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Product Review
                                      Roxio Easy VHS to DVD

       I think this may be a first for Reel Deals - a review of a non-film product!
       I have been transferring quite a bit of old 16mm and 35mm
       film to DVD over the past year. The method I started with
       was recording onto DVD, copying the DVD to the  computer,
       then editing it and then making another DVD of the finished
       edit.
       I recently came across this little device which plugs directly
       into  the  USB  connector  on  a  computer.  It  will  convert
       analogue video and audio into computer files, which then
       can be edited on the computer and later recorded to a DVD.
                                The   computer   files
                                generated  are  .MPG
                                format, which just about
                                all  editing  programs  will
                                accept.
                                Despite  its  name,  it  is
                                usefull  for  transferring
                                any  Standard  Definition
                                (SD) video signal to your computer.
       It has Video plus L &R Audio inputs, as well it has an S-Video input, making it quite versitile. Any
       source of SD video, or even just audio can be processed.
       The device comes with a disc containg its computer drivers, as well as some basic editing software.
       I am mainly using it to transform the output from an SD video camera to a computer file. It has also
       been used for copying both VHS and Beta tapes to the computer for later editing.
                                          It has a couple little anoyances in operation. There
                                          is a video mute, which seem totally unnecessary,
                                          which  bacically  stops  the  recording  if  the  video
                                          signal is not up to scratch - this becomes quite a
                                          problem when copying poor quality tapes, or tapes
                                          with drop-outs. The other anoyance is the record
                                          audio level has to be set every time the unit is used.
                                          There  seems  to  be  no  way  it  can  ‘remember’  a
                                          setting from last time. The default setting is full on,
                                          which makes the recorded audio far too loud. I have
                                          contacted the suppliers about these issues, but they
                                          have no plans to make any changes to the software.
                                          At  $99.95,  you  would  need  to  have  a  fair  bit  of
       copying to do to get the value out of it, but it does make for a quick transfer of analogue video and
       audio to computer file.


               Reel Deals                             - 22 -                          March 2014
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