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Video Capture, Interface with Host: FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394), Supported Digital Formats: DV, Video Input: S-Video, Analog Format: ... |  |
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| Product Reviews from Amazon.com (Rating System 1 to 5) |
| Review | Rating | Last Updated | Old Model Old Software No Support
I wanted a ADS API 557, was directed to a number of vendors and this one in particular sold an old product API 555 and an old software Premiere Elements 2.0. When I complained about the switch, I got zero response. The API does work, but the input connectors and the output connectors are not securely mounted and anyone using this device should not plan on moving the cables once they are connected. Buy extra cables and make the connections to the ADS one time and do not move them. For the same money as this API 555 you can get the 557 with Elements 3.0, but you have to shop carefully to be sure what you are getting. I give the product 3 stars, and Amazon and the vendor 1 star. If you want a better quality all-around, get the Canopus. You will pay more, but in the long term it will still be working when the ADS isn't. | 3 | Today | Read the instructions, use Movie Maker and this works great
The trick with this product (and I have found with other A-D converter products that use their own codec) is to read the instructions.
I have had problems with audio in some A-D conversions, particularly when writing to DV-AVI. This product has a switch to "unsynch" the audio, which seems to fix audio problems that cause unreliable playback.
I have not used Adobe Premiere, but it is my understanding that it may be the source of some problems. This product converted to WMV and AVI using Movie Maker perfectly after adjusting the handling of the audio.
It is nice that it works with Movie Maker and any software that recognizes a firewire connected device. | 4 | Today | Won't run on Athlon XP processor, despite what the box says
The box says that the software will run on an Athlon XP processor. But this is not true ! The Adobe Premiere 3.0 installer complains that the processor does not support the SSE2 instruction set, and simply refuses to install.
So this is useless to me and is going back to Fry's.
| 1 | Today | NOT GOOD AT ALL
This Hardware came DOA. It did not work with anything that it should have. I try everything that they have written in the manual, it still didnot work. I would would not recomend this product to any of my friend. | 1 | Today | Absolute garbage.
Save your money and buy a stand alone DVD/HDD recorder (I bought the Pioneer). If you are transferring VHS tapes and there is any noise you will get gaps, there is color noise at the bottom of the screen on all videos captured with this. I got fed up and sold it on eBay. Also unless you have the SSE2 instruction set on your computer (has to do with the processor) the adobe won't run, doesn't tell you that in the specs, another "Surprise!" . If you are not a complete computer head, you don't have a snowballs chance of getting satifactory results with this. | 1 | Today | Working as advertised- very satisfied
I bought this device primarily to convert a lot of 15+ year-old VHS tapes of the children and family. I am totally satisfied and would upgrade my rating to 5 stars if the initial experience continues on. I am writing this review at the end of my first day of ownership.
The software installed flawlessly and my Windows XP system recognized the hardware as soon as I connected it. Within a few minutes I was capturing my first video which I subsequently burned to a DVD that played on my 4 year-old DVD player. The quality of the video is all I could ask for. I am looking forward to making DVD's for the children.
The only caveat I would give to potential buyers is that converting video is anything but a speedy process and likes a fast PC. I have a 2.2GHz processor that uses every bit of that power to capture, convert and burn video. And yes, video files use lots of disk space. I can only imagine that the people who rated this product badly had either poor expectations or a system lacking in speed, memory or disk space.
This product is a winner. | 4 | Today | Great for capturing (Digitizing) from VHS to PC
I like this product because now I can digitize my VHS or any analogue material to my PC without the need of capture cards. just hook the RCA cables to this unit and output to PC via fire wire cable. The quality is nice but not professional; I still see some grainy picture!
I tried the component (RGB) outputs but it did not work, I don't know what was wrong!
overall nice product for the simple work I do. | 4 | Today | Buggy Piece of Junk
My first ADS unit arrived DOA from Amazon, probably damaged in shipping, and it would not be recognized by my video editing machine (AMD 3000+, 2GB RAM, 500GB SATA HDD). My second ADS unit arrived 3 days later, Amazon has very good customer service, I'll give them that much, they refunded my $3.99 I paid for super-saving 1-day shipping and sent the unit out overnight delivery, since I needed this to finish a project. Kudos to Amazon.
Ok, the tale of the tape: This item DOES NOT seamlessly integrate with my NLE software (Premiere Pro 1.5) nor does it work seamlessly with the free copy of Adobe Elements 2.0 that comes with it.
I went to the ADS tech support website for a firmware or driver update, and there are none to be found. I have had the unit hooked up to my machine for a few hours, and have only been able to capture one piece of video without any incident. I downloaded ADS's proprietary capture program (WMCAP.EXE - 0.6MB), which worked for one clip, then crashed.
I have restarted my machine over and over, and usually have to unplug the firewire cable to get the device to be recognized by Windows XP Home rev.2. This thing is a piece of junk, don't buy it unless you want to be angry and disappointed. I am an A/V professional for a living, and should have known better than to trust a $150 device over a professional one.
The A/V cables that come with this device are sub-standard. You do get 2 firewire cables (6-6 and 6-4) but the 6-6 was too short to be of any use. You literally have to mount the unit with tape on top of your computer, because it's made of plastic and will try to leap off the machine every time you unplug a cable (gaffer tape to the rescue).
I am going to try ADS tech support again. If I need to send the unit in for a firmware update as another reviewer intimated I will be returning this device to Amazon and going with a Canopus or other device from a reputable video hardware company.
Caveat Emptor.
5/4/07: Unit was returned to Amazon shortly after my review. Additional online research confirmed this unit will not work with an Athlon chipset computer despite the company saying it will (error with SSE2 instructions). Their tech support staff is rude and obnoxious and blamed my lack of understanding (20 years with computers, 15 with A/V equipment), rather than their junky hardware.
I'm just jumpering my DVD & VCR through my DV-Camera as a temporary solution and using the firewire out from my camera. If you need a digital/analog conversion box, check out the Canopus brand ones and avoid anything made by ADS. Canopus has top notch customer support and firmware upgrades and they don't talk to their customers like they are idiots. | 2 | Today | Bare bones, but works as advertised!
I bought this unit to transfer family movies from an analog Sony Handicam and from old VHS tapes. I also needed it to work with both Mac OS and Windows computers. I have only tried it with the Mac OS and iMovie so far and it works great when transferring from the Handicam or directly from a cable TV feed. I've not yet tried using it with Windows or VHS tape, but I suspect my results will be similar.
My only complaints and the reason for the 4-star review: Of the cables included, I've only used the RCA cable and the firewire cable, and the RCA cable was of low quality. I replaced it with a thicker cable with gold connectors to improve transfer quality. Also, and this is nitpicky for sure, the lights (leds) on the front of the unit are way too bright, so bright in fact that when they are lit I can't read the labels (Power/Analog/Digital) silk-screened above and below them on the face of the unit.
As for the included software, I can't address that as I didn't open it or need it - I plugged it into my Mac and it simply worked.
I'd recommend this product for what I'm using it for - especially for the price. | 4 | Today | Its Output as Powerful as Its Input...
I've been using the Pyro box for 3 months now, and it's been great for me. It came with Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 which was easier to use than I thought.
I've been using it with my JVC S-VHS VCR and the capture quality is great, but to my suprise I find myself more excited about the output. Being about to output my video project to a TV before I burn it to DVD has changed my entire workflow for the better. I can see the REAL colors!!
I guess if I had to think of a bad point for the product, it would be that it doesn't yet support HD-editing, but then neither do I...hehe | 5 | Today |
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