextor about this and got back a rather smug response saying roughly: "gee, that's too bad. you have to use it this way or the highway". I chose the highway and am damn glad I did. Now, about those blackboxes. They are critical if you're converting commercial VHS. The Sima unit I have was purchased before the DCMA came into being so they are really hard to find now. Even using the blackbox, I don't have any problems with lines and such. A few posts back I suggested EBay. You may even find a SIMA unit there too. The Sima unit also gives the original VHS signal a bit of a boost. That in turn puts alot of pressure on your rendering software as far as noise goes. I use, as per Minion's suggeston, TMPGEncplus for converting AVI to MPeg. Usually I let it run overnight since it takes a really long time for a 90 or 120min movie to be done with reasonable quality..

Hope that helps..